A Day In The Life Of A Mascot

(CBS)  Even though it's a relatively new phenomenon, 21 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams now have their own mascots. The Early Show correspondent Melinda Murphy found out firsthand it's hot, sticky, and sometimes pretty smelly. It is even dangerous inside those costumes you've grown accustomed to seeing at ballparks around the country.

Mascots like the Philly Fanatic are the sideshow at the big show. The San Diego Chicken is the first modern-day Major League Baseball mascot. They're the creatures we love to love, along with their manic offspring.

And then there's another group of mascots. One of them was Murphy, and she was a bit scared because of what happened to the Kansas City's mascot (Sluggerrr), who got hit in a sensitive spot. And then there was Cleveland's Slider, who broke his leg when he crashed into the wall.

A fan dressed as a sausage got whacked with a bat. Recalling the event, Mandy Block says, "I felt a little blow on the back. I fell forward, and I couldn't get up."

It turns out that being a mascot isn't all that warm and fuzzy after all.

"There are a lot of serious aspects to this job," says Bromley Lowe. He was the Baltimore Oriole bird for ten years. Now, he's gone into business for himself, as a sort of furry teacher at schools. Lowe lost part of a finger when his costume got stuck in a door, and he's one of the lucky ones.

Lowe says, "I had a partner who got pushed off the bleacher wall in Camden Yards. He was in a wheelchair for a couple of weeks, and he couldn't perform for a full year."

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