Welcome back to Rotten Ink Stadium. As you know, we are once more here to talk about MLB mascots, and this time around I want to chat about the three other mascots that join Mr. Redlegs at the Great American Ball Park and help entertain all the Cincinnati Reds fans that attend the games. If you remember back to my “The Best Active MLB Mascot Countdown” that was posted in 2021 that Mr. Redlegs ranked in at #5 out of 27 Mascots (Read The Countdown Here), but I really want to also take a few moments to chat about the other mascots that are active for the ball park as well as two real pets that acted as the team’s mascot as they all also make the games so much fun. So I am going to order myself a hotdog, some peanuts and a Pepsi to drink as the game is about to start and that means we need to take our seats and chat about Reds Mascots!
Before we dive into the Reds mascots, I really want to take a few moments to really talk about just how special and amazing sports mascots are, as sporting events are just that, events. They are packed with entertainment and the spirit of competition is such a raw emotion that gets fans buzzing with a fever to cheer and boo. The fact that any sports fan has their favorite team as well as their most hated team adds to the drama of a game. But while sports fans can be rabid, most teams in every type of sport have a jester that brings the laughs and entertains the young fans as well as the young at heart fans with their antics off and on the fields. The mascots also are the ones who help bring young fans to the games as they look forward to meeting them in the stadium for pictures and autographs, and then they get to laugh as they watch them act silly on the field between innings. And for me, the mascots are what brought me into sports at a young age (next to baseball cards by Topps) and are what brought me back into watching baseball as an adult. So as you can see, they serve their purpose and are a great tool for any sports team. And that is why I feel that we now should take a look at the other mascots that help or have helped in some cases the games just a little more fun to watch. And real quick, I have to say that while watching baseball on TV is fun via the MLB Network, nothing beats seeing a game live in person. With that said, let’s start our look at the other Reds mascots.
Mr. Red
Team: Cincinnati Reds Debut: 1972 World Series Wins: 5
A true legend of The Reds is the iconic Mr. Red, who first appeared with the ball club in 1952 and was even featured as patches on their uniforms. Sometimes he was even called “The Running Man” and was well loved by fans who loved seeing him in the stands as well as on the field. While the original version of Mr. Red was very limited in his antics, over the years he has had upgrades and has truly found his stride in the ways of the mascot. Off and on through the years, the Reds have retired Mr. Red with the first time being in the late 1980’s only to keep bringing him back as he is a very popular mascot among fans and is such a big part of the ball club’s history. In fact Mr. Red was the first MLB mascot I ever seen live in person when I attended my first ever Reds game as a kid, with of course Captain Clipper being the first baseball mascot I ever seen in person from the Columbus Clippers. Mr. Red was also the mascot that was on shirts, patches and pennants when I was growing up, and he was also very popular at school as I can remember kids talking about him on the playground and hallways and even drawing him for art class. And I am going to say it: I find him way cooler than Mr. Met and the other baseball headed mascots that are or have been around in baseball, and Mr. Red will always have a special place in my heart because he was the first in MLB I got to meet and see in action.
So let’s go from the Legend Mr. Red to the silly and lovable Gapper, who is hands down one of the younger fans’ all time favorite mascots to grace the Great American Ball Park.
Gapper
Team: Cincinnati Reds Debut: 2002 World Series Wins: 5
Gapper is the lovable red furred monster who has been entertaining Reds fans since 2002 and is a odd dog like creature who is named after the gap in the stadiums bleachers and was given this name by a young fan who summited it to win a contest to win free game tickets. Gapper is super silly and has no issues making a fool of himself in order to get a laugh from the fans. He is well liked by the younger ones, but sadly not as much by the older ones who rank him the lowest on a popularity list. Gapper is known for his dancing as well as taking part in the mascot races. I have seen Gapper live while attending a Reds game, and he is good at getting fans involved in his antics and I truly do not understand the hate he gets from some fans as well as just the baseball mascot fans in general. Gapper is still active to this daym and the Reds merchandise him well as he has been on ball cards, dolls, shirts, hats, toys and even kids books. Say what you will about Gapperm but I like him and he is lots of fun to watch when you attend a Reds game.
Now let’s take a look at the newest mascot to join the Cincinnati Reds family. She is the only female mascot in Reds history!
Rosie Red
Team: Cincinnati Reds Debut: 2008 World Series Wins: 5
Rosie Red is the female mascot of the bunch and is well loved by fans as she holds her own with Mr. Red and Mr. Redlegs when it comes to antics on and off the field. She, like them, sports a baseball head and is well liked by both young and older fans who line up to get pictures with her and who cheer her on when she does her shtick for their entertainment. Rosie is also one of the team’s mascots that is sent to many public appearances as well as charity events as she is one of the ballpark’s favorite mascots as fans just have a big connection to her. Rosie Red is known for her racing as well as dancing, and sadly because she has the baseball head, she is slightly limited in some of her antics, but still has that classic mascot appeal and she always brings the cheers and the laughs to the game when she appears.
Back a few years ago Cincinnati Reds fans got polled on who was their favorite team mascot was, and Mr. Redlegs won with 47% and the rest goes as follows: Rosie Red with 34%, Mr. Red with 23% and Gapper only got 6%. But I also feel the need to quickly talk about two more mascots from the Reds history, and these two were living animals!
Schottzie & Schottzie (2)
Team: Cincinnati Reds Debut: 1985 World Series Wins: 5
Schottzie was the pet Saint Bernard dog of then owner Marge Schott and acted as the team’s mascot as it was always present at the games and was very popular with the fans that loved seeing this lovable dog. Even the players and staff would say he was a good luck charm, but they did dislike that Marge would allow him to potty on the field. The original Schottzie would pass away in 1991. Schottzie (2) would come that year to take the place of the original, and these two dogs in their life times had very big influence in the ball club. But in reality while the team loved the goofy dogs, they were also very much annoyed by them being forced on them by the owner who cared more them then for the team itself. Schottzie (2) was banned from running loose on the field when MLB stepped in and banned live animals from running loose on the fields in 1993. While Schottzie and Schottzie (2) might have caused chaos for the team, fans did sure love the silly dogs and their antics, and yepm I did also get to see the original Schottzie at a Reds game when I was a kid!
In these modern times it’s hard to be a Reds fan as they have continued to be on losing streaks as well as being mismanaged, but while they are losing, my faith in them and their mascots past and present will forever live on being truly iconic for me and mark many of the first Major League Baseball mascots that I saw live in person. For those wondering, my favorite baseball team has been the Blue Jays for the past few years with the Reds, Oriels and Diamondbacks also being teams I cheer for. As I have gotten older, I have come to be a big fan of baseball and truly find myself cheering for my teams and always looking for the mascots on and off the field in the stands during a game, and if you are a MLB Mascot fan like myself, you know just how great The Reds Mascots are and know that they have entertained fans for decades.
I think our time at the Rotten Ink Stadium and with the Reds Mascots has come to an end, and I promise I have a few more ideas for future updates to keep these sports mascot updates going as I have been having a blast doing them. With the next update we are leaving sports behind and will be heading to the world of horror as we will be chatting about the film Revealer and the comic based on it! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a sports game or two and as always support your local horror host! See you next update as we will be trying to stay alive during the end of the world!
