A Breath of Fresh Air

On Friday, September 30^th, with 2 out in the bottom of the ninth and a full count, catcher Cal Raleigh crushed a 406-foot shot over the right field fence. With the dramatic walk-off home run, the M’s defeated the Oakland Athletics, clinched a wild-card spot, and ended the longest post-season draught in the history of major American men’s team sports (MLB, the NFL, the NBA and the NHL).

The last time the Seattle Mariners made it to the post season, Ichiro was a rookie and T-Mobile Park was Safeco Field.  A lot has changed over the past couple of decades, but what hasn’t changed is the faithfulness of the hope-filled Mariner fan base.  Twenty-one years is a long time to hold your breath, but as Raleigh crossed the plate, the combined exuberance of thousands of fans finally shook the Puget Sound like the Nisqually and Beast Quakes of prior years.

An hour after the end of the game and the team celebration in the clubhouse, Scott Servais and the team stepped back out on the field and thanked the thousands of faithful who were still in the stands. “We did it.”, Service continued, “These players behind me are special. They care. They care about winning the right way. They care about representing the city of Seattle”

Then everybody at long last was able to exhale and breathe once again. The honor for the longest draught in major sports now goes to the Sacramento Kings, who have not made the NBA playoffs since the 2005-06 season. Meanwhile, the Mariners look to next year and the next milestone. The Mariners are still the only current team never to have played in the World Series.