Tampa Bay Mascot: Rays Fired Me Without Explanation

By TOM FORNELLI and FANHOUSE.COM

Updated 5:01 PM EDT, Tue, Nov 18, 2008

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The Tampa Bay Rays rose to prominence this past baseball season and reached the World Series before their year ended on a sour note by losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, but as it turns out, it won't be just Rays players and fans who finish the year with a bitter taste in their mouths. For poor Kelly Frank, the end of the World Series wasn't just the end of her dream of seeing the Rays win the World Series, it was also the end of her being able to call herself employed.

Now the name Kelly Frank probably doesn't ring a bell for you, but that's because you know her better by her stage name. She goes by the name Raymond, and she really knows how to shake her moneymaker, though the Rays recently told her she won't be shaking it for them again anytime soon.

Performer Kelly Frank, the woman who perfected Raymond's trademark butt shimmy, said she does not know why she was fired Monday after five seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.

"I'm just as confused as everyone else," she said. "I really didn't get an explanation."

Not only did Kelly not get an explanation for her dismissal, but she's more confused than ever after being told by the organization that she "out-enthused" the Phillie Phanatic during the World Series. Fear not for Ms. Frank, though, as she'll continue to create mascot costumes for other teams like the Florida Gators and Denver Nuggets.

If there's any good news to come out of this, it's that all those male Rays fans who secretly found themselves turned on by Raymond's Butt Shimmy can take comfort knowing that it was a woman inside that costume.