Marauders Mascot Is Community MVP

WithGrapefruit games coming to an end, and the Bradenton Marauders'' Florida State League schedule beginning another season next week, this also means local baseball fans will once again be treated to the amusing behavior of team mascot Marty at LECOM Park.

What's not to like about mascots?

Players, managers, coaches, they all come and go, up and down the organizational depth charts - as they should. Career progression is priority number one within baseball clubs and corporate America.But, mascots are created to stay.They are the moveable, interacting, and highly identifiable symbol of a local business that performs on an athletic field.

When the Marauders open up their 66-home game schedule on April 12 at 6:30 PM with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, fans in attendance will be expecting to see Marty in uniform.No bat in hand, his name not in Marauder skipper Jonathan Johnston's line-up card. Marty's position is clear - to spread a lot of cheer.

Aside from entertaining fans of all ages peppered throughout LECOM's 8,500 seats, Marty has a lot riding on his performances. In case you didn't know there is a Mascots Hall of Fame. No kidding.In Whiting, Indiana, just 30 minutes from downtown Chicago, on the south shore of Lake Michigan, sits a beautiful building whose purpose is specifically to honor mascots.

I'll be the first to suggest a campaign be started to have Marty the Maurader nominated for Hall induction. Just like the baseball shrine in Cooperstown, New York, the Mascot Hall of Fame has yearly inductions.

A mascot gets elected to the Hall by receiving votes from the public, members of the Hall of Fame, and executive committee members.

Marty's been around since the Marauders' 2010 inaugural season.

With the eye patch, his hat, and boots, there's no mistaking Marty at games, or when he's out and about Manatee County and vicinity representing the Marauders. He has been spreading good cheer at 5K runs, passing out lunches to students at their schools, and wherever his presence could draw attention to a good cause. Marty represents the innocence of sport.

Some of the best in the Pittsburgh Pirates' recent past–Gerrit Cole, Josh Bell, and Ke'Bryan Hayes–have made their way to MLB rosters, by way of honing their skills as Marauders.And for Marty, his character doesn't get ready, he stays ready to welcome fans to the Pirates' commitment to professional baseball in Manatee and surrounding counties.

Of the 26 members of the Mascot Hall of Fame, there are only six representatives of baseball clubs.

There's a lot of exciting baseball promised beginning next week through September 4, when the Marauders conclude their season at LECOM Park with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.

Regardless of a game's score or how far a ball hit travels over the outfield fence, Marty the Marauder is a winner for baseball fans of all ages. See for yourself, for another season beginning next week at LECOM Park.