If your head is nodding, then you could be the next mascot for the Rocky Mountain Vibes.
The Colorado Springs baseball team, part of the independent Pioneer League, recently announced on X that it's looking to fill a variety of positions, including PA announcers, members of the grounds crew and promo team, parking lot attendants, ushers and "mascot performers," among other roles.
But to be inside the suit at UCHealth Park in Colorado Springs is to be much more than a mere mascot performer. You are Toasty, everyone's favorite s'more and the official mascot of the Vibes. Former Westword staff writer Conor McCormick-Cavanagh found that out for himself in 2022, when he spent a fall night moonlighting as the mascot.
"It’s really about trying to make people entertained, so it’s a lot of fun in that sense," former Toasty mascot Erich Salario told McCormick-Cavanagh when he donned the marshmallow outfit. "And it’s also really rewarding to see kids' faces when they really want to hug you or high-five. It’s super awesome to see that look."
Salario, who left his graham cracker-fillin' position in 2023 after graduating from high school, wasn't exaggerating. Toasty had a line of dozens of people and their children waiting to take photos after the game, and those fans extend beyond the field. According to the Vibes, hats featuring Toasty were among the top ten sellers for all of minor-league baseball in 2022.
Colorado Springs has had minor-league baseball on and off for decades, starting with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, from 1950 to 1958. The Sky Sox returned to Colorado Springs in 1988, serving as a Triple-A affiliate for the Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers until 2018, when the team was moved to San Antonio by owner David G. Elmore.
However, Elmore then moved one of his minor-league teams from Milwaukee to Colorado Springs, where it would compete under a new name. His ownership group settled on five finalists: the Colorado Springs Happy Campers, the Colorado Springs Lamb Chops, the Colorado Springs Punchy Pikas, the Colorado Springs Throttle Jockeys and the Rocky Mountain Oysters.
The Vibes won out, and Elmore and the organization instantly leaned into the new name.
"Toasty was born a healthy s'more on Monday, November 19, 2018, in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado," the Meet the Mascot page of the Vibes website has read for years. "Toasty was born big for a s'more, at 71 inches, 284 pounds and 9 ounces. A proud Colorado Springs native, Toasty enjoys spending his free time watching baseball, hiking Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods with his best friend Sox the Fox, and just going with the vibe."
The Vibes are now going into their fifth season, which is set to begin on May 22. Last year's stars included Reed Butz, Steven Colon and Dusty Stroup, but only Butz is coming back this year.
The organization did not respond to requests for an interview, but the Vibes are currently promoting a Vibes job fair on Thursday, April 18, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the banquet hall at UCHealth Park. Those who want a head start can fill out the application now on the Vibes website.
Wondering what it's like to embody Toasty for the night? Here's how our writer described it:
Pretty much everyone wanted to have their photo taken with Toasty, smiling, laughing and high-fiving me. I had to keep telling myself that these fans didn't love me, they loved Toasty, the marshmallow man with the best vibes. Still, it was enjoyable making people so happy.
Most fans were on their best behavior. Occasionally, though, a kid would whack Toasty's torso and Salario would have to shoo him away, saying "Toasty doesn't like that." But other kids reacted to Toasty like they were seeing a good friend for the first time in a while.
"Toasty, you remember me, right?" kids would ask, to which I'd nod the entire marshmallow affirmatively. "I knew he remembered me!" one shouted.
Salario also took me up to the banquet hall, where I got swarmed by more kids, and then to the corporate suites, where some adults were getting hammered on the cheap beer offered by the stadium.
"Where are your eyes?" one man asked me right before the seventh-inning stretch. Not wanting to blow Toasty's cover, I pointed to the sunglasses, which were about a foot below the place where I had an actual view. "Huh," he responded.
Other adults in the suites couldn't stop commenting on Toasty's calves, and I responded to their compliments by sticking my leg out and pretending to flex.
And then there were those adults who tried to guess who was inside the Toasty suit. "It's a twelve-year-old," one stated confidently. "It must be a girl," another said.
