4 Times the Phillie Phanatic was the Craziest Mascot in MLB

Probably the Phanatic’s most famously chaotic moment was his fight with the late Tommy Lasorda, who seemed to have a dislike of opposing mascots.

On August 28, 1988, then-Dodgers manager Lasorda had finally had enough of the young Phanatic, who was playing with a mannequin of Lasorda on the field.

Lasorda stormed the field at Veterans Stadium and strode towards the mascot, moving his ATV away before running back and tackling the Phanatic to the ground. He smacked the mascot with the mannequin before leaving the field again as the Phanatic rode away on his beloved vehicle.

Lasorda grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, and loved to go home to Pennsylvania when the Dodgers played there. And not to burst the bubble of this story, but he and the Phanatic at the time, Dave Raymond, were actually longtime friends off the field.

When Lasorda passed away in January 2021, this is how the original Phanatic remembered him:

"“He was one of the last vestiges of something that’s disappearing in baseball — personality, characters. He inspired passion and love for the game in people. He brought fun to the game and I cherish him for that.”"