Tacoma Rainiers must keep hope alive, baseball torch aflame, for Pierce County

How surreal it will be for fans to watch the Seahawks kick off their season this weekend and enjoy the homestretch of the Mariners’ pandemic-shortened year — and not just because the M’s are flirting with a rare postseason berth. Professional sports are a strange guilty pleasure as Washington goes up in flames.

Reasonable people may differ about whether playing games is appropriate while fires burn through our communities, social unrest explodes in the streets and COVID-19 haunts vulnerable populations.

But baseball, more than any American pastime, keeps hope alive. “Every strike brings me closer to my next home run,” Babe Ruth once said, capturing the blithe optimism needed for baseball greatness.

Here in the 253, where Triple A baseball isn’t being played for the first time since 1960, the Tacoma Rainiers must keep hope alive and ensure the organization is positioned for a strong comeback.

“I think we are still learning, and trying to balance all possible scenarios for 2021,” Rainiers President Aaron Artman told us last week. “ In general, we have to reboot — internally — while still delivering the fan experience that people should expect. Our base is very solid and they are committed.”

He continued, thinking out loud: “Do we have one plan for April? One plan for May? Another plan for June through September? There is no manual for this, but I believe we will have a few best practices developed by then, assuming other sports open to fans prior to baseball’s opening day.”

Tacoma should expect no less from a team that’s a major local economic driver, entertainment source and anchor tenant of Cheney Stadium, renovated with $30 million in public funds a decade ago.

Had the Rainiers played this year, their 140-game season would’ve ended with a Labor Day weekend homestand. Fans might be cheering for them in the playoffs right now.

Instead, since late July Cheney Stadium has hosted the Mariners Taxi Squad of up-and-comers trying to keep their skills sharp. Two teams wearing the same uniforms face off in scrimmages. There are no out-of-town opponents, no umpires — and no fans. Music and occasional crowd noise are piped in to generate faux fan energy.

The Taxi Squad’s last day in Tacoma will be Sept 24 or 25. Then, it’s so long, boys of summer; we hardly knew you.

The Rainiers preserved jobs this year, thanks to an $839,000 loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Did they do enough to keep the baseball torch lit in Tacoma, show appreciation to season ticket holders and stay relevant in the public consciousness?

That’s a tough question. In this unprecedented shutdown, we’re reluctant to be too critical.

But here are three things the organization could do (or do more of) to foster excitement and goodwill, should they be confronted with another season like this one (heaven forbid).

* Broadcast all Taxi Squad games on local television. They belatedly started doing this on ROOT Sports in the last week or so, but they missed an opportunity to cultivate season-long enthusiasm for the Mariners’ prized draft picks and trade acquisitions. The M’s boast one of the top farm systems in Major League baseball. The Rainers should show off this young talent.

* Post Rainier fan cutout replicas around the stadium. Steal this idea from the Mariners, who filled thousands of Safeco Field seats with synthetic figures. The team raised money for charity while honoring local baseball fans, young and old, living and dead. If you can’t put real butts in seats, try fake ones.

* Maximize use of Cheney Stadium for non-baseball events. The Rainiers experimented with this, such as hosting a ballpark food drive-through over two summer weekends and letting a drive-in religious gathering use the parking lot. But the stadium itself has untapped potential.

Artman envisions showing movies on the giant videoboard with guests sprawled on the grass, socially distanced and wearing masks. For this, of course, they’d need authorization from state and local officials. “Most of what we would have liked to do this season is being done safely in other markets and communities.”

Persistence and creativity will be essential for Tacoma’s baseball caretakers as the nightmare of 2020 turns the corner into the uncertainty of 2021.

For a team that didn’t play a single regular season game, the Rainiers endured a lot of losses this year. Plans were shelved to partner on a public-private $60 million soccer stadium. Bob Robertson, the longtime beloved radio and TV voice of Tacoma minor-league baseball, died last weekend.

Now it’s time to prepare for a winning streak. In keeping with baseball’s spirit of eternal optimism, we predict that today’s misfortunes will follow the trajectory of a Babe Ruth or Jarred Kelenic home run.

Going, going, gone.