Baby Conrad brought to life by young performer

HICKORY, North Carolina -- Alex Copeland, a mild-mannered 14-year-old, has a secret ballpark identity. Upon arriving at the Hickory Crawdads' home of L.P. Frans Stadium, he morphs into a fun-loving and gregarious infant crustacean. He is no longer Alex. He is Baby Conrad, Crawdads mascot.

"I go around, see the children and families, and make everyone smile," said Copeland, succinctly summarizing his work as a mascot performer. "I do this as much as I can. I have other things to do but this has been my priority. Have fun and make the best of it."

While Copeland is likely the youngest mascot performer in Minor League Baseball, he is already a veteran of the trade. Crawdads general manager Douglas Locascio has helped nurture his unlikely career from the very beginning.

"The [Copeland] family first came to a game in 2011, I believe," said Locascio, now in his 12th season working for the Rangers' Class A affiliate. "Just had a great time and started coming more and more. Then you fast forward to 2013 and they became season ticket holders. Alex had such an enjoyment for the mascot, Conrad, and said, 'I'd love to be a part of it.'"

"I knew I was happy every time I saw [Conrad] so I thought maybe I could do that for kids," added Copeland. "Making kids smile is the biggest thing for me."

And thus, Baby Conrad was born.

"They had a program here for the kids, to do [ballpark] jobs," added Copeland. "To be honest being a mascot wasn't even one of the options. But I thought of it and went with it. That's the job I picked. Me and [former Crawdads community relations coordinator Megan Meade] took parts from different Conrad [suits], put it together and there I came: Baby Conrad."

Baby Conrad, who exists in the Crawdads' mascot pantheon as the offspring of Conrad and his wife, Candy, was initially what Locascio called a "once-in-a-while thing." But as the years have gone on, Baby Conrad has become more and more of a presence. In 2021, in fact, he has often been the Crawdads' only mascot presence.

"With COVID we don't have enough laundry space to wash our suit night in and night out, so [mascots have been] shut down for the season," said Locascio. "Baby Conrad's been our mascot for the weekends. He's doing a great job. ... [Fans] recognize him more than they recognize Conrad, and as we all know mascots are more popular than the players. He's just a new fixture of ours."

Copeland suits up as Baby Conrad on a volunteer basis, and the hours he logs go toward fulfilling his high school's volunteering requirements. His mother, Addie Copeland, accompanies him to every game.

"I am the Uber driver, until he can drive himself. It's very important to him," said Addie. "He's very serious and hard-working most of the time, so to see him do something that's just fun and carefree is really great for us. I'm very proud. I spend more time watching him than watching the game."

"This is the one place where I can act how I want to be around people," added Copeland. "They don't know who I am. I don't really know who they are. For me it just brings a different person out and I enjoy it."

It's a paradox: Copeland is able to cultivate his less-serious side as a result of having taken his work so seriously.

"If I didn't [take it seriously] I wouldn't be here talking to you, wouldn't have this job, wouldn't be where I was to have fun and make people smile and make the game more enjoyable," he said. "I don't know want I want to do yet, but if [mascot work] is a career path, an option, how could I not do that? That's not an option that everyone gets to take so I'd like to take advantage of it while I still can."

In the meantime, Copeland will be studying other mascots for inspiration while honing his skills at the ballpark. He's also willing to give advice to anyone who asks.

"For starters," he said. "If they yank your tail do not get mad."