Yesterday was another Opening Day in the books. Though I’ve been to my fair share, there was something certainly different about this particular afternoon game. The Seattle Mariners have made big moves before, acquiring big names and generating talk about a future in October, but the buzz this year looks to be more legitimate than ever, and it’s not only for the reasons you might think.
First of all, the lines were outrageous to get into Safeco Field. Crowds stretched around three-quarters of the field patiently awaiting entry. Games have sold out before, but I don’t think that even happened the last time the M’s were in the playoffs, which I’m, pretty sure was when I learned to drive. I’ll let you guess when that was. Fortunately I arrived at my seat just as former Mariner and pre-teen heartthrob Joey Cora wound up for the ceremonial first pitch.
The skies were grey at 1:10, but the roof was wide open. Everyone got a yellow towel with a big blue “K” on it that donned a crown. They began to twirl and the crowd screamed with excitement as King Felix strutted to the mound. The chants of “K, K, K, K” seemed to be working, until Mike Trout crushed a home run into center field. The crowd was not discouraged, however, and the look on Felix’s face assured fans that it wouldn’t happen again. It didn’t. That would be the only run Hernandez would allow in seven innings in the M’s 4-1 victory. He maintained his undefeated record on Opening Day starts, going to 6-0 with a 1.49 ERA.
But the King wasn’t the only Mariner who deserved a throne after the game. Right Fielder and Dark Horse Seth Smith became the first player in M’s history to record three extra-base hits on Opening Day. He did so against Jered Weaver, driving a first-inning double, a third-inning RBI triple, and a fifth-inning ground-rule double. If you haven’t heard of Smith, you aren’t the only one. He’s no spring chicken: the Mariners are the fourth team the 32-year-old has played for in his career that dates back to 2007. He came to the team this season from the San Diego Padres with a career batting average of .265. Despite his MVP status for the day, Smith’s play time will depend on opposing pitchers as Manager Lloyd McClendon plans on alternating him with pinch-hitter Justin Ruggiano depending on who’s on the mound.
Of other notable moments was Seattle Seahawks’ Legion of Boom introducing new Mariner Nelson Cruz, far more notable in fact than anything he did in the game, which was pretty much just show up. The best surnames in the relief game helped move things along (that would be Danny Farquhar and Charlie Furbush). Then someone named Carson Smith threw a few pitches which I didn’t even realize until I looked at the box score because it happened while I went to the bathroom. And, of course, Fernando Rodney got to shoot his arrow—without giving any fans heart palpitations!
Truly, by the time the fireworks went off, it felt like the game breezed by. It was short, but not record-breaking short. For me, a girl that grew up with the Mariners, whose parents were awesome enough to pull her out of elementary school to go to the A.L. Divisional games, this was a testament to the fact that people were excited about baseball in Seattle again. Sure, you had “The Pen,” where the younger crowds go to socialize like one giant awful drunk Tinder date, but for the most part people were attentive to every play and cheering like I haven’t heard at a baseball game in years. The crowds were there last year, but I recall more cheering to celebrate the recent Super Bowl champs rather than the team that was actually playing. I know this rhetoric may seem repetitive year after year; that it’s naïve to have such high hopes no matter the hype when there’s still 161 games to be played. Normally I’d agree with that statement, but I assure you this year will be different.
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