Ryan Beil: 3 new mascots the Canadians need for their iconic Sushi Race

Writing a weekly column about all things baseball can be a real roller coaster ride when it comes to picking topics. Sometimes you have a well-thought-out (well-researched even) premise that seems to write itself.

And sometimes you just have to throw your hands up in the air, scream “ahhhhh” and hope you don’t fall off the track when you hit the loop de loop. 

Perhaps you can guess, based on the above half-baked metaphor, that this is just one of those weeks. 

As of this writing, our beloved and cherished Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club have taken first place in the Northwest League standings, having won eight of their last 10 games. And while it’s a little early in the first half of the season to be scoreboard watching, it seems like a perfect opportunity to dip into the old vault o’ not-quite-fleshed-out-column-ideas to have a little fun as a nice little treat.

So let’s talk Sushi Race. 

It’s no secret that I have a few strong opinions when it comes to the Sushi Race that takes place after the 4th inning at Nat Bailey Stadium. 

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, a brief explanation: The Sushi Race is a foot race between mascots, representing different sushi-related (or sushi-adjacent) characters, that happens during an inning break at a Vancouver Canadians baseball game.

It’s a fun little distraction that brings joy to all who watch it. One of the many reasons to come experience a ballgame at the Nat.

With the field currently standing at six racers (“Chef” Wasabi, Kappa Maki, Ms. BC Roll, Sadaharu Soy, and the Chopstick twins) I feel it’s time to shake things up a bit and expand the number of participants in an effort to maximize the mayhem. It is my long-held opinion that you can, in fact, never have too much of a good thing and anyone who tells you otherwise is a square. 

So today, I wanted to float a few ideas by you all for three new characters that I think would be a welcome addition to the hallowed tradition of the Sushi Race. 

1. Plato the Plate

The addition of the Chopstick twins into the mix really opened the door for other non-food-related characters to join the race. An anthropomorphic Plate running its heart out would not only be fun to watch but also a bit dangerous. I’m no physicist but a plate doesn’t offer much in the way of aerodynamics, which might lead to the plate falling over, which might lead to a crash or two, and crashes can be fun. As they say, no one goes to Nascar to watch them drive around in a perfect circle.

2. Ginger aka The Gingenator

“Chef” Wasabi needs a foil. The Joker to his Batman. The Reggie to his Archie. The Sith to his Jedi. It makes perfect sense to introduce a ginger character to really spice things up. An epic rivalry would be born. Everyone in the ballpark would have to pick sides. You’d either be #teamwasabi or #teamginger. There would be no middle ground. 

3. A Canada goose

The groundskeepers hate them and the City of Vancouver is about to cull them, but I love a Canada goose. They couldn’t care less what you think about them and are seemingly unafraid of anything. Love them or hate them, they’re tough, they love to land and graze in the outfield and they’re everywhere in this town. It would certainly be a polarizing character, to say the least, but maybe that’s just what the Sushi Race needs right now.

Do you have any ideas for new Sushi Race Participants? Let me know. As always, you can find me booing Wasabi at the Nat!