I'm about to commit baseball heresy.
At least the way it's practiced here in Philadelphia.
And this has nothing to do with my Letter From the Editor print column this week, in which I take the Oakland A's to task for doing the unthinkable - taking their games off radio and instead streaming them on an app.
I guess you can call me a baseball purist.
Which is one of the reasons I've never been all that enamored of the Phillie Phanatic.
If you haven't noticed, the big, green furry mascot has been in the news recently, most likely for a way the Phillies would rather not be the case.
No, he hasn't assaulted anyone, as was the unfortunate circumstance with Gritty, his orange counterpart with the Flyers. That charge was drop-kicked by the authorities, by the way.
The Phillies and the original creator of the Phanatic have been engaging in a bit of a tug of war over who owns the rights to the beloved costume which made its debut back in 1978.
The copyright agreement on the Phanatic expires in June. The designers, Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison, say the design belongs to them. The Phillies, not surprisingly, don't see it that way. They believe the team has developed the Phanatic far beyond its original design.
Yesterday, the team took another step in the battle, introducing a somewhat modified Phillie Phanatic. He now has stars outlining his eyes, a power blue tail and a set of scales under his arms.
Everyone has an opinion on the Phanatic.
Here's mine. It's great for kids. But it's not why I love baseball, nor why I go go the stadium to take in a game.
In fact, you can make an argument that he's a distraction. I've always wondered about the danger of kids - and lots of other fans - paying more attention to the Phanatic than what's going on out on the field. Things - including bats and balls - have a tendency to come flying into the stands during games. It would help if people were paying attention and saw them coming.
In the end, the Phanatic may not be my cup of tea, but her certainly is a beloved part of Philadelphia sports lore.
It's a shame he's now at the center of a legal tug of war.
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