A Twitter takeover from Dillon, the mascot of Oregon's Portland Pickles, resulted in the minor league baseball team getting themselves into quite the pickle indeed.
Things began innocently enough, when the team Tweeted their mascot Dillon would be taking over their Twitter account for the day, posting a wholesome picture of the jolly pickle man.
MASCOT TWITTER TAKEOVER! Our mascot, Dillon, will be taking over our Twitter account NOW! Our next tweet will be him. Feel free to ask any questions or just show your support!pic.twitter.com/TC2VnGeMto— Portland Pickles (@Portland Pickles) 1642023673
But it was a subsequent Tweet which sent the internet into a tizzy, where Dillon's face was missing, but his furry green thumb stood out like, well...
...a sore thumb?
new phone who dispic.twitter.com/57JBM6oQbL— Portland Pickles (@Portland Pickles) 1642023924
Unfortunately, his thumb didn't exactly look like a thumb in the picture and it's placement right between his legs only made the situation all the more awkward.
As was to be expected, Twitter users were fairly quick to react to the eye-catching picture, resulting in an even mix of amusement and discomfort as well as an expected usage of pickle innuendo.
Your followers aren\u2019t the only thing that\u2019s risingpic.twitter.com/wqoPpyVHCp— Altoona Curve (@Altoona Curve) 1642036180
Just when you thought no one would ever know who the Portland Pickles were, your mascot makes you famous. Way to go Dillon! \nI hope you see a raise on your next paycheck. Bigger than the raise you posted.\n#NoBigDill should be trending.— Don McMahon (@Don McMahon) 1642167923
that\u2026that is not kosherhttps://twitter.com/picklesbaseball/status/1481381825666699267\u00a0\u2026— Emerson Lotzia, Jr. (@Emerson Lotzia, Jr.) 1642033228
This is \u2026 jarring. https://twitter.com/picklesbaseball/status/1481381825666699267\u00a0\u2026— Angelica Thornton (@Angelica Thornton) 1642027436
You must be happy to see us.— Inland Empire 66ers (@Inland Empire 66ers) 1642024200
At least one Twitter user believed the highly suggestive photo was no accident.
Tagged Oscar Mayer Weiners and Corn Nuts!!! LOLpic.twitter.com/6fpRXkG7Z2— Michael Schwab (@Michael Schwab) 1642024815
After seeing all the attention their provocative post aroused, Dillon and the Portland Pickles quickly rushed to damage control on Twitter.
They made it clear it was indeed Dillon's thumb in the closely cropped picture and he was giving his fans a thumbs up.
We have ended our mascot takeover. It\u2019s come to our attention that this photo can be misinterpreted as a disturbing image. Dillon would like to go on record and say that he was trying to give his fans a thumbs up.https://twitter.com/picklesbaseball/status/1481381825666699267\u00a0\u2026— Portland Pickles (@Portland Pickles) 1642024182
The team also emphasized they hoped this might be a learning experience for everyone, sharing an Uproxx article on the incident and acknowledging they will always double check their posts from now on.
ALWAYS double check before posting pic.twitter.com/2mXVuohdk7— Portland Pickles (@Portland Pickles) 1642030141
However, the Oregon minor league team wasn't so mortified as to not have a little fun at their own expense.
Beginning with a self-deprecating tweet hinting an affiliated Portland team might have been responsible for the scandalous tweet.
We have identified the social media manager involved in the incident and will be launching an internal investigation. An unnamed @GherkinBaseball mascot was involved.https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2022/01/portland-pickles-end-mascot-takeover-after-posting-disturbing-image-on-twitter.html\u00a0\u2026— Portland Pickles (@Portland Pickles) 1642039550
Dillon himself also released a statement on the "scanDILL"—as they called it—and its aftermath.
Our mascot, Dillon T. Pickle, has released the following video statement regarding yesterdays scandill. You may be SHOCKED at his response:pic.twitter.com/GdbbhQDNGO— Portland Pickles (@Portland Pickles) 1642117724
The 49-second video scrolled through screenshots of all the cheeky responses of the now infamous photo, accompanied by a cleverly edited selection of audio clips and a dramatic underscoring.
Then, at the video's conclusion, with DIllon's head superimposed onto a politician, the jolly green mascot offered an explanation in an overlay:
"I was framed."
As Dillon's face was noticeably missing in the original picture, this could be true.
