Inside The Orioles

Where Does Legendary Baltimore Orioles Mascot Rank Among Its MLB Peers?

The Baltimore Orioles have one of the longest-running mascots in MLB, but has his popularity stood the test of time?

Dylan Sanders

The Oriole Bird delighting parade goers along the way. The 27th annual holiday parade made it's way through downtown Sarasota, Saturday night.
The Oriole Bird delighting parade goers along the way. The 27th annual holiday parade made it's way through downtown Sarasota, Saturday night. / THOMAS BENDER/HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Baltimore Orioles mascot, aptly named Oriole Bird, has been around for 40 years in the form it's known for now. How popular is he outside of the Orioles fandom?

The folks over at casino.ca recently did a study where they asked 2,000 baseball fans a series of questions about mascots. The inquiries ranged from popularity, what do they bring to the game experience, how scary they were and more.

Among other MLB mascots, Baltimore's bird came in at No. 9 overall. It had a very similar score to those surrounding it on either side, Pirate Parrot of the Pittsburgh Pirates ahead and Fredbird from the St. Louis Cardinals just behind.

All three bird mascots were ranked fairly close together in terms of popularity, but the Orioles' had one standout difference. It was voted the least scary/intimidating of the three and finished as one of the least in all of baseball.

Given that it was initially brought around to be the team's head cheerleader when it hatched out of a giant egg back in 1954, that's likely the exact vibe that the creators were hoping to achieve. Mr. Oriole was the first live mascot in MLB history. Looking to be more endearing than intimidating.

"The most notable feature of Mr. Oriole was not his look, rather it was his musical ability. After being introduced to the fans, he took out a trumpet from under his wing and played it through his beak," said MLB writer Nick Jones. "Something unlike anything fans will see in modern days!"

The first iteration did go away after 1955, but it was brought back in 1979 where it would take the name of Oriole Bird and looked much more like the team's logo than his predecessor.

The bird as it was named to the Mascot Hall of Fame back in 2020.

Oriole Bird recently had some fun outside of the stadium it receiver an 'honorary mascot award' from American University in Washington, D.C. He accompanied new owner David Rubenstein as he was a commencement speaker for the Kogod School of Business graduates.

The study that casino.ca did returned heavily in favor of what mascots bring to the game experience with 90% of those surveyed giving them a positive review. Most fans said that they were intimidating while others hoped they boosted team morale.

Oriole bird has been around for a long time and will likely continue to entertain Baltimore baseball fans for years to come.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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