This is a list of current and former Major League Baseball mascots, sorted alphabetically. The tradition in the Major League Baseball mascot began with Mr. Met, introduced for the New York Mets when Shea Stadium opened in 1964. Although some mascots came and went over time, the popularity of mascots increased when The San Diego Chicken started independently making appearances at San Diego Padres games in 1977. Philadelphia Phillies management felt they needed a mascot similar to the Chicken, so they debuted the Phillie Phanatic in 1978. Today, all but three major-league teams have "official" mascots (Dodgers, Yankees, and Angels). Seven team mascots – Sluggerrr (Kansas City Royals), the San Diego Chicken, the Phillie Phanatic, Mr. Met, the Oriole Bird, Slider (Cleveland Guardians), and Southpaw (Chicago White Sox) – have been inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. Several others have been nominated since the Hall's creation in 2005. Mascots in MLB are often used to help market the team and league to young children. Current mascots Ace (Toronto Blue Jays) Ace is the official mascot of the Toronto Blue Jays. He, along with his female counterpart, "Diamond" replaced former mascot BJ Birdie before the 2002 season as a mascot duo. Like his predecessor, Ace is a large anthropomorphic blue jay. The mascot's name is baseball slang for a team's top starting pitcher (the "ace" of the staff, such as former Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay). In 2004, Ace became the sole mascot of the team after Diamond was removed by the Blue Jays prior to the start of the season. In 2011, Blue Jays fans were introduced to his younger brother Junior (see below). Barrelman (Milwaukee Brewers) Barrelman (aka "Owgust" and "Beer Barrel Man"), is an auxiliary mascot for the Milwaukee Brewers. He originated from a logo used by the original minor league Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association from the 1940s to 1952. He was resurrected and upgraded to be a costumed performing character in 2015. Before then, he was only used as an official logo image, and, since 1977, only appearing on special materials. Baxter the Bobcat (Arizona Diamondbacks) Baxter the Bobcat is the mascot of the Arizona Diamondbacks. His full name is D. Baxter the Bobcat, and he became the mascot in 2000. The mascot was created by Brantley Bell, the son of Jay Bell, one of the players on the Diamondbacks 1998 inaugural season roster.