Japan baseball team Chiba Lotte Marines have weird new mascot

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Mystery fish mascotImage source, Chiba Lotte Marines

A Japanese baseball team has a weird new mascot, in the shape of a fish that spits out the man inside the costume.

The Chiba Lotte Marines introduced the "mystery fish" alongside their existing mascots, which include a number of ducks.

It seems to be based on the anglerfish, a bony fish with a fleshy growth on its head used to attract prey.

The fish first appeared on the field a couple of weeks ago and it has been dominating the team's social media.

Baseball is huge in Japan and the national team is currently ranked in top position in the WBSC world rankings.

Nippon Professional Baseball is played in two leagues of six teams each - the Central League and the Pacific League - with Lotte playing in the latter.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
This is an actual angler fish

The Chiba Lotte Marines are currently bottom of the Pacific League, with just 19 wins.

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