Seattle Mariners
We get called up to the big leagues for the one and only time on this trip, traveling to T-Mobile Park in Seattle to see the Seattle Mariners host the Los Angeles Angels on Star Wars Night.
Dad and I arrived at T-Mobile Park in Seattle a couple of hours before game time, right when the gates were scheduled to open for the night’s matchup between the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels. But the gates didn’t open, and we stood in the misty rain for a good 30 minutes, listening to a zealot with a megaphone across the street telling arriving fans to repent their sins. At last, the gates parted, and we found shelter within the ballpark’s closed-roof confines.
T-Mobile Park opened in 1999 as Safeco Field, replacing the Kingdome as the home of the Mariners. The stadium took more than two years to build and cost $517 million. It seats 47,929 and has a retractable roof that is used for roughly 22 percent of Seattle’s games. The roof can go from open to closed in 10 to 20 minutes.
Our game was the first of three Star Wars nights we would experience on the trip. Characters from the franchise’s prolific collection of movies and TV shows strolled through the concourse, pausing for photos with fans. It’s always fun to see people smiling broadly as they stand next to some of the worst villains in the galaxy.
I made my way toward the outfield, catching a glimpse of the lively T-Mobile ‘Pen bar area that opens before the main gates to help fans get appropriately warmed up for the festivities.
Mariners broadcasters Brad Adam and Dave Valle
In straightaway center, I passed by the Seattle Children’s Hospital Wishing Well, designed by Dillon Works of nearby Mukilteo, Washington. The bronze sculpture and fountain sit just outside of the busy Kids Corner play area.
Fans continued to stream into the ballpark on this Friday night, many walking past neighboring Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks.
Another key landmark in the outfield is the statue of Dave Niehaus, who did play-by-play for the Mariners from their inception in 1977 until his death in 2010. His likeness wears a tie from Niehaus’ collection selected by his wife and daughter. The scorebook in front of the broadcaster is open to Game 5 of the 1995 American League Division Series, when the Mariners won their first-ever playoff series by beating the New York Yankees in the 11th inning with a double from Edgar Martinez, scoring Joey Cora and Ken Griffey, Jr. The railing behind the statue features several of Dave’s trademark phrases, including “Fly fly away,” “Swung on and belted,” and "Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it is grand salami time!"
I came back around to home plate and hiked up to the top section of the ballpark for a good view from the very top row.
Time for dinner. I explored and re-explored pretty much every concessions stand on the main level and had some trouble making what I consider to be a critical decision during a ballpark visit. I settled on a beef rib fit for the Flintstones, which I can only describe as a profound mistake.
In their first 18 years of existence, the Mariners did not make the playoffs once. But that season in 1995 kicked off a golden era of Mariners baseball in which they qualified for the postseason four times in seven years. In 2000 and 2001, the Mariners — with Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, Jamie Moyer, John Olerud, Bret Boone, and Ichiro Suzuki — won their division series but lost in the championship series to the Yankees both times. Seattle had not made the playoffs since.
This year’s squad came into the night with a record of 28-36, 1 1/2 games behind the Angels, who themselves were just a game behind the Texas Rangers… who were nine full games behind the runaway division champions, the Houston Astros. Despite a promising young roster — including 21-year-old phenom and eventual Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez — Seattle did not seem destined to end the drought.
Robbie Ray
But the vibes were good on this night right from the beginning. Mariners starter Robbie Ray walked Angels star Mike Trout but otherwise shut down the Angels in the first. Ray was coming off a Cy Young Award-winning season with the Toronto Blue Jays but hadn’t really sparkled early in 2022. In his previous start, however, Ray had pitched seven scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox, scattering just three hits.
Seattle gave him plenty of support. In the bottom half, Rodriguez and Eugenio Suarez teamed up for a run. Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh added a home run in the second. Rodriguez knocked in first baseman Ty France in the third.
In the fourth, Angels starter Michael Lorenzen gave up three walks and a single before France cleared the bases with a double to left field. Meanwhile, Robbie Ray had not allowed a hit. The Mariners were up 7-0, and the crowd of 37,500 felt like one massive party.
Angels manager Joe Maddon left Lorenzen in the game to finish the inning plus the next inning, perhaps as some form of punishment.
The party stopped cold for several minutes in the bottom of the fifth, when 34-year-old outfielder Justin Upton, playing in his 16th Major League season, was hit in the head by a 91-mph fastball from Lorenzen. The ball knocked Upton’s helmet off his head, and he collapsed to the ground, where he remained for a few minutes. Upton reportedly did not lose consciousness during the incident.
Oddly, we had seen Upton the night before, appearing with Seattle’s Triple-A club in Tacoma. He had been released by the Angels earlier in the year, then signed by the Mariners, his sixth Major League club. Upton had been playing himself into shape in Tacoma. During our game there, he walked once and left the game — presumably, after getting word of his first call-up to the Mariners. Upton would play 17 games for Seattle over the next month, hitting .125. In July, the Mariners optioned him back to Triple-A, which he refused, making him a free agent. He hasn’t played since.
Ray struck out the side in the fifth and continued his no-hitter through the sixth. The left-hander had nine strikeouts, his fastball tailing up and away from right-handed hitters as he kicked his left leg out on his follow-through. The Mariners tacked on another run to make it 8-0.
I went up to the concourse to hear the no-hitter buzz — as well as some fans telling others to please stop discussing any chance of a no-hitter, because you, you random fan amongst the throng, have the power to jinx such a thing with your careless mouth-words.
Ray started the seventh with an easy groundout. But then Angels catcher Max Stassi — a .180 hitter on the year — chopped a pitch weakly above Ray, who couldn’t quite get his glove around the ball. It dribbled to the grass and was ruled an infield single, prompting a zesty round of boos from the crowd. The no-hit bid had ended.
Ray got the next two outs, including his 10th strikeout. After giving up two hits in the eighth, he was relieved by Penn Murphee, who I had seen pitch for the Modesto Nuts in 2019. The man who once called himself a “hippie-cowboy” finished 2022 with a nifty 2.99 ERA in 64 appearances in his first big-league season. He shut down three Angels in succession in the eighth.
That was pretty much the ballgame. When it was over, the roof opened to bring us a Star Wars-themed fireworks show. Selected fans sat on the grass in foul territory. The night-long party continued.
When the smoke settled, Dad and I made our way to the exit, where I finally got a good look at T-Mobile Park’s statue of The Kid, the most iconic player ever to put on a Mariners uniform, Ken Griffey Jr. He helped bring playoff baseball to Seattle. And somehow, miraculously, the Mariners would return to the postseason in 2022.
A few days after our game, the team began to roll. They won eight of 10, lost one, then won 14 games in a row. Seattle made the playoffs and won their first-round matchup, beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Wild Card Series. They fell to the eventual World Champion Astros in the next round. But they were back.