3 fun ways Philadelphia Phillies can reintroduce original Phanatic mascot
By Matt Rappa
2. The ‘OG’ Phanatic wanted to socially distance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Phillie Phanatic is no stranger to Hollywood and the filmmaking process. After all, he experienced this first-hand upon the mid-2000s release of “The Phillie Phanatic Goes Hollywood.” As part of the film, the mascot flew to Tinseltown to make and star in his own movie.
An often-used filming technique is the use of stunt doubles, a trained professional who looks and appears as the actor they are replacing for a particular scene.
Having watched home Phillies games since 1978, a 40-plus-year stretch, the Phanatic may have just been finally ready to take a break after the 2019 season. Or, he wanted to take extra precautions given the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That year featured another non-winning season with an even 81-81 record. It was also the club’s final year under then-manager Gabe Kapler, who was named National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after his first season leading the National League West’s San Francisco Giants.
Entering the 2022 season, the Phillies could say that the Phanatic enlisted the help of one of his former stunt doubles, as he wanted to socially distance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that he is fully vaccinated, including receiving his booster shot, the mascot is ready to once again root on the home team at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies unveiled the modified Phanatic in February 2020, about one month before the pandemic began. Perhaps, they could say the Phanatic caught wind of news from overseas, and was at the “phorefront” of taking extra social distancing precautions.