GO MARINERS !!!
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest back before the big expansion of major leagues baseball and the invention of the Seattle Mariners team. A couple of years ago when I had quit teaching and was looking for something new to do I decided I might try watching the Mariners since they were in my home state. I knew next to nothing about the team so it was fun getting to know them. I know quite a lot about baseball even though I never really played it. I was a fan as a kid back in the Stan Musial and Ted Williams days, and Jackie Robinson became my favorite player.
So, Mari signed us up to watch baseball on MLB almost everyday three years ago. That year they did ok and Julio Rodrigues was chosen the rookie of the year. It was fun to watch and root, and the occasional shots of the Settle skyline, shops, and the Pacific Sound meant a lot to me. That year they got into the playoffs and it was fun. Last year did not go so well and they finished, as they say, “out of the money”. They are off to a pretty good start this year so hopes run high. They have a great pitching staff and a fine team spirit, making them fun to watch.
My favorite player is the shortstop, J.P. Crawford. He is the team captain and brings a good deal of experience to the game. In the field he is extremely adept and ignites numerous double-plays. He is quick and throws very hard and accurately. At the plate J.P. is shrewd, almost never striking out and often working the pitcher for a walk. He gets his fair share of hits, and even on occasion hits a home run. He seems like a nice guy, not full of himself and laughs easily. He is simply smart about baseball and thus is fun and exciting to watch.
When I was a kid, Seattle had a minor league professional team called the “Seattle Rainiers”, sponsored by the Seattle Rainier beer company. This franchise is now operating out of near bye Tacoma as the Tacoma Rainiers. I only got to see a couple of the old-time Rainier games, and only remember a couple of the players, none of whom ever made the major leagues. My clearest memories are of an outfielder and the best hitter, “Jungle Jim” Rivera. He had a lot of hair on his forearms and that earned him that nick name.
Interestingly enough, this team was, of course, named after the famous near bye mountain, Mt. Rainier. It’s always a bit of a puzzle to know how best to pronounce the team’s name. On the one hand, the mountain is called “Mt. Rain’eer”, while the team is generally called the “Rai’niers”. The beer, on the other hand, is always called “Rai’neer”. As in “Give me a Rai’neer”. It’s a tricky difference, but one a native to the Northwest should be hip to. The difficulty was resolved when the team got the new name of “Mariners”. So- “Go Mariners.”