2009 Game #16 - Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners
Final Score: Mariners 3, Rangers 1
Hot Dog - 4/5
Seattle is a beautiful city in a beautiful part of the country. Like almost every other city we’ve visited, we wish we could spend more time here. We’ve got to stick to our schedule, however, so a day and a half (including a great ball game) will have to do for now.
Many thanks to Uncle Claude for hosting us, showing us a bit of the city, and treating us to the best seats we’ll have all summer. We sat in the 200-level, next to the press box. Our seats were cushioned and included food delivery (although we didn’t take advantage of it). This was one of the many conveniences of Safeco Field. (Another was stat tracking and food ordering via our Nintendo DS!!!)
Safeco Field is very nice. Much like the western part of the great state of Washington, the ballpark is very, very green: The walls, the seats, the steelwork, the concessions, the roof… all forest green. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad thing, only an observation. The park’s concourses are comfortable and are open to the field all the way around to left-center field, where we took stairs down to behind the bullpens. The upper decks provide a nice view of the field and there are a lot of open areas here too.
One of these open areas is a large, round, open deck area where the Mariners currently host large group outings. This area, behind home plate, was originally planned to be a large lighthouse, rising above the grandstand, lit differently for wins and losses. Unfortunately, as we were told by Uncle Claude, it was scratched (for budget reasons) before the park’s completion in 1999.
There were many food options at the park (like all the others), but a fan favorite would be the Rally Fries. Picture a large order of French Fries topped with four or five minced cloves of fresh garlic. The smell carried a long way (like two or three sections) and was mildly nauseating. Yeah, I really wanted to get some…
The game was a very good one. “King Felix” Hernandez, the Seattle starter, was excellent, as usual, and his Rangers counterpart was just as good. It was fun to see Ken Griffey, Jr. back in a Mariners uniform, although it was clear he’s lost a step or two. The Rangers took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth, when they allowed two baserunners, setting up a dramatic, go-ahead home run. David “First Name in the Baseball Encyclopedia” Aardsma closed it out (dramatically) for the win. I’m really enjoying all the exciting finishes we’re seeing on our trip.
Other notes:
- Karyn and I both knew that Safeco had a retractable roof, but neither of us knew that it retracted entirely out of the stadium. It sits there, hovering over the train tracks, waiting for the beckoning call of the rain. They closed it after the game, which was pretty cool to see.
- Tonight’s game featured the fastest national anthem ever. Well, we don’t have proof of “ever,” but it was really, really quick. I was out of breath listening to the woman sing.
- Karyn was excited that the umps were introduced to the Law & Order music. This makes two parks that do it.
- There was a foul ball hit to our row, about eight seats down from where we sat. This is the first time one’s come close to us, mostly since we’ve been sitting in the nosebleeds wherever we’ve gone.
- One of our favorite players (solely because of the length of his last name) played tonight: Our Paesano Jarrod Saltalamacchia!
That’s all from Seattle. Now, a drive to Sacramento.
-Rich
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