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Mascots back in the lineup when baseball returns

AP photo by Yong Kim / The Phillie Phanatic walks on the Philadelphia Phillies' dugout as they play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a spring training exhibition game on Feb. 23 in Clearwater, Fla.
AP photo by Yong Kim / The Phillie Phanatic walks on the Philadelphia Phillies' dugout as they play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a spring training exhibition game on Feb. 23 in Clearwater, Fla. AP photo by Yong Kim / The Phillie Phanatic walks on the Philadelphia Phillies' dugout as they play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a spring training exhibition game on Feb. 23 in Clearwater, Fla.

By BEN WALKER / The Associated Press 3 min read

Phillie Phanatic, phenomenal. Mr. Met, mistakes were made. Mariner Moose, marvelous. Wally the Green Monster, welcome back.

Mascots are getting a reprieve from Major League Baseball. A month after being prospectively tossed out of stadiums because of health concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak, the fuzzy and funny creatures will return as inside-the-parkers.

“The fur is back on the field,” exclaimed Dave Raymond, the playful mischief maker who originally portrayed the Phanatic.

On May 16, in its 67-page draft of the operations manual sent to teams, MLB banned Bernie Brewer, the Pirate Parrot, Dinger, Fredbird and their ilk from the ballpark, trying to restrict access and limit contact exposure.

The final version of the manual this week reversed the policy. Mascots are in play, just not on the field.