Dispatches from Seattle
Well, who would’ve thought…a win on Opening Day! I’ll be honest: not me. Here are some thoughts from T-Mobile Park, way up in the 300-section on the third-base side.
Impressions
- I came away really impressed by Tyler O’Neill. A walk, a hit, a stolen base, a home run. I learned later that his homer was a record-breaking fifth in a row on Opening Day. He did a good job in the first inning of holding Julio Rodríguez on third after fielding Jorge Polanco’s single.
- Kenley Jansen made possibly the weakest pickoff attempt (of Mitch Haniger, at first) in the history of the world. It was almost ironic.
- The Sox had a nice 6-4-3 double play to end the first, and no major defensive glitches. If this pattern holds, how long will it be before we can begin to relax?
- There was aggressive, strike-it-rich baserunning, and then there was almost comical, what-was-that baserunning by the Sox. Ceddanne Rafaela stretched a double into a triple in the sixth inning. (This is normally when someone might write that he “legged out a triple” but that would imply he was going fast. This whole sequence looked like it was in slow motion to me, and I was screaming on the inside.) It was a bananas decision, but he made it work because Connor Wong was able to bring him in, two batters later. Then there was Jarren Duran. Third base was left unmanned as he stood there in the ninth. He went—literally—two-thirds of the way to home plate, taunting the Mariners pitcher Austin Voth…but never went all the way. What was that?
Old Friends
Luis Urías got a big welcome.
Spotted
- A Mike Greenwell jersey!
- Two little girls, about six years old, with the prettiest baseball-themed ribbons in their hair. It was clear they got dressed up for a big day. I love to see the game growing with females and with little kids.
Only in Seattle
- “Sexy Tofu” can be added as a protein option to your Hawaiian Luau Lunch Plate.
- Giant salmon mascots emerged on the field and raced in a competitive Salmon Run. Yes really! Felix Hernandez gave the winner a hug by the home dugout.
Only Matters in Seattle
So many Haniger jerseys that have become current again with his return to the Mariners. Good for them.
In Seattle, But Might Belong Somewhere Else
The Gritty Cam. Huh? There was nothing gritty about it, as it featured mostly cherubic little kids. Far more interesting if it were, say, the Grubby Cam and they showed kids with chocolate ice cream smeared all around their mouths. Or, if they’re really wedded to this Gritty Cam name, how about negotiating some kind of cross-city, cross-sport license where Gritty can show up on every fifth frame or something? There’s got to be some Philly native who lives out here now who’d be thrilled to jump out from behind a trash can every couple innings. Make this make sense for me, please.
The Sox and Their Fans
There were very few Red Sox fans on the train or outside the park. This is highly unusual.
There were a lot of boos when the Sox were introduced, which is also unusual here. There’s definitely a more-or-less one-sided rivalry as I investigated last season, but normally, Mariners fans aren’t ones to boo. Also, the Sox fans’ cheering would have simply drowned out anything else, but that was then, this is now, and FSG is chasing away fans even from 3,000 miles away.
My seatmate, who hassled me over my hat and jersey then seemed to feel bad about it, said he’d never seen so few Sox fans, and I agree with that. His Sox-fan friend was supposed to join him, but texted him at the last minute that he wasn’t going to make it. The guy gave me a knowing look that said we both knew why he backed out, but I had the last laugh.
My friend Lauren, a Massachusetts native who now lives here and was at the game too, texted me that she liked what she saw; it was actually a ball game. Amen.