The Kingdome – named for King County – was considered inadequate for both baseball and football. Mariners ownership threatened to move the team and a bill to create a new venue was voted down. Note that Seattle had already lost one MLB team: the Seattle Pilots, an AL expansion team in 1969, had poor support and only lasted one season before moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers. Seattle then had no MLB team until the next expansion inn 1977. Nobody wanted another team defection.
Then the Mariners, who have never appeared in a World Series, won the 1995 ALDS and public support caused the state legislature to authorize a new ballpark built with public funds. Safeco Field opened in 1999. The street next to right field is Edgar Martinez Way, named for the Hall of Fame Mariners DH. Prior to Edgar Martinez’s induction into Cooperstown it used to be called Atlantic Street. Why? The ramp leads to I-90 East and you can drive from there all the way to the Atlantic Ocean without hitting a stoplight.
It was April of 2008 and I was booked to speak at the NAB Convention in Las Vegas. The subject was “Effective Communication between Programmers and Engineers.” Travelocity had reared its head online so we no longer used travel agents for business trips. I got to book it myself, so on the way to the convention I got an Alaska Air Lines flight from Logan to Sea-Tac in Seattle. There was a six-hour layover in Seattle, then a Frontier flight that evening to Vegas. Not exactly the most direct flight, but it got me to a game at Safeco Field and I didn’t have to pay for the trip. It was not a problem when I turned my in expense report because my roundabout trip was cheaper than a direct flight. Plus I got to put two more notches in my World Ballpark Tour belt. (Notch two was on the return flight-see Petco Park.)
When Raul Ibanez came to bat the walkup song was “Werewolves of London,” which I assumed was because the “aah-OOH” refrain rhymed with Ra-OOL. This must be a request from Raul, because I heard the same thing in Kansas City when he played for the Royals. The day had a typical Seattle gray sky with a breeze. The game began with the roof open, but they closed it during the 5th inning while an Angel was at bat. LA of A won, 10-5. The train tracks are right next to the ballpark – in fact, the roof sits over the tracks when it’s open – and you can clearly hear train whistles on a regular basis during a game.
I had been to the Kingdome in 1998, but it was in October when the Mariners are never playing. Nothing warm or inviting about the Kingdom. It was just a tour and the place was set up for football. Not a single Mariners sign to be seen.
This was in April, and the Angels were in town. Safeco Field itself was nice – they all are – with most of the modern accoutrements of the newer parks. The seats were comfortable, the people were friendly, and the grass was perfect. They did have one stupid video chase game between innings, but it was only one, and nowhere near as cheesy as in many places like Dallas, Houston, Milwaukee, Cleveland and even Yankee Stadium. One cute thing between innings – they gave a kid the opportunity to run in from center field and steal second base…actually pull it off the anchor and run back to the bleachers with it, and get to take it home.
The PA guy had the typical big voice but did not yuck when announcing the Mariners players. They didn’t have any special Seattle cuisine, other than Peets Coffee, but the hot dogs were grilled and tasty. Wait a minute – I had a brat, not a hot dog. They have vendors who toss peanuts…not as far as they do in Fenway, but Safeco is #2 in that department and I don’t think anyone qualifies for #3. They also attempted a wave. It wasn’t very good, but it was better than any place I’ve been – other than Fenway. The reason the wave didn’t catch on is that the Angels were leading 10-2, and they were at bat. Not the time for a wave.
My unofficial tabulation of baseball caps and shirts worn in Safeco showed the Mainers well in the lead, of course, and the Angels had a decent second-place presence. Of course, the Angels are a west coast team and they were the road team playing. After that the clear winner was the Red Sox, with 11 hats/shirts/jackets. The Yankees were well back with 4. The Cubs, Tigers and Giants had one each. For what it’s worth.
Ballpark naming rights changes are not uncommon these days, and Seattle is no exception. Safeco Field is now T-Mobile Park.
My flight that night got me to McCarran International in Vegas by 9. Plenty of time for dinner at McCormick & Schmick and work on my “How to talk to engineers” presentation at the NAB Convention the next day.
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