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MLB

Four mascots frolic their way to final round

Rhubarb, D-Jay, Stormy, Ferrous emerge from Mascot Mania regionals
By Danny Wild
August 29, 2016

From a crowded field of 160 fuzzy, floppy mascots, four have emerged in the battle for Minor League bragging rights and one shiny belt.

Fans voted for more than a week to pick four regional Mascot Mania winners with Omaha's Stormy, Tacoma's Rhubarb, Aberdeen's Ferrous and Dunedin's D-Jay now all campaigning for a crowning victory in the championship round. Voting for the finals begins Aug. 29 and ends at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 1 on MiLB.com.

It's an unlikely ballot, according to MiLB.com's self-declared mascot expect, Ben Hill.

"As the results of the first round demonstrated, predicting Mascot Mania results is a difficult, if not downright impossible endeavor," said Hill. "I did not pick any of the regional winners correctly, and in moments of darkness have considered voluntarily revoking my hard-earned 'mascot expert' status."

• Vote for the Minors' best ballpark character in MiLB.com's Mascot Mania »

But Mascot Mania is often a reflection of the passion and effort put forth in the campaigns, and with 160 mascots clamoring for attention, the results are sometimes surprising. Will teams with larger markets and higher attendances fare better than small-market clubs? Will traditional, iconic mascots fall to some of the fresher faces in MiLB?

Ferrous was one of three Class A Short-Season New York-Penn League mascots to finish among the top four in the East Region, ahead of Hudson Valley's Rascal (No. 3) and Brooklyn's Sandy the Seagull (No. 4). The IronBirds' grinning, blue-haired character edged Portland's Slugger (No. 2) along with some of the more veteran faces in the field, like Bowie's Louie (No. 8), Rochester's Spike (No. 10) and Pawtucket's Paws (No. 14). Princeton's Roscoe, who won the Appalachian League in 2013, was again the circuit's highest-finishing mascot, while some of the East's more unique mascots -- Reading's Crazy Hot Dog Vendor, Wilmington's Mr. Celery and Lehigh Valley's Hambone -- finished in the middle of the pack.

Dunedin's D-Jay also claimed a first-round win, edging early favorites Wool E. Bull of Durham and 2014 Mascot Mania champion Phinley of Clearwater. The Blue Jays helped promote the vote by giving away 500 D-Jay backpacks to fans on Aug. 27 while enticing voters with post-game fireworks.

"D-Jay, Dunedin's avian representative, pulled off a shocking upset," said Hill. "Who's to say he can't fly away with the whole thing?"

Rhubarb the Reindeer took the West thanks to a savvy campaign that included voteforrhu.com, which helped steer voters toward the Tacoma mascot.

"Rhu" topped Hillboro's Barley, Lake Elsinore's Thunder, Albuquerque's Orbit and Modesto's Shelley. It was another strong showing for the Isotopes' mascot, which took home the belt in 2012.

Omaha's Stormy finished atop a diverse ballot in the Midwest, edging Cedar Rapids' Mr. Shucks, Nashville's Booster, Kane County's Ozzie and Pulaski's Calf-E. A campaign ad, utilizing a spokesman, helped spread the vote early on for the weather-focused green mascot.

For Hill, the race could come down to Rhubarb and Stormy.

"I'd still put my theoretical money on one of the Triple-A mascots still in the running," said Hill, a man who spends his time taking and collecting candid photos of mascots. "The Rainiers' Rhubarb, an able representative of the Pacific Northwest, has mounted a strong campaign thus far. The Omaha Storm Chasers' Stormy, meanwhile, has proven himself to be as unstoppable as a tornado sweeping across the Nebraska plains."

Those who vote can also register for a sweepstakes to win a MiLB.TV subscription, mascot-themed prizes and more. Twitter users can also include #MiLBMascotMania with a mascot selfie to register as well.

Test your mascot knowledge:

Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow his MLBlog column, Minoring in Twitter.