“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the [sausages] being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.”— Vladimir Nabokov
March 9, 2011
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Breaking News
Fan says he got an eyeful in hot-dog toss by Royals’ mascot
By MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star
Specifically at issue: Did a hot dog, flung from the paw of Kansas City Royals’ mascot Sluggerrr, cause serious and lasting injury to the left eye of baseball fan John Coomer at a night game on Sept. 8, 2009?
Lawyer Bob Tormohlen, who represents Coomer, contended in opening arguments that his client suffered a detached retina and has undergone three surgeries to correct the alleged damage from the flying frank. Scott Hofer, a lawyer representing the Royals, contended that Coomer’s version of events was incorrect and that he should have taken more responsibility for his personal safety.
To delve into hot-dog chucking at Kauffman Stadium, Tormohlen called Byron Shores to the witness stand. Shores, an affable man who wore the padded Sluggerrr suit from February 1996 to October 2009, said he had no recollection of the throw that purportedly caught Coomer in the eye and didn’t learn of the allegations until just before he was fired.
Shores said he never was told why he was fired.
In his lawsuit, Coomer said that Sluggerrr attempted to heave the frank into the stands with a behind-the-back throw. Instead of placing the hot dog in a high arch, Sluggerrr lost control and threw it right into Coomer’s eye, the suit alleged.
Coomer is a veteran Royals fan, having attended 175 games.
Shores is a veteran mascot, having spent time inside the furry suits since his college years, when he wore the Truman the Tiger costume at Mizzou and once earned the title of Big 8 Mascot of the Year.
Shores said he always tried to toss the hot dogs, which weighed in at 4 1/2 ounces, safely. He spent two years traveling the country teaching mascot classes that included safety training, he said.
At the stadium, he fired some hot dogs into the stands through an air cannon. Those dogs wore bubble-wrap blankets. But the ones Sluggerrr threw by hand were wrapped in foil.
Shores described multiple types of tosses, including underhand, overhand and behind the back.
He said he usually made eye contact with someone before sending a frank their way and that he could see well while looking out of the costume.
During cross examination, Hofer showed Shores video of a toss he made during a 2009 game and invited him to discuss the hot dog’s “arc” and “velocity” as it sailed away.
Shores stayed away from the technical language.
“I would try and put more mustard on it,” Shores said. “I guess that’s appropriate for a hot dog.”
Lawyers, who entered a hot dog into evidence Tuesday, expect the trial to last into Thursday.
The flight dynamics of a foil-wrapped hot dog are the subject of intense scrutiny in Jackson County Circuit Court this week.
(Credit to Ste-Ro)
