After 550 days, fans return to T-Mobile Park – and get a Mariners win
A long time ago, the Mariners played their last game in a front of a live crowd, and topped the Oakland A’s in their season finale on Sept. 29, 2019.
Kyle Seager hit a two-run home run in the first inning, and Kyle Lewis, who was wrapping up a remarkable first month in the majors, singled in Seattle’s final run of the season in the fifth.
Reggie McClain, who is now with the Yankees organization, picked up his first big league win in relief. Anthony Base, now with the Marlins, earned the save as the Mariners closed out a 3-1 win.
That game was 550 days ago, and until Thursday night, the most recent game at T-Mobile Park with a roaring crowd.
The Mariners played the entirety of their COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 season in empty ballparks. That included 24 games at home playing in front of only their own bench and bullpen, club staff, media members and about 15,000 cardboard cutouts.
So, when the Mariners opened their 2021 season against the Giants in front of a sold out crowd of 8,174 — ballpark capacity is currently limited to 9,000 per Washington state and King County health guidelines — the energy was palpable.
What was it like to be back at the ballpark on a crisp Pacific Northwest night after all this time?
Everett resident Jason Bissenas, 34, described the feeling in one word — “epic.”
Bissenas said he usually attends about 10 games per season, but this was his first Opening Day.
“I just had to be here,” he said.
The opener also marked the 14th birthday of his daughter, Lexy, so the night certainly had cause for celebration.
Bissenas, who wore an Ichiro jersey, said it was tough to not be able to attend games during the 2020 season.
“I was following them real close, watching every game on TV, but it just wasn’t the same not being here,” he said.
Travis Scheeline, 26, who lives on Camano Island, said it was tough to not be a part of the club’s season.
“You know the fans play some part of it, hyping them up,” he said. “Obviously we’ve had a playoff drought here, so it means a lot to us diehards that really want to see them make it again.”
Scheeline was sporting a James Paxton jersey — fans gave The Big Maple an ovation when his return to Seattle was acknowledged on the big screen early in the game — and a Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers hat for his first live game since the 2019 home opener.
“It feels good to be back,” he said. “It’s been a long time. Happy to be back for sure.”
So was 14-year-old Seattle resident Jack Peterson. Like so many others, he watched the Mariners on TV last season.
“I definitely wished I could go,” he said.
How did he feel to finally have the chance to watch the Mariners play live again?
“Very excited,” he said. “It’s kind of nostalgic.”
Peterson’s mom, Kerry, was glad to see her son and his brother, 14-year-old Fynn, get the chance to be back at the ballpark.
“I was almost tearing up as I walked in,” she said.
The ballpark’s first crowd since that September night back in 2019 was lively throughout, even when San Francisco built a lead that reached as high as five runs across the first seven innings.
Fans still wore masks, and sat socially distanced from each other, scattered in small groups around the ballpark, but the excitement of a return to even some sort of normalcy seemed to be a sentiment shared by all.
Few remained sitting when “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” played through the stadium speakers at the seventh inning stretch, and many danced to the usual playing of “Louie Louie” that followed.
The Mariners finally delivered in the eighth, rallying with six runs to take a 7-6 lead. And the roar from the crowd the moment an errant throw by Giants first baseman Brandon Belt leaked into the grass in center field, allowing two runs to score, including the go-ahead, echoed throughout the ballpark.
“I stepped on third and turned around and I heard the big roar — which is kind of cool to hear a big roar nowadays — and I saw the ball in the outfield and booked it home,” said second baseman Dylan Moore, who scored the go-ahead run.
The cheers carried into the ninth, and though they dulled a bit when the Giants scored the tying run on an Alex Dickerson solo homer, they crescendoed again in the bottom of the 10th when Jake Fraley drew a bases-loaded walk to walk off with an 8-7 win.
“It didn’t feel like 9,000,” Mariners ace Marco Gonzales said. “It felt like a lot more. You could feel intensity, you could feel the anticipation that people had getting out here. We felt a lot of love from our fans and we’ve been excited to show out. We’ve been excited to be here back at T-Mobile, and really just get to do what we love in front of the city that we love. It’s a blessing.”
