But Burgoyne has long protected the mascot like a professional wrestler protecting the business. <\/p>\n
\u00bb READ MORE: Kyle Schwarber falls in Home Run Derby heartbreaker, Cardinals\u2019 Jordan Walker wins in bonus time<\/a><\/p>\n He\u2019s not the Phanatic but the Phanatic\u2019s best friend. He talks about the mascot in third person \u2014 \u201cThe Phanatic will be busy on Tuesday,\u201d Burgoyne said of the All-Star Game \u2014 and does his best to separate the man from the bird. He knows another big-league mascot who is a teacher during the day but keeps his other job so secretive that people in his school don\u2019t know he\u2019s a mascot.<\/p>\n \u201cI respect the hell out of that,\u201d Burgoyne said.<\/p>\n So Burgoyne, who is participating in his 30th All-Star Game, needed some convincing to peel back the curtain for a documentary expected to premiere later this year about the mascot he brings to life every summer. But then Burgoyne remembered watching a documentary about the Muppets that showed Jim Henson pulling the strings for Kermit The Frog. If Henson could do that, then Burgoyne could talk about what he does.<\/p>\n The documentary \u2014 which is titled Big Phan \u2014 is directed by Flourtown native Hoag Kepner, the brother of longtime baseball writer Tyler Kepner. It tells the history of the mascot, Burgoyne said, and \u201chas a lot of heart.\u201d And it allowed Burgoyne a chance to admit that he\u2019s more than just a friend of the Phanatic.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never want to think that there\u2019s someone in the costume,\u201d Burgoyne said. \u201cI can look at an old clip of the Phanatic and I\u2019m not thinking, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s me in there.\u2019 I\u2019m just thinking \u2018That\u2019s the Phanatic.\u2019 You want that magic to stay alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: For 20 years, the Phillie Phanatic has doubled as a children\u2019s author, and nothing gives him a bigger thrill<\/a><\/p>\n Burgoyne\u2019s first All-Star Game was in 1996 at Veterans Stadium when Major League Baseball invited every mascot for the first time. The mascots were told to dress across Pattison Avenue at the Spectrum before the Home Run Derby, but the locker rooms were under construction when they arrived. So they took over the Vet\u2019s umpire dressing room, which equipment manager Joey Dunn had already set up for the next day\u2019s All-Star Game.<\/p>\n \u201cHere come the mascots trashing the place on Monday,\u201d Burgoyne said. \u201cMLB has learned a lot over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n The game has become the annual gathering of the mascots as they didn\u2019t have a reason to come together before MLB started to invite them each July.<\/p>\n MLB All-Star Game in Philly<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/circle_outline_footer_light_theme.png\"\/)
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