Monday May 08, 2017
M's Game: I'll Follow the Sun
Seager's moment in the sun.
My friend Jeff and I went to the game at Safeco Field yesterday, and while the M's spent the day chasing the Texas Rangers, Jeff and I chased the sun.
Gametime temps were mid-to-high 50s, with a bit of a Puget Sound breeze, so if you were in the shade, which we were, and would remain if we stayed in our regular 300-level behind-homeplate seats, you'd get a bit of a chill. Why bother? Elsewhere in the park, the sun beckoned. So in the 3rd inning, we followed it—first over to Lookout Landing along the third base/left field side, then eventually to the left field bleachers. Lots of others did the same. At one point I looked over into the center field bleachers, and the sliver that was in the shade was empty; everywhere else, it was packed.
Early in the game, Jeff and I talked to some British girls who were taking a spin along the west coast, and were returning to England the next day. This was their first game, so I assumed we could help them along. But they actually helped me. I've long known that baseball had grown out of the British game “Rounders”; what I didn't know was they still played Rounders in British schools. No professional league, though. But this gave them a base with which to understand the game. In the end, I think I had more questions about Rounders than they did about baseball.
As Jeff and I were moving around the park, the Mariners were not. Each of the first six innings, they put a man on board, but they couldn't get him past first base. No joke. We didn't reach second until the 7th inning when two separate Texas pitchers walked our first two batters. Then: fielder's choice, strikeout, and another walk to load the bases. Mariners manager Scott Servais then sent Danny Valencia (.220) to hit for Ben Gamel (.310), which seemed an odd move to me. But Valencia blooped a single to center and we got two to tie the game. The next inning, Kyle Seager, whose day it was (promotion: Kyle Seager baseball caps), hit a homer to right to put the M's on top. Edwin Diaz closed the deal and the M's won 4-3.
I've got to look up more on Rounders. Also why the Mariners created a stadium that has so much shade.
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