DON'T GO BEATIN' OUR MEAT!! <G>
Victim: I'm Just A Sausage Running A Race
Randall Simon To Give Block A Bat
POSTED: 10:15 a.m. EDT July 11, 2003
UPDATED: 5:05 p.m. EDT July 11, 2003
MILWAUKEE -- One minute she was just a run-of-the-mill Italian sausage, the next, she was a national celebrity.
"It's crazy. That's all I can think of. It's just crazy. I'm just a sausage running a race. So, I never expected all this hoopla," the Italian sausage, Mandy Block (pictured, right), said
Block, 19, of South Milwaukee, said it all happened so fast. As she and the other sausages ran by the Pirates dugout Wednesday night, Pirates first baseman Randall Simon whacked her with a bat.
"I ran past him and I saw him kinda go like this, and I didn't think anything of it until I felt a blow, and I was like, 'I think that was the bat.' And I wasn't sure, but I fell down and I couldn't get up and I was fine. I was just embarrassed because I couldn't get up out of my costume," Block said.
Block has just a few minor scrapes -- something she explained to relatives all day Thursday.
"They all thought I was in the hospital and they all thought like I was like severely hurt. I'm like, 'I was in a huge stuffed sausage. I'm fine!'" Block said.
Veronica Piech was the hot dog in that race. She said it wasn't entirely a laughing matter.
"I have had knee surgery on my left knee, which was the knee I fell on, and I do have a volleyball athletic scholarship to be concerned about," Piech said on "Good Morning America."
Apologies are coming from the offending Pirate.
"I apologize to both of them again, and to the fans of Milwaukee," Simon (pictured, left) said.
After a trip in handcuffs to the Milwaukee County Jail, a rather meek Simon left with a $432 fine and a lesson learned.
"I just wanted to tap the mascot you know at the time, right on the head, so it can keep going and finish up the race, you know. I didn't have no plan to hurt her," Simon said.
The victimized sausage is forgiving.
"Sounds bad, but I do kind of feel bad that all of this is happening to him like he's this big dirty guy and he's, I'm sure, he's not. He's supposed to call and apologize and give me a bat, so I'm real excited and I just, I hope everything ends soon and this will all just be forgotten," Block said.
Block said she and the Brewers decided it would be best if she took Thursday off, but she'll be back out there, in all her Italian sausage glory, for this weekend's series with the Reds.
Ironically, Block also works in the deli at Pick 'N Save -- serving brats and sausages.
Bud Selig's Statement
"Major League Baseball deeply regrets the incident that took place at Miller Park last (Wednesday) night and extends its regards to the victims. We are reviewing the situation pending the diposition of the criminal charges against Randall Simon of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Obviously, the type of behavior exhibited by Mr. Simon is anathema to the family entertainment that we are trying to provide in our ball parks and is wholly unacceptable." |
