Sea Dogs mascot Slugger to walk from Fenway to Hadlock

The walk, which will include the furry character’s original ‘trainer,’ will raise money to benefit children with Tourette’s syndrome.

The distance between Fenway Park and Hadlock Field is 107 miles. How far is that in Slugger steps?

Justin LeBlanc, center, who animated Slugger for the first three years of the franchise’s existence in Portland, will walk with the Sea Dogs mascot from Fenway to Hadlock to raise funds for children with Tourette’s syndrome. At right is LeBlanc’s son Theo, who has Tourette’s.

Justin LeBlanc plans to find out.

In celebration of the popular baseball mascot’s first appearance at Hadlock Field 20 years ago this spring, the Portland Sea Dogs on Tuesday afternoon announced a walking journey for Slugger and “his original trainer” from Fenway to Hadlock in early May to raise awareness of and funds for children with Tourette’s syndrome.

LeBlanc, now a lawyer in Portland, “animated” Slugger for the first three years of the franchise’s two-decade existence in Portland. He left after the 1996 season to attend law school in Georgia but has returned to Hadlock many times since to fill in. His youngest son, Theo, 11, has Tourette’s, a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive involuntary movements or vocalizations called tics.

Like a lot of young children, Theo wanted no part of the furry mascot with the oversized head and enormous eyes when Slugger first approached him.

“He used to be deathly afraid,” said LeBlanc, 42. “Now he just thinks I’m an idiot.”

LeBlanc’s fundraising goal is $20,000. He said the money will be split between two youth acceptance programs, a weeklong overnight camp in Georgia for kids with Tourette’s called Camp Twitch and Shout, and a youth ambassador program in which the National Tourette Syndrome Association trains teens ages 13-17 to teach understanding, sensitivity and tolerance.

A link to the Slugger’s Walk donation page can be found here.

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