PORTLAND, Maine — Editor's note: The video attached to this story first aired April 8.
For many Portland residents and Mainers alike, Slugger the Sea Dog is a popular household name.
The beloved mascot for the Portland Sea Dogs minor league baseball team not only makes an impact on the surrounding community but nationally, too.
This year, Slugger the Sea Dog won two 2022 Mascot Hall of Fame Awards: Minor League Greatest Community Impact and Minor League Best In-Game Routine or Skit.
The popular mascot won the Greatest Community Impact award for minor league teams because of its outreach and dedication to supporting the Maine Children’s Cancer Program (MCCP) with the team's “Strike Out Cancer in Kids” (SOCK) program, according to the Mascot Hall of Fame website.
The website explains that each season, the Portland Sea Dogs select one child from MCCP to represent all MCCP children as "The Slugger Kid." Slugger the Sea Dog and The Slugger Kid work closely together throughout the season to ensure the success of the SOCK program.
Additionally, each season four children, who may be former or current MCCP patients, are selected to be a "Hero at Hadlock" for one game, according to the website.
Lastly, the website acknowledges Slugger's many visits to children at MCCP as well as to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital.
"A vote for Slugger is also a vote for all his friends at the Maine Children's Cancer Program, as he says, 'They are the true heroes,'" the Mascot Hall of Fame website wrote.
Slugger the Sea Dog was also awarded the Best In-Game Routine or Skit in the minor league teams category for the "Go Go Slugger Ranger" performance.
The in-game skit shows a T-Rex (someone in a costume, of course) attacking a city filled with cardboard skyscrapers on Hadlock Field. Slugger comes to the rescue in a superhero costume, fighting off the gnarly dinosaur and saving the city.
You can watch the award-winning skit below:
For more information about the Portland Sea Dogs and Slugger the Sea Dog, click here. Tickets for the 2023 season are already on sale here.