Not Everybody Seems to Love The Phillie Phanatic’s Offseason Makeover

The Phillies played in front of 6,989 fans who were gathered at Spectrum Field this afternoon. Aaron Nola looked like Aaron Nola, Jay Bruce had a pair of doubles, and the Phils picked up their first win of the spring–but the baseball wasn’t the story.

Instead, the focus was on the Phillie Phanatic, who underwent some physical changes this offseason. Behold:

"New year, new me," – The Phillie Phanatic, probably. pic.twitter.com/ixjnifMDiq

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 23, 2020

Same personality, yes, but there are definitely some physical differences here:

• Slimmed down in the front
• Bigger in the rear
• Longer tail with a pronounced blue at the tip
• Stars around the eyes
• New shoes, different color socks, no stirrups

Update: Can’t forget about the scales:

You're gonna list out all the changes and not even mention that he has SCALES UNDER HIS ARMS now????

— Michael MPH 🇺🇸 (@PhillyPartTwo) February 23, 2020

Sorry, man. My bad.

I prefer the old version, I guess, but it seems the Phillies are trying to get out ahead of a pending legal battle with Phanatic creators Bonnie Erickson and Wade Harrison, so an update had to happen.

When I first heard about the legal showdown between the two sides last summer, I, like a lot of people, laughed it off as absurd. Then, copyright lawyer Josh Gerben reached out and alerted me to this video breakdown he put together:

The Phillies lawsuit over the rights to the Phanatic just got a little more serious.

The creators of the Phanatic issued a statement yesterday:

"We intend to respond to it and win."

Here is my breakdown of the case.👇#Phillies #Phanatic pic.twitter.com/lgs5j9firW

— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) August 9, 2019

Here were his main takeaways back then:

• Erickson and Harrison have a legitimate claim. The team needs to take them seriously.
• The Phillie Phanatic won’t be headed to another team because the Phillies own trademark rights as well as some copyrights, meaning Erickson and Harrison won’t be able to shop the mascot elsewhere.
• The Phillies will probably have to pay some additional compensation to Erickson and Harrison, but the Phanatic will still be doing his thing at Citizens Bank Park for years to come.

Turns out that Gerber was right, at least about the legitimate claim part. That claim was legitimate enough that the Phanatic was treated to an unnecessary winter makeover, though it remains to be seen how the case will be settled.

Anyway, most reactions to the Phanatic’s new look were, uh, less than enthusiastic:

The new Phillie Phanatic is not that different but also terrifyingly different at the same time pic.twitter.com/Ogqby1uRi6

— Jon DiMuzio (@jondimuzCBS) February 23, 2020

Me seeing even minor changes to my beloved Phillie Phanatic pic.twitter.com/5EUswpINWe

— AL (@MissSchliez) February 23, 2020

Don’t worry kids, the Phillies drove the old Phanatic to a big farm upstate where he can roam free and run around to his heart’s content. He’s much happier there…no we can’t go visit him. Because I said so, that’s why. Hey what’s on TV?

— CogginToboggan (@CogginToboggan) February 23, 2020

This looks like the Phanatic’s cousin who doesn’t have great hygiene and doesn’t get haircuts that often pic.twitter.com/HgjSnziJdd

— Did the Phillies lose? (@DidthePhilslose) February 23, 2020

People do not like change…especially when the change is bad….this change to the Phillie Phanatic…..tis bad

— Roy Bellamy (@roybelly) February 23, 2020

I don’t know. Doesn’t seem like a big deal to me, though the hands do kind of creep me out. My guess is that we will all adjust.