Easy dance moves for mascots11/21/2023 ![]() When the Rays changed their colors and name from the Devil Rays last year, rumors of a new mascot swirled. She succeeded Christopherson in 2005.Ĭhildren loved her pantomiming and booty-shaking.Ī fan pushed her to the ground and broke her right arm in a 2005 game, keeping her off the field for eight weeks. Frank quit the team after one season to become a Raymond substitute in 2002. She found her way to baseball as K-O the kangaroo for minor league baseball's Brockton Rox. That same year, she created her own costume business, AMAZING!! Mascots. The Rays would not comment on how much Frank earned.įrank got into the mascot business as a teenager, becoming Geiko the mascot for the defunct Miami Fusion soccer team while in high school. Mascots can earn anywhere from $40,000 to six figures and can earn a percentage of appearance fees, said Bruce. "It requires a level of physicality that most people can't understand." Professional mascots are not easy to replace, said Christopher Bruce, a jester at large at the Mascot Boot Camp in Newark, Del., where Frank once trained. ![]() "I could see how she might have butted heads with other people in the organization. Shawn Christopherson said he was let go in 2004 after a former Rays employee complained he earned too much money. Thanks for the memories, folks."įrank is the second Raymond mascot to be fired since the team introduced the character in 1999. On Tuesday, the MySpace page Frank created for Raymond read, "Raymond is unemployed. "My severance package is kind of up in the air right now, so. I really didn't get an explanation," she said. She maintained a Raymond blog and posted Raymond videos on .įrank was reluctant to discuss her dismissal in detail. As a Rays' employee, Frank also worked on other marketing projects, including the cowbell promotions at several Rays games. "It always seemed to me that Raymond was one of the top ones, and a lot of it was what she brought to the costume."įrank said she was praised as recently as three weeks ago, when her supervisors told her she outfanned the Phanatic during the World Series.īut on Monday, she was told she no longer had a job. "Kelly was great," said Tom Burgoyne, the Phanatic for the Philadelphia Phillies since 1994. She really explored every aspect and every way to get people involved."įrank was a rising star in the professional mascot business, supporters said, the rare blend of entertainer, marketing guru and spokesperson, always ready to cheer up sick kids in the hospital or drop it like it's hot during a drawn-out eighth inning. ![]() "She was always amped up, funny without saying anything. "It's like losing a player," said Cary Strukel, the fan who goes by the name Cowbell Kid. But for some, Raymond's wiggle will never be the same without Frank. Many fans didn't even know who was inside the furry Raymond suit. ![]()
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