For the first time in exactly 10 years, I attended a Mariners game in Safeco Field last week.
It was Chris Sale/Craig Kimbrel’s 4-0 shutout over Seattle, a gorgeous and surprisingly hot mid-afternoon day game at the ballpark. Sorry, M’s fans. Take consolation in the fact that it was probably the reeling Red Sox’s best game since about June.
There was plenty to remember. Watching the likely AL Cy Young award winner completely mystify Mariners hitters with a slider that even from the left-field wall looked wicked. Listening to the crowd buzz as every Kimbrel pitch clocked either 99 or 100 mph. Seeing Rafael Devers hit his first Major League home run to deep center field. Falling in love with Mariner dogs and then finding them actually being sold at Safeway (You could actually get Fenway Franks in Montana. I’ve never seen them around here.).
The last time I was in Safeco was during the Red Sox’s 2007 championship season. And the Red Sox won that game, too. The score was 9-2 if I remember right and Manny Ramirez hit a big home run.
The Mariners that year weren’t bad but they had been bad — really bad — for several years in a row and the crowd just was not into it. The stadium was overrun with Red Sox fans; we essentially took the joint over. And some Red Sox fans were crowing about it somewhat obnoxiously.
Half and half
The tone was different at this game. I think first of all, the management of the Mariners seems to actually have a plan and there actually seems to be hope on the horizon for the team. At the ferry landing in Bainbridge, I saw a lot of people going to the game, including a couple of people I recognized from Port Angeles. The t-shirts and hats I estimated were pretty close to 50/50 Mariners or Red Sox.
At the game itself, I continued to estimate the makeup of the crowd was roughly 50/50, possibly slightly more Mariners fans, but still split pretty evenly.
I was a little nervous about wearing a Red Sox hat to the game. But, honestly, everyone got along great. Didn’t see one fight, not one argument, nothing that even came close to trash talk or taunting. Everyone got along just fine. The funniest thing I saw was a Mariners fan waving a broom when Kimbrel came into the game and some other Mariners fan chewed him out. That isn’t how it’s done. You don’t wave a broom when you’re down 4-0 and the best closer in baseball is coming into the game.
But, seriously, I thought about all the nastiness that happens at sporting events. I’ve seen it, some pretty bad fights at Fresno State basketball games, some pretty nasty and even racist trash talking at 49ers and SF Giants games. There’s been stabbings and assaults at San Francisco and L.A. games the past couple of years — in fact, the 49ers and Raiders won’t even play each other anymore because of the nastiness.
And here were 40,000 people sitting in this big jewel in Seattle all getting along great. A sea of red hats and blue hats. It made me think, “why is this so hard? What has made our society so divisive? Somehow, 20,000 Red Sox fans and Mariners fans equally having a good time without feeling the need to wreck other people’s good times (Well, the Red Sox fans time was a little better, but you get my point.).
I worked for a while as a site moderator on the Internet, and trust me, people just cannot get along online. I saw people go absolutely insane because some stranger online didn’t agree with their politics. Anger and rage over petty insults that resulted in stalking, harassment, doxxing, threats and worse. And it didn’t happen once or twice. It was nonstop. I became convinced during that time that something in our society is broken. There is a rage lurking out there that I found frightening and cannot totally understand.
It was nice for three hours on a hot afternoon in Seattle to see that it’s not completely broken. And there’s still hope to repair it.
It made me think I could actually get away with wearing a 49ers hat to a Seahawks game. Hah. OK, just kidding. We’re probably not there yet.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
