As we watch professional baseball games in 2023, we take for granted that there will be mascots at the event, entertaining baseball fans as they cheer on their favorite team.
As we watch professional baseball games in 2023, we take for granted that there will be mascots at the event, entertaining baseball fans as they cheer on their favorite team.
However, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, mascots were just starting to become part of the professional sports culture and game day experience.
Mascots like the San Diego Chicken, the Phillie Phanatic, and the Pittsburgh Parrot were just starting to appear more commonly at baseball stadiums throughout the nation.
When the Cleveland Indians organization, following the lead of other professional baseball clubs, began to follow suit, one of their first mascots was the Baseball Bug.
Of course, a person is hired to wear the mascot uniform and to entertain the crowd. But did you know that a Geauga County resident, Ron Chernek, was the individual the Indians hired in late 1979 to be one of Cleveland’s first mascots?
Chernek’s Work Honored at Captains Game
This summer, Chernek was honored during a Lake County Captains game when the organization paid tribute to his work as the Baseball Bug.
Chernek was asked to throw out the game’s first pitch. Plus, the Captains recreated his old uniform and had one of their employees wear it, helping the Baseball Bug to make its first appearance at a professional baseball game in 42 years.
Chernek said he decided to have fun while throwing out the first pitch and entertain the crowd during the ceremony. When he went out to the mound, instead of throwing the baseball, he rolled it like a bowling ball, and it went right across the middle of home plate.
After the ceremony, Chernek signed autographs for more than an hour on a photo of him as the Baseball Bug taken during the early 1980s.
Chernek said the organization also showed many pictures of him as the Baseball Bug during his time with the Cleveland Indians throughout the game, and the Captains announcer referred to him as “a legend in Cleveland sports history” and “one of the greatest mascots ever.”
How Did Chernek Become the Baseball Bug?
Chernek explained that in 1979, the Indians had a duck mascot, but the individual who wore the suit was not able to maintain the position. Thus, the organization set out to hire a new person to perform as the mascot for the 1980 baseball season.
At the time the Indians were looking to hire someone to perform as the mascot, Chernek was working for Cleveland State University, and his colleague was a stadium announcer for the Indians who told him about the job. After interviewing, Chernek was contacted by an administrator working under Gabe Paul, who offered him the position.
Chernek’s Time as the Baseball Bug
The reason the Indians had a bug as their mascot, according to Chernek, was their tagline: “Indian Fever – Get Bitten by the Bug.”
The first year, the Baseball Bug was a cumbersome costume which limited the performer’s ability to move around and do flips and various stunts. So at the end of the 1980 season, the organization made the Baseball Bug a new costume that was easier to move around in, and also shortened the name of the costume to the Base Bug.
With his ability to move around more as the Base Bug, a new move that Chernek implemented during his second year was to run and slide across the dugout when, for example, one of the Cleveland Indians players stole second base.
Another memory he recounted was one of his greatest moments on the job.
He was working as the Baseball Bug when Geauga County resident Len Barker threw a perfect game. Most memorable during that game, Jorge Orta hit a home run for the Indians, and as Orta crossed home plate, Chernek was able to give him a high-five.
Another highlight of Barker’s perfect game, for Chernek, was sprinting out onto the field after Rick Manning caught the final out.
Why the Cleveland Indians Changed Mascots
It wouldn’t be long before the 1100 AM radio station WWWE, which broadcasted the Indians, wanted their mascot at the games. Thus, they offered to provide the mascot to the organization at a lower financial cost, Chernek explained. The mascot that then replaced the Base Bug was Tommy Hawk, who Chernek decided not to portray after being offered a job at National City Bank after the season ended in late 1981.
Chernek’s Career as a Banker and an Attorney
Chernek grew up in Parma and was a graduate of St. Ignatius High School. After graduating in 1974, he attended the University of Dayton, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in 1978.
While he worked for the Cleveland Indians, he was also completing his MBA, which he finished in 1981.
Working as an administrator at National City Bank, Chernek completed his law degree in 1987 from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University and advanced at National City to branch manager in the mid 80s.
Chernek worked in the banking industry for 11 years.
From 1992 until 2000, he had his own law practice, and over the past two decades has been an attorney with Reimer Law. In fact, Chernek has been a partner with the firm for the past 14 years.
He moved to Geauga County in 1997 and is currently a Newbury resident and 26-year parishioner at St. Helen’s Church.
Chernek also plays in a band called 2 Guys 12 Strings, which plays monthly at Sharon James Cellars in Newbury on Kinsman Road close to Punderson State Park.
In reflecting upon his opportunity to work for the Cleveland Indians organization, Chernek speaks fondly.
“It was a special two years,” he said. “It was a great experience, a really surreal moment for me, and I enjoyed entertaining the people and maybe bringing them a little bit of happiness during the game.”
