There aren’t many available lines of work for a six-foot-tall raccoon like Rookie the Renegade. Therefore, when the Hudson Valley Renegades offered him the mascot position back in 1994, he jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the team. Over his years with the Renegades, Rookie has experienced many life-changing events right here in Dutchess Stadium; beginning the year he first joined the team.
During the 1994 season, Rookie was lucky enough to meet Rene Gade, another six-foot-tall raccoon, in the stadium. Soon, he was head-over-heels in love with her charming smile and love for the Renegades. The happy couple’s first date was a romantic candlelit dinner at the Raccoon Saloon in Marlboro on July 14, 1994. Just two short years later, on September 1, 1996, Rookie proposed to Rene.
After a plane circled the stadium with a banner reading “Rene marry me! – Rookie,” Rene accepted Rookie’s proposal (once she had kept him waiting for a few innings), and their wedding was in Dutchess Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd on Sunday, July 20, 1997. After a few years of marriage, Rookie and Rene had a child. Rascal, the Renegades’ third mascot, was born on August 27, 2000.
Rookie’s family became complete in 2004 when Roofus, Rookie’s dad, moved into Dutchess Stadium to live with his son’s family, and the Renegades became the minor league baseball team with the most mascots. To this day, Rookie and his family are a huge part of the fun and spectator participation that are so important to the team’s home games.
After being a part of the Renegades family for almost 16 years, Rascal has grown up to be the face of the team, and the official Renegades mascot. Although he “can be a petulant teenager at times” as Rick Zolzer, Vice President of the Hudson Valley Renegades said, Rascal has completely taken over for his dad and does a great job. When the team got a complete makeover in 2013, Rascal made his way onto the uniforms and logo of the team with his blue eyes, pointy ears and bushy tail all featured in the new logo. With Rascal as mascot for the Renegades, Rookie and Rene now spend the winter (and most of the summer) in sunny Boca Raton, Florida, but they do make the trip back to Dutchess Stadium a few times every season to visit their son and the Renegades’ fans.
Today, Rascal is also the face of Rascal’s Kids Club. Every Monday and Tuesday is Kids Club day at Dutchess Stadium, and members of Rascal’s Kids Club get free admission and the opportunity to run the bases after the game! Over the coming years, Rascal, his parents and the rest of his raccoon family will continue to represent the Renegades with pride and will make baseball fun for generations to come.
SOURCES:
http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?sid=t537&ymd=20100514&content_id=10036570&vkey=team5
http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?ymd=20130311&content_id=42593388&sid=t537&vkey=team3
Rick Zolzer, Vice President of the Renegades
IMAGES:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e5/ec/2f/e5ec2fe58e104f22333104816bdefc5e.jpg
http://www.recordonline.com/storyimage/TH/20150809/NEWS/150819973/AR/0/AR-150819973.jpg
Amy Lavigne Com 243 
