Expert: Rebecca Toney - 5/11/2001

Question
what is slider actually?

Answer
Jerry,

As best as I can tell, Slider is a walking purple shag carpet.  I don't think he is supposed to "be" anything in particular--kind of like a Dr. Seuss creature.  The Indians certainly couldn't do anything with a Chief Wahoo mascot--there would have been too much political uproar.  It wouldn't really make sense to have a different animal as a mascot, so they just made up an imaginary creature.  (That way nobody can complain or be offended.)

I recently attended a talk where Jeff Overton from the Indians front office explained that Slider was created as a Cleveland Indians "brand" designed to appeal to young children.  (There are many "brands"--the team, the ballpark, the clothing line, etc...)  Children who come to the ballpark, especially those too young to understand baseball, interact with Slider and come away with a positive experience with the Cleveland Indians.  So they really don't care if teens and adults scratch their heads about what Slider is and think he's kind of strange.  Little kids love him!

Hope that wasn't too long winded of a response for you!  

Rebecca