The sausage race in Milwaukee is one of the time honored traditions in baseball, replicated around the league with various mascot related tomfoolery. It's not too often you hear about an announcer or sideline reporter taking part in one of these things, but alas, CBS's Lesley Visser will participate in the race Friday night. Here's how it all came about via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Last January Visser was the keynote speaker at the annual Red Smith Banquet in Appleton. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin was on the dais with Visser and the two got to talking about, as Visser put it, "the giddy glory of the sausages." Melvin said maybe there was a date that would work out.
You have to admire the 58 year old Visser, one of the pioneers in the industry, for giving this a try (and yes, I'm well aware of all the jokes that can be made with this one). Evidently, the idea of celebrity racers and publicly releasing the names is a rarity as well, as was explained in the same article:
"We do receive a fair number of requests from celebrities to run in the race, ranging from media personalities to musicians, actors and professional athletes," Barnes said in an e-mail. "Each request is reviewed individually, but it’s safe to say that the vast majority of them are declined. While the race is designed to be fun for those watching, it is competitive and not an easy 'jog in the park' for the participants – especially 'rookie' racers. We also typically do not publicize or even release the names of those who run in the race."
As long as Randall Simon doesn't make a cameo appearance, hopefully Lesley Visser will be able to complete the sausage race without incident. Whatever the case, you have to think she'd do better than her ex, fellow broadcaster Dick Stockton.
