Seattle Story: Why I root for the Mariners

Earlier this year I was at a Nationals game with three friends when the in-stadium entertainment host walked down our section and sat right in front of us. I told him we’d be more than happy to be on camera, but he motioned toward my head and said “not with that hat.” I was wearing my teal and blue Seattle Mariners hat. He wasn’t going to interview us anyway, but I got a lot of flack from my companions for preventing us from being on the jumbotron. What does that have to do with anything? Next week, I’ll be attending two games at Safeco Field, so it’s time I explain why I like to wear a Mariners hat and why I root for the team.

Foremost, most of my baseball friends know that I was NOT happy when the Marlins switched their color scheme from teal and black to orange and whatever-the-heck-else. The all-teal hats the Fish debuted in 1993 were a little too gaudy, so I was happy with Florida’s final color combination though I do wish teal were a bit more prominent in their pinstripe uniforms. Naturally, I felt drawn towards Seattle after Miami’s makeover just because of the Mariners’ classy colors.

Back in 2012, I posted about my favorite hats in baseball and asked fans to vote for their favorite. Much to my delight, the navy blue and teal hat of Seattle won the vote. Regardless of whether it won, I was planning to buy the hat because it’s my favorite in baseball, but the vote gave me an extra reason.

In addition, Safeco Field is gorgeous. It’s a retractable roof stadium with the classic ballpark colors. I thought Marlins Park was going to look like Safeco Field when I first saw the plans, but Miami went off the deep end with lime green walls and home run configurations–you know what I mean. Once I actually see a game in Seattle, I’ll have more specifics to back up the assertion of Safeco’s excellence. Further, Seattle seems to be a more culturally-classy city than Miami, famous for its library and fish market rather than its beaches and clubs.

One more plus for the Mariners: Logan Morrison, a former Marlin. And while LoMo is injury-prone, and less productive than his ostentatious nature might suggest, he will always be a Marlin to me and I’ll always root for him. The Mariners also have my favorite non-Marlin in baseball–Brad Miller. Miller is a 6’2″, 200 pound white guy that wears high socks. Basically, if I batted left handed and could play shortstop I would BE Brad Miller. Or if he were a right-handed outfielder. And since his last name is Miller, it makes things even better.

If you can’t tell, the professional is on the left:

If I were never a Marlins fan and had to pick a favorite team today, it’d be Seattle for all these reasons. But I doubt the Marlins will ever annoy me enough to drive me away from Fish Fandom. However, Seattle is much more likely this season to make a playoff run than is Miami. So come October, I hope to see the Mariners in the World Series.