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 ...
Was this a love tap (funning around), or a malicious smackdown?
This ex-Milwaukean needs to know!
The guy is an idiot. Both of sausage & hotdog girls should be allowed a free swing at him.
(Pittsburgh Pirate)Simon arrested, could face battery charges
Beat your own sausage and leave other people's sausages alone!
Why....It wasn't Kosher to do something like that.....whacking a sausage....in public.
No Reggie, it was more like the weight of the BASEBALL BAT on the head of the sausage costume that contributed to the fall...
Yeah, a real brat. The wurst. I never sausage a thing.
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