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The new Braves mascot has an odd name and looks kinda familiar

New Braves mascot ‘Blooper’ looks an awful lot like the famous Phillie Phanatic. (Braves/AP)
New Braves mascot ‘Blooper’ looks an awful lot like the famous Phillie Phanatic. (Braves/AP)

The Atlanta Braves have been promising a new mascot for several weeks. On Saturday, the big reveal finally happened during the team’s ChopFest fan event at SunTrust Park, and we’ll just say the hype easily surpassed the payoff, at least based on the reactions of Braves fans.

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For starters, the mascot is named “Blooper.”

We assume the Braves were going for the baseball reference to a hit that barely drops in over the infield. You know, a bloop hit? Unfortunately, most fans are leaning toward the mistake and/or blunder definition of blooper.

Making matters worse, a lot of fans are pointing out Blooper’s resemblance to another baseball mascot who happens to represent one of the Braves’ biggest rivals.

It really isn’t a stretch to say Blooper looks like the Phillie Phanatic. In fact, several fans instantly made that comparison, so there’s no doubt that’s the way they see it.

Granted, it usually takes a good while before a new mascot grows on a fanbase. In due time, it’s possible the same will happen with Blooper.

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Then again, the dissatisfaction here is pretty strong.

That’s a reference to Homer, the outgoing Braves mascot who looked like Mr. Met’s twin.

Apparently going from a Mets lookalike to a Phillies lookalike mascot isn’t considered an upgrade in Atlanta. Maybe they would have been better off just acquiring this guy during the Marlins fire sale:

It’s Miami Marlins mascot Billy the Marlin! (AP)
It’s Miami Marlins mascot Billy the Marlin! (AP)

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Yahoo Sports Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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