Minor League Baseball

Meet the Hall of Fame Contenders: a Dragon, a Buck, a Bull and a Baseball-Nosed Guy

Voting begins next week for the Mascot Hall of Fame, and four mascots from the minor league ranks are on the ballot.

Jami Leabow

Four minor league mascots are on the ballot in voting for the Mascot Hall of Fame.
Four minor league mascots are on the ballot in voting for the Mascot Hall of Fame. / Minor League Baseball/X
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Minor league baseball has some of the most lovable mascots in the sports landscape – but are they Hall of Fame worthy?

We will find out soon.

Voting opens May 11 for the Mascot Hall of Fame, which this year will add at least two mascots to its honored family. There are 28 mascots on the ballot from pro sports leagues, plus the NCAA.

And the competition is formidable.

Minor league baseball is represented by four nominees, and MLB has five.

The minor league contenders:

Homer the Dragon from the Triple-A Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox). The creature with green fur and orange horns has been the mascot for the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate since 1989.

Hornsby, the face of the Double-A Tulsa Drillers (Los Angeles Dodgers) since 1996. He is a blue and yellow buck.

Wool E. Bull, who debuted as the mascot of the Triple-A Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays) in 1992. Famed for his dancing, he was named MiLB Mascot of the Year in 2016 by Baseball America.

And then there’s LOCO, the mascot of the Double-A Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates). LOCO is a “Golden Locotami,” but his look is tough to describe. He’s the only one that has a baseball for a nose.

The MLB mascots on the ballot are recognizable: Bernie Brewer (Milwaukee Brewers), Fredbird (St. Louis Cardinals), Mrs. Met (New York Mets), The Pirate Parrot (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Wally the Green Monster (Boston Red Sox).

From other leagues, the nominees include The Leprechaun from Notre Dame, the Seattle Seahawks’ Blitz the bird and The Oregon Duck.

Voting concludes May 24 at mascothalloffame.com. The members of the Class of 2025 will be unveiled in June.

Fans of the affiliates of the White Sox, Rays, Pirates and Dodgers: don’t forget to vote beginning May 11.

Related MiLB Stories

BIG RECORD, BIG NEWS: Hunter Barco etched his name into the Double-A Altoona record books while pitching against the Akron RubberDucks. And it earned him a promotion. CLICK HERE

PROSPECT SIDELINED: The Minnesota Twins got bad injury news about one of their top prospects.  CLICK HERE:

AWAITING THAT FIRST WIN: Brandon Waddell was close to that long-awaited first win for the New York Mets. CLICK HERE

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.

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