Sluggerrr the Lion -- the mascot for the Kansas City Royals -- is accused of poking a fan's eye out with a steaming hot wiener during a Major League Baseball game last year ... and now the team is being sued over it.
MLB Mascot Accused of Gruesome Wiener Attack - TMZ.com
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by 306008 on Feb 23, 2010 1:09 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Steaming hot weiners?
Getting your eye poked out?
Are they sure they were at the Royals game when this happened?
Blinding someone with a weiner? What a dick thing to do.
by chiefstatnut on Feb 23, 2010 1:42 PM EST up reply actions
… or a using wIEner. Slugerrr can really be a tool sometimes.
by chiefstatnut on Feb 23, 2010 1:43 PM EST up reply actions
In the same vein
When reached by the Kansas City Star, the Royals spokesman was frank: no comment on this red-hot story.
Follow the case here!
John Coomer v. Kansas City Royals
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Hanes
you’re writing hot wiener briefs?
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Feb 23, 2010 1:47 PM EST up reply actions
Link to a PDF of the Petition
Here. They spelled Sluggerrr’s name wrong.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 23, 2010 2:33 PM EST up reply actions
"...'Slugger,' who is portrayed by a person in a lion's costume."
Well, that certainly sucks.
I guess “spoiler alert!” doesn’t show up too often in legal documents so I only have myself to blame for reading it.
by Crooow on Feb 23, 2010 4:05 PM EST up reply actions 13 recs
This is just as bad as the day my Dad
told me Sana Claus, Easter Bunny, Ewoks, and the Gobblin King weren’t real.
Though he did say David Bowie was a real person, he just didn’t control all the Gobblins found in mazes.
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 23, 2010 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
I also chuckled out loud at this
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 23, 2010 5:04 PM EST up reply actions
So this is why they're looking for a new employee to wear the Sluggerrrrrrr outfit?
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Feb 23, 2010 1:47 PM EST reply actions
I think there's a 99.9% chance that the two events are related
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 23, 2010 1:49 PM EST up reply actions
Actually...
The two are not one in the same. As unbelievable as it is I am Sluggerrrs handler from this season.
Byron, the man in the suit, has no longer been with the Royals since Id say around September. Pretty soon after the season ended I was informed that during one of our around town appearances that the man I had spent 81 games with was no longer “behind the suit.” It is a shame because he has been there since Sluggerrrs inception 13 years ago, and as far as I know he came up with the idea for Sluggerrr.
This is the first time Ive ever heard of this “accident” and this definitely sounds like something we would have heard about. I say “accident” because there is no way he, and sometimes even I, threw the hot dog hard enough to injure some one. Most throws were underhand, especially if the man was that close. I was PERSONALLY in charge of the wrapping of them and typically they just came in the standard wrapping you would recieve if you bought a hot dog from a vendor. On some occasions, but very few I recall, we did have to use Aluminum foul and in that case there may be some rare improbable circumstance that some one could be injured if it were to hit them directly in the eye, but again that is highly improbable. Especially with the speed that we threw them.
I post this as I a currently not a royals employee anymore. I am no longer affiliated with the ball club in any way shape or form. My personal thoughts and feelings are completely my own and do not reflect those of the Royals or of Sluggerrrs former owner/operator.
by KCTiger on Feb 24, 2010 2:56 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
CAN WE STOP WITH THE "SLUGGERRR IS A PERSON IN A LION SUIT?"
WON"T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 24, 2010 10:25 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
huh
that’s really odd and thanks for the info
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Feb 24, 2010 12:31 PM EST up reply actions
I thought cataracs are usually a genetic defect that take years to develop
or is it that the wiener caused the detached retina, and then they found the cataracs? Either way the guy should have saw a flying hot wiener headed right at his eye.
Further, how can a direct collision from a (fairly light weight) stadium hotdog(not tough at all), thrown by hand, by someone (male/female) in a suit that restricts movement, cause a detached retina?
That shit takes some force! Did they suit up Zack and tell him just to throw the heater?
But I guess the guy wasn’t aware of the idea of using his hands to stop wieners from coming toward his face, instead of using his EYE!
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 23, 2010 2:11 PM EST reply actions
Honestly, I don't think it takes much to get a detached retina
It just has to hit you in the eye the right way.
I'm far from an expert or doctor
but I agree. There is at least one recent incident of an MMA fighter having surgery for a detached retina due to an inadvertent eye poke (fingerless MMA gloves). I can’t find a video of the fight, but it didn’t look like there was that much force behind the guys finger (just like there may not have been in the weiner (a similarly shaped object). If either one hits your eye just right, you’ve got problems.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 24, 2010 10:48 AM EST up reply actions
Hahahah
Even our mascot hates us. It’s like they’re trying to make every Royals fan hate the team.
by Soria's Unibrow on Feb 23, 2010 2:48 PM EST reply actions
Jesus christ – settle the case. 25k = 3 innings of Jose Guillen’s salary…assuming he played 162 games. I’m pretty sure that the mascot issues/team getting sued stuff has nothing to do with the GM, but this lawsuit doesn’t exactly help in the “trying not to be the laughing stock of all of baseball” department. This should have been settled before news of it ever leaked.
Let's just trust the process.
by trusttheprocess on Feb 23, 2010 3:07 PM EST reply actions
I guarantee his actual claimed damages
will end up being more than $25,000. (As you’d expect with a detached retina.) The allegation in the Petition of “in excess of $25,000” is pled so that it’s clear the Circuit Court has jurisdiction over the case, and not the Associate Circuit Court (i.e. small claims). In Missouri, Associate Circuit courts have jurisdiction over any claim with a demand of $25,000 or under (R.S. Mo. 517.011).
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 23, 2010 3:17 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks for the legal clarification and your point is well-taken. I’d still like to think they could have settled this quietly. Unless the hot dog victim really wanted publicity out of it or something.
Let's just trust the process.
by trusttheprocess on Feb 23, 2010 3:21 PM EST up reply actions
It depends on how the plaintiff's lawyers
handled the claim. If the first that the Royals are seeing of the case is the Petition, then they obviously didn’t have a chance to talk settlement before it went public.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 23, 2010 3:29 PM EST up reply actions
Interesting. I thought that settling tended to be encouraged, and was an option when the potential defendant didn’t want the case to go public. I guess it could still get settled, but the wiener is out of the bun so to speak. I bet that TMZ has staff that just monitors filings to scoop celebrity stuff.
Let's just trust the process.
by trusttheprocess on Feb 23, 2010 3:33 PM EST up reply actions
Courts certainly encourage settlements
If you look in the docket entries for the case, there is a mediation scheduled for June 1. Many times, plaintiff’s counsel will send a demand letter to a potential defendant, summarizing the claim and requesting payment of the claimed damages. Unfortunately, that tactic often leads to nothing but flat denials of any liability by the defendant, and ends up just being a waste of time. So, plaintiff’s counsel will sometimes just draft up a petition (or complaint) and file it. Especially in cases (like this one) where doing so won’t take a bunch of time. And of course, an imminent statute of limitations issue takes precedence over a quick and quiet settlement for plaintiffs who want to make sure they don’t lose the right to bring their claims.
With computerized court records, it’s easier than ever to monitor new court filings. Sometimes plaintiff’s counsel will help things along by giving a reporter a heads-up about a particular case if they think publicity will help the case. It actually took a little while for this case to be reported—it was filed February 8.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 23, 2010 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
The back of your ticket stub absolves the Royals of responsibility doesn't it?
Or did they not cover flying hot dogs in the disclaimer?
You know
I actually thought about that. You’re right in that there is usually some language in fine print on the back of your ticket (at least an officially printed one). And I’m almost positive that there are signs on the 100 level warning people of batted balls. But I’ll bet the ticket language and the signs only cover foul balls, and not flying hot dogs.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 24, 2010 10:51 AM EST up reply actions
EULAs
End-User License Agreements (which I’m assuming is what the fine-print on the back of the tickets is considered) have in recent years come under a lot of fire and have hence lost much of their effectiveness in many cases.
In other words, corporate entities had become abusive and careless in their reliance on EULAs as a means absolving them from liability, and these days merely saying “you can’t sue us if you get hit in the eye with a hot dog and by purchasing this ticket you are effectively giving up your right to sue us” doesn’t necessarily preclude your baseball team from being successfully sued.
Contract of adhesion
is the term of art you’re looking for. It means any situation where one party has all (or nearly all) the bargaining power. The Royals are not going to take the time to negotiate the terms under which each of their fans will enter their facility, including any agreements to waive liability on the part of the team for batted balls, flying hot dogs, etc. They stick the language on the back of the ticket, put some signs up, etc., and, in the event of an injury, use them as evidence that they weren’t negligent because they warned the plaintiff of the potential danger. You’re right in that they are almost never held to be a complete bar to a plaintiff bringing a claim, but they can help a defendant as part of the negligence equation. It’s definitely worth the team’s time to print the warnings/waivers on the back of the tickets, and to put signs up in the stadium.
An “end-user license agreement” isn’t an appropriate term for ticket waivers because fans are legally “invitees” not “end-users” and the Royals aren’t licensing anything to the fans. I assume you are referring to the typical “Terms of Use” where computer software users are either required to click “accept” or not use/install the program. Those agreements can also be considered contracts of adhesion because the software company has all the bargaining power (i.e. a take it or leave it deal), and they don’t have the time to negotiate the terms of each individual licensing agreement with each potential software user. I can’t imagine they’ll be going away anytime soon, if ever, but you’re right in that many courts won’t necessarily uphold all their (one-sided) terms just because someone “agreed” to them. Just like a court may not dismiss a plaintiff’s injury claims due to a batted ball just because a team slaps a “waiver agreement” on the back of a ticket.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 24, 2010 1:43 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Technically...
…a ticket to a sporting event is actually a license… but not in the same sense as EULAs use that term. (You are a business invitee, but you are also a licensee vis-a-vis your right to occupy a specific seat). That’s just trivia, of course, since the “license” issue is not relevant to Coomer’s claim.
I would also suggest that, in addition to a potential waiver-based defense, anyone entering the park assumes the risk of flying objects entering the stands. It seems to me that assumption of risk is a better defense theory than waiver. (And, of course, you can expect both of those, along with plenty of other defenses, to be asserted in the settlement conference).
There is one issue with the disclaimer
It usually says something about objects leaving the field. Slugger was not on the field, nor was the hot dog. The guy probably has a case, but probably should have called the Royals first to talk settlement.
BTW...
…I seem to recall that the seminal assumption of risk case in Missouri actually involved a foul ball at a Cardinals game… but I can’t find it, so maybe my memory is wrong…
…does that sound familiar to anyone else?
Found it...
…and my memory was indeed faulty. Olds v. St. Louis Nat. Baseball Club. The Cardinals lost, on the theory that they didn’t have a sufficent screen behind the plate.
that seems very apt though
if the wiener really were thrown hard enough to be dangerous (unlikely), then that would be similar to not having a sufficient screen — the assumption of risk was not clear enough to have been implied/accepted by the injured.
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Feb 25, 2010 4:35 PM EST up reply actions
If it were me, I wouldn’t sue for money. I’d sue for the following:
crown club tickets
throwing out the first pitch
a night with Mrs. Podsednik
an interview by Dayton Moore by the interviewer of my choice
hiring Dave Cameron to the front office
an additional night with Mrs. Podsednik
a Chipotle lunch date with samurai zack
the right to manage a game from start to finish
Farnsworth has to mow my lawn
I get to select one player cut from the roster
…maybe a third night with Mrs. P if I want to play hard ball. (TWSS)
Let's just trust the process.
by trusttheprocess on Feb 23, 2010 3:26 PM EST reply actions 6 recs
Farnsworth has to mow my lawn
!!! Lol. Amazing! Can Jo Gui trim my bushes?
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
indeed
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 23, 2010 4:19 PM EST up reply actions
Big Fan
This has the ring of that Patton Oswalt movie in which he plays a big NY Giants fan, and he gets assaulted by one of their star players, but his obsession with his team prevents him from taking legal action.
All perfectly reasonable demands
But you’d have to represent yourself or pay your lawyer by the hour. Not much there to split up on a contigent fee arrangement.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 23, 2010 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
the second night of Mrs. P ought to cover it
Zapp Brannigan/Dayton Moore quote of the day: "[my most important sabermetric stats are] runs scored and runs driven in"
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Feb 23, 2010 4:40 PM EST up reply actions
true
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 23, 2010 4:58 PM EST up reply actions
I kinda wonder if she doesn't feel like she needs to work because of her looks
(is that my “out load” typing voice?)
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 23, 2010 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
yikes
“out LOUD”
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 23, 2010 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
ha.......
someones mind was else where.
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 23, 2010 5:23 PM EST up reply actions
Ha Samurai Zack!!!!!! YES!!!
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 23, 2010 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
I think he should take his samurai sword to the park. It would add to his intimidation factor if between innings he’s seen sharpening his instrument of death on a whetstone in the dugout. It would at least make anyone think twice about charging the mound against him.
Let's just trust the process.
by trusttheprocess on Feb 23, 2010 5:14 PM EST up reply actions
X
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 23, 2010 5:36 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
But I think Farnsworth
would do better, if he had to go to a pit bull shelter and play catch with the dogs
better for the teams win % that is.
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by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Feb 23, 2010 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
That's awesome, tho I have one question
Just one player?
This guy has suffered suffering.
…Plaintiff suffered pain and suffering…
Come on. Lewis Rice is a big firm. Can’t they draft better than that? I’m guessing even they don’t value the case too highly…
Jeff Sullivan's lightning fast recap
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 23, 2010 5:48 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
wrong thread
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 24, 2010 10:25 AM EST up reply actions
There's never an inappropriate time or place
for a guy talking into some woman’s boobs. Jim Bowden obviously agrees.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Feb 24, 2010 10:52 AM EST up reply actions
I giggled a lot when I read all of your responses on this thread
Especially the ‘three nights with Mrs. Podsednik" list of demands w/ d_f’s reply. Although the spoiler that Sluggerrrrr is actually an employee in a costume comes close.
Humor like this is helping to keep me from becoming totally apathetic to Moore’s Royals.
I have a theory...
Professor Farnsworth didn’t play in that game…I believe he was behind the Mask that fateful night, unleashing laser wieners all across the K…who knows how many eyes got taken out that we haven’t heard of yet…
BOOM! ROASTED!
by GoBabies!! on Feb 23, 2010 10:15 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I'd believe the Farns theory
except whoever was actually in there managed to hit his spots pretty well — the eye is really small
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 23, 2010 11:10 PM EST up reply actions
Ahh
but you assume that the Prof was aiming for said eye…I didn’t elaborate on my theory, so I can see how you made this mistake. Farnsworth was actually aiming for someone on the 1st base side of the field
BOOM! ROASTED!
If Andy Samberg sees this, rest assured it will be turned into a Laser Cats sequel.
Hey Lorne, is it ok if we show a short film on SNL this week?
Sure, whatever you want, as long as it’s not Laser Cats.
Oh it’s not.
Ok then.
It’s Laser Weiners in Laser Cats 5: Revenge of the Laser Weiners!!!
Oh god…
All I want is some wieners with frickin laser beams attached to them.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Feb 24, 2010 10:02 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Things we've learned today
Sluggerrr can probably throw harder than Jason Kendall.
Sluggerrr may throw more accurately than the pitcher version of Rick Ankiel
The Royals should have signed Coomer to teach Miguel Olivo how to block flying objects with his body.
Questions still unanswered:
Did Coomer eat the hotdog?
Unless I'm wrong...
My Twitter feed
by Top Ramen on Feb 24, 2010 12:35 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
2 Comments that a co-worker pointed out to me
That appeared on other sites that made me laugh histarically…
“Sluggerrr can’t be testifying, he’ll be a lion”
&
“That Sluggerrr’s a real Brat”
BOOM! ROASTED!
And of course...
“That guy should relish the game and quit being such a wiener. Someone should whip his buns.”
BOOM! ROASTED!
Border Patrol this morning:
“He must have really had some mustard on that toss”
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
I have been out of the country,
and have just now had a chance to ketchup on this story. I’m sad to hear that yet another big celebrity has been busted for using a wiener to cause harm.
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