Phillies' Phanatic Loses Top Spot in Mascot Rankings Against Who?

The legendary Philadelphia Phillies mascot just missed out on the top spot among sports mascots against two mascots from the same team.

Oct 3, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies mascot, Phillie Phanatic reacts with the crowd before game one of the Wildcard series for the 2023 MLB playoffs against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

There are few things in sports less recognizable than the Philadelphia Phillies mascot, the Phillie Phanatic. Still, there is still one team that beat them out for the top spot.

Casino.ca recently did a study in which 2,000 MLB fans were asked about mascot popularity. They were given questions about who their favorite mascot was, which is the scariest, what mascots bring to the game experience and what they like most about mascots.

The Phanatic took the top spot in the MLB with relative ease. The only other baseball mascot that came close was Mr. Met from the New York Mets. Blooper from the Atlanta Braves, Clark the Cub from the Chicago Cubs and Billy the Marlin from the Miami Marlins finished out the top-five.

When they broadened the study to include mascots from other sports, however, things changed and the iconic green monster fell down to No. 3 on the list. The two ahead of it both came from the same team, as well.

Benny the Bull and Benji of the Chicago Bulls took the top two spots on the list. Both Benny and the Phanatic have been around since befor the 1980s, but the Bulls introduced their furry friend almost a decade before the Phillies.

Both come from teams in huge sports cities and have been known for their hijinks in all sorts of different situations. It's should be no surprise that they are the two most popular.

An interesting part of this study is that the mascot that finished just behind the Phanatic also hails from Philadelphia. Gritty, of the Philadelphia Flyers, found himself at No. 4 on the list.

The two have one thing in common. People find them scary.

The Phillies' mascot was also ranked as the scariest/most intimidating mascot in all of baseball. While they didn't do a study on how scary people find Gritty, one look at him should suffice.

Overall, casino.ca's survey returned one sentiment with near unanimous agreement. People like mascots. An astounding 90% of those who answered said that they thought the characters brought something to positive to the game experience.

Most people said that entertainment was the top reason they liked them. The next highest response, thought over 40% less popular, was that they thought they boost team morale.

Though the Phanatic may not be the most popular mascot in all of sports, his impact on the sport of baseball is still clear. It's hard to imagine anyone over taking that spot any time soon.