A Sojourn in Seattle

We missed the exit. As one of my oldest friends Ryan and I were cruising down I-5 through Seattle it was pretty obvious that we were going to have to take a slight detour. But that was okay, we could see Safeco from the innerstate and we figured as long as it didn't disappear from view, we would figure out a way there eventually.

We turned off at the next exit which led us to 1^st Avenue, which led us directly to Safeco Field. As we drove towards the stadium, we quickly noticed empty parking lots of abandoned businesses with huge "EVENT PARKING" signs in front. The price, predictably, increased as we got closer to the stadium. Five dollars. Eight dollars. We pulled into the second lot with a sign reading ten dollars and decided four blocks was close enough.

Trusting that the man with the reflective vest and huge wad of green bills was legit, we parked and made our way to the field. I was hoping we would get there early so we could walk around the park and take it all in, but considering the late night on Granville Island that had concluded just eleven hours earlier, I was content to be walking up to the ticket window about fifteen minutes before the first pitch.

Ryan insisted, jokingly, that I get tickets in a spot where we were guarenteed a home run ball. I got two tickets in the right field bleachers. As we entered through the main gate behind home plate, I could see immediately that this would be nothing like taking in a game at the SkyDome. Above us was a huge chandelier made out of clear, likely plastic, baseball bats. We made our way up the stairs to the main concourse and as soon as I reached the top, right there in front of me was the perfectly groomed field awaiting the beginning of the afternoon's contest.

Even though I had never set foot in a big league park other than the Dome, I suspected just by seeing all the other parks on TV that it is probably one of, it not the most ordinary and boring stadium in all of major league baseball. As soon as I climbed those stairs and looked out onto the field, it was clear that my suspicions were probably correct.

As Ryan and I made our way to the right field seats, I looked all around me and took in the essence of the stadium, which was incredible. Fans passing by decked out from head to toe in Mariners paraphernalia, the smells from the various (or should I say, varied) food stands, even the support beams over my head just screamed of baseball. This was a bona fide big league ballpark.

We found our seats and sat down with a few moments to spare before the first pitch of the ball game. Next to me was a young couple, clad in vintage Mariners gear, and next to Ryan was another young couple, also clad in Mariners gear although more comtemporary. All around us were t-shirts, caps, jerseys, jackets .. you name it .. all emblazoned with various incarnations of the Mariners logo.

Jurickson Profar, who I would later learn was and is the highest rated prospect in the game, led off the game for the Rangers and smoked the third pitch from Hisashi Iwakuma. Right at me. Off the bat and as the ball took flight there was no question about it, the ball was headed right for me. I quickly stood up, along with everyone around me, and held my glove up ready to catch the ball. As the ball reached its apex, it carried a bit, and as it started its descent back to earth it quickly became obvious it was going over my head. A fan five rows back caught it. Bare handed. The fans in section 109, oblivious to the fact that it was a Ranger who had hit the home run immediately started cheering for the fan who held the ball over his head triumphantly.

Then, as if sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley Field, several people yelled at the fan to throw the ball back. "Are you kidding me? I'm keeping it!" the fan yelled defiantly and as quickly as the chiding started, it stopped and the everyone's attention went back to the game.

Ryan immediately complimented my choice of seats as neither of us had been nearly that close to catching a home run ball in all the Blue Jays games we had attended over the course of our lives. The closest I could recall was a Frank Thomas home run ball that landed across the aisle in the second deck, about 15 or 20 seats to my right.

After the third inning, the Rangers were leading 2-0 and Ryan and I decided to do a lap of the concourse to check things out and grab some food. We casually walked around, noting the various food choices we had available to us and looked at everything the stadium had to offer, stopping for half an inning to watch the action from the center field standing area. Everything about the ballpark, from the buzz of the crowd even when nothing was happening in the game, to the sound of the radio announcer in the concourse to fans singing and dancing in the aisles between innings was unlike any baseball game I had ever been to.

By the time we had circled the stadium we decided on nachos, and just past the home plate entry gate we found a nacho stand that looked indeed unique. We both waited and watched as piles of pulled pork, baked beans, jalepeno peppers and god knows what else was piled on the nachos of the people ahead of us. It probably took close to a minute for the food sevice workers to assemble this plate of nacho-y goodness for each of us.

We made our back to our seats and decided to sit in the empty row behind our actual seats to spread out a bit and eat our nachos in peace. It took about three innings to polish them off, three innings well worth it.

During that time, Nelson Cruz of the Rangers attempted to stretch a double into a triple and was thrown out on a great relay from Brendan Ryan. This of course prompted a group of overserved fans sitting along the right field foul line to start chanting "NEEEEEEEELSOOOOOOOOOON!" after he took his defensive position in right field, much to my delight. Ryan and I joined in briefly yelling "Nice hustle Cruz!" and "Hit the gym Cruz!", but the hecklers didn't stop. Hey, nothing wrong with some tasteful heckling.

Around the sixth or seventh inning, a guy probably in his forties or so sat down at the end of the empty row where Ryan and I were sitting. I immediately noticed that he had a glove on both hands. Upon further inspection, I noticed he also had batting gloves on underneath. And here I thought I was hardcore for bringing one glove to the ballpark, this guy had two! He was right into the game, slapping his gloves together as everyone around him clapped their hands. We concluded that he really, really wanted to catch a ball, it was the only explanation.

The game was a bit of a pitchers duel as Iwakuma settled down and finished with eight strong innings while Ranger rookie Nick Tepesch held his own until the sixth when Kendry Morales tied the game 2-2 with a 2-run shot to center. The duel continued until at the end of nine it was still tied.

Free baseball!

As the game moved into extra innings, the anticipation and energy from the crowd started going to another level. It had been pretty lively the entire game, but they showed no signs of fatigue as we game went to extras. And I wouldn't be surprised if no one left.

No one, that is except for the guy sitting at the end of the aisle with the two baseball gloves on. He disappeared between innings and we never saw him again.

The Rangers took the lead in the 11^th inning, but that didn't detour the crowd. In fact, I don't think I've seen so many rally caps in my life. As Joe Nathan trotted in from the Rangers bullpen, I couldn't help but think that my first Safeco experience would end in short order.

"NEEEEEEEEELSOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"

Raul Ibanez hit the first pitch from Nathan into the right field sets, across the aisle and about six rows in front of us. The crowd went nuts. I mean nuts. Everyone was on their feet after that and stayed there for the rest of the inning, anticipating a Mariners victory. They almost got it, but let out a collective groan as David Murphy made a beautiful running catch at the wall to end the inning and keep the roller coaster going.

Former Jays reliever Jason Frasor, the object of much ire during his later years in Toronto, took the mound for the Rangers in the 12^th. After getting the first out he proceeded to walk light hitting catcher Jesus Sucre and then totally botched a play on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Brendan Ryan, much to my delight. Again, with the Mariners threatening, the fans got to their feet and went wild with anticipation. But again, the Rangers found their way out of trouble for the second straight inning and kept the game alive.

Seattle was in trouble in the top of the 13^th, facing 1^st and 3^rd with only one out, but managed to escape after a strikeout and a ground ball, much to the crowd's delight. After showing the same fan doing a rally jig on the video screen in center field for about the fifth straight inning, the Mariners went to work. Morales hit a one out double then moved to third on a ground ball. Jason Bay, who in his previous at bat was robbed of extra bases by David Murphy, stepped in with the winning run and sweet redemption only 90 feet away. He ripped the ball through the left side of the infield and Morales trotted home as his teamates stormed the field to celebrate the well deserved victory.

During those extra innings especially, I was no longer a Blue Jays fan. With zero allegiance towards the Texas Rangers, it was impossible not to get caught up in the infectious enthusiasm that everyone in the ballpark exhibited towards the home Mariners. I may not have been screaming at the top of my lungs like the girl in front of us or spilling beer everytime they got a hit, but when the ball got through the infield and Morales crossed the plate, I was high fiving everyone in sight with a huge smile on my face.

Ryan and I sat down for a few minutes once things calmed down and once some of the people had cleared out, we did one last lap of the concourse, heckled the TV analysts on their stage in center field, and went outside. We got some pictures around the outside of the stadium, took it all in one last time, and set off to do a bit of exploring in south Seattle.