Posted on 07/10/2003 5:45:42 AM PDT by nypokerface
The Italian sausage was a hit with Randall Simon.
In a bizarre scene during the popular sausage race at Miller Park, the Pittsburgh first baseman took his bat and delivered a two-handed chop that knocked over a woman dressed in costume Wednesday night.
Simon was booked for misdemeanor battery and released after the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pirates 2-1 in 12 innings. He will meet with the district attorney's office Thursday, and it will be up to prosecutors to determine whether formal charges are filed.
"It was very strange," Pirates outfielder Reggie Sanders said.
The race is a fan favorite at Miller Park. Held between the sixth and seventh innings, people dress up as a bratwurst, hot dog, Polish sausage and Italian sausage and run around the field.
As the group went past Pirates' third-base dugout, Simon reached over a railing and hit the Italian sausage character from behind, causing the 20-year-old woman wearing the outfit to tumble. When she fell, the woman portraying the hot dog also went down.
"They both were treated at the scene for scraped knees, but at this point I don't think they have any other complaints," said Deputy Inspector Sherry Warichak of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department.
Pirates outfielder Reggie Sanders said he thought the weight of the head on the sausage costume contributed to the fall.
"It maybe made it look worse than it was," Sanders said. "It was an unfortunate situation and, hopefully, it gets resolved."
The Brewers wound up winning on Wes Helms' infield hit with two outs in the 12th.
Brooks Kieschnick, a slugger who always had trouble making contact, earned his first victory since reviving his career as a reliever.
Kieschnick (1-1) singled as a pinch-hitter in the 11th, then pitched a hitless 12th for the victory.
"I can't even describe it. I'm so excited," Kieschnick said. "This was a good, all-around win for us."
In other NL games, Arizona beat San Diego 8-3, Colorado stopped San Francisco 11-7, Philadelphia blanked Montreal 2-0, Chicago defeated Florida 5-1, Houston routed Cincinnati 12-2, Los Angeles edged St. Louis 6-5, and Atlanta topped New York 6-3.
Simon was booed by many fans when he came up as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. He grounded out.
Later, the two women inside the costumes and Simon were interviewed at the stadium.
Rick Schlessinger, the Brewers' executive vice president for business operations, said he was in contact with Larry Silverman, vice president/baseball legal counsel for the Pirates.
Schlessinger called Simon's action "one of the most despicable things I've seen in a ballpark in a long time."
Ryan Borghoff, portraying the bratwurst, said Simon "just hit the costume and she fell over."
"These things are so top-heavy that it doesn't take much," he said.
With the Italian sausage and hot dog down and out, Borghoff went on to win the race.
"Somebody had to, I guess," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Intentionally hacking someone with a Louisville Slugger is assault. Perhaps you would think so if someone shacked you up side the head with one.
He never finished his first at bat. One swing and a ground foul. He still had two more strikes to go.
May I take a free swing at your head?
Sports writers live for the day they can write something like this. "Portraying the bratwurst." LOL!!! It just doesn't get any better than that.
BAWHHHHHH ;8^O
There's no bologna-bopping in baseball!
Watch the video, this is being way overblown. See the video, it was just a typical prank, no different than a shove. The bat was not swung hard, hits at the top of the head of the mascot, probably a good 2 feet above the actual head of the person inside. The area hit was filled with foam stuffing, nothing more, so it is no different than if he had tripped the mascot.
Maybe not the greatest idea for a prank, but the person in the mascot only ended up with a skinned knee. Worthy of an apology, new bottle of peroxide, a box of bandages, and perhaps some autographed memorabilia from the teams. You'd think anyone signing up to be a mascot wearing a stupid giant foam costume at a ballgame where beer is served wouldn't be shocked at being pranked, it kinda goes with the territory. How many times has the Philly mascot gotten into impromptu tussles with other mascots and players? I couldn't believe the idiot women at work today going on and on about horrible this was(though none had seen the actual video), enough to make one become a sexist!
Anyway, here's the ESPN 'investigation' that Akira linked to. They got it in the right perspective.
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Police report: Sausagegate Page 2 staff |
Remember this: Randall Simon is innocent until proven guilty. Page 2 has received a copy of the complete police report from the incident, so read through the evidence before you declare Simon be sent to jail.
Date: July 9, 2003 The crime: Alleged misdemeanor battery (assault on a sausage with a baseball bat)
The victim: Italian Sausage The alleged perpetrator: Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Randall Simon Scene of the crime: Third-base side of Miller Park, Milwaukee, Wis. Witnesses: Polish Sausage, Bratwurst, Hot Dog, 25 Pittsburgh Pirates, 25 Milwaukee Brewers and at least 50 people in the stands. The incident: As the four sausages were coming toward the finish line during their traditional race after the sixth inning, Simon allegedly whacked Italian Sausage over the head with a wood bat (presumably uncorked), causing the meat of the savory Italian variety to fall to the ground and also trip up the Hot Dog in the process. The Polish and the Brat somehow managed to escape harm. The Italian Sausage was treated at the scene for scraped knees (sausages have knees?), and was last seen diving into a cab with a towel over its head and rushing to a local hospital with three members of its entourage. The Hot Dog also suffered scraped outer casing. The Bratwurst won the race and refused to cooperate with investigators on the scene. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig declared the race "a tie" -- as is tradition for all controversial events at Miller Park. One TV reporter claimed he had known the Italian Sausage since he "came into baseball as just a small link" and that it would be totally "out of character" for the sausage to provoke anyone. Physical evidence: Raw meat remnants along the third-base line indicate that a fall took place. Ketchup stains were spotted as far away as the second deck. Simon's bat (taken into custody) smelled like a Fourth of July barbeque. One witness said the entire incident was a blur, but that it appeared the Italian Sausage was attacked by either a large blob of mustard or a large banana. Investigators noted that Simon was wearing the Pirates' all-yellow throwback uniform from head to toe.
Simon's alibi: Official baseball statistics show Simon has not had a hit in the month of July, so the chances of the .272-hitter being able to nail a speeding sausage are very slim. Also, Simon claims to be a vegetarian and says he would never "harm a sausage or any other meat product." Simon also claimed the sausage was "going down anyway" and said "it's impossible to run with a head that big because it makes you top heavy." He also claimed that he never actually made contact with the sausage's head because "that freakin' chef hat is a foot and a half tall." Possible motive(s): Witnesses near the Pirates dugout claim they heard Simon declare that he felt the Italian Sausage was "a real brat." One anonymous teammate claimed Simon had "bet Wednesday's meal money" on the race and made a panicked attempt to try to fix the race at the last minute. Character assessment: It should also be noted that Simon is a notorious free-swinger who hacks at just about anything. Weighing in at 242 pounds for his booking, the 6-foot Simon also doesn't appear to be a man who is truly abstaining from meat. The suspect entered the interview room with mustard smudges on his shirt and a glob of relish on his bottom lip. Interrogating officers, shocked by his casual disregard for the gravity of the situation, and troubled by his cruel, steely gaze, wiped his face clean and pushed him into a chair. The suspect responded only with a belch and a sick, satisfied chuckle.
Possible accomplice: After the hot dog tripped over the fallen Italian Sausage, the Polish Sausage turned to help its injured racers The Bratwurst, however, kept on going and crossed the finish line in first place. After the race, the Brat claimed innocence. "Somebody had to (win), I guess," it said. However, the Brat does trail the season race standings. Possible conspirator: Last September, officials from PETA faxed the Brewers asking that the Veggie Dog (aka "Soysage") be added to the sausage race. "If given a sporting chance, our lean, mean veggie dog might run rings around those fatty 'brats' in the sausage race," PETA's Dan Shannon said at the time. "The Veggie Dog would be a big hit, especially with hip, young baseball fans." The request was turned down by the Brewers, however. Considering PETA's history of violent protest, we advise an interview with Mr. Shannon and place a trace on phone calls from Mr. Shannon's office or house to the Pirates' clubhouse.
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I'm getting extremely tired of these "professionals" acting like spoiled children.
I could live without seeing another "professional" baseball, football, or basketball game.
Ever.
How does one normally swing a bat? Level, but his swing was way high, very unusual and thus very intentional. I think he was quite confident she/he/it inside was not 8+ feet tall, which she/he/it would have needed to have been for the bat to connect with any body part(after coming through all that foam). This wasn't a blow to the head or torso, but a blow to a foam hat, and the swing was slow.
Like I said, it wasn't the brightest of pranks, but it is being way overblown.
The victim was Chef Boyardee/Super Mario on the left. Note the dimensions, the top of the head of the person inside would be at the bottom of the nose of the costume, even if it were John Kerry or Julia Roberts in there. The bat was intentially swung to hit in the hat portion, thus no body part was close to being hit. Knocking a mascot to the ground in a prank may be a bit mean, but it isn't criminal assault or other hyperbole.
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