This week Seattle baseball stands taller than Randy Johnson on tiptoes,
ready to brag as loudly as broadcaster Dave Niehaus after a grand slam.
|  | | Seattle is celebrating Mike Cameron's addition to the AL All-Star roster. |
Well, why not? After more than a quarter century of woe, after relocations
both threatened and executed, after more losses than a month day-trading on
the Nasdaq, Seattle finally is the epicenter of baseball.
The Mariners are the best team in baseball, with a lead so large they
couldn't be removed from first place by WTO riot squads armed with water
cannons. With eight All-Stars, the Mariners are better represented on the
American League team than big oil in President Bush's administration. Ichiro received more All-Star votes than anyone else, not only outpolling Barry
Bonds and Sammy Sosa, but Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan as well.
What's more, the two bobblehead dolls companies that dominate the market are
just across Lake Washington, dispatching armies of obedient, nodding troops
into stadiums and gift shops around the country.
The biggest of those companies, Global Alexander Promotions, produced
"limited edition" bobblehead dolls for the All-Star Game that sell for $35.
Because production began months ago, the company had to take a chance on
which players to manufacture. Unfortunately, one choice was Ken Griffey Jr. Because Junior didn't make the team for the first time since 1989, the
company had to destroy the more than 4,000 Griffey All-Star dolls.
Mariners fans will be delighted to hear that. Although Griffey was to
Seattle baseball what Bill Gates is to Seattle money, fans haven't forgiven
Junior for demanding a trade to Cincinnati last year. They relish the fact
that Griffey didn't make the team but his replacement, Mike Cameron, did.
When the Mariners announced during Sunday's Futures Game that Cameron had
been added to the team, the fans cheered so loudly they could have drowned
out a Pearl Jam concert.
That's the way they respond to everything this year, though. Their
in-your-face enthusiasm gets downright obnoxious at times but it's hard to
blame them. They've endured a lot of rough times.
Or at least, those few fans whose memories actually extend farther back than
1995.
Those older fans are the ones who deserve this. The ones who remember the
pleasure of sitting in Sicks Stadium watching the Rainiers or the pain when
Bud Selig and his Milwaukee minions hi-jacked the Pilots after just one
season or the embarrassment when the umpires caught Maury Wills cheating on
the batters box. Those lonely fans who cheered Ruppert Jones and Bill Stein
and Darnell Coles and all those other terrible players because they were the
only players the city had. The ones who still cringe at the mention of
former owner George Argyros or former reliever Salome Barojas.
The ones who remember when the Mariners didn't have any superstars to trade
away.
The loyal few who supported baseball in Seattle long before it was trendy
have a lot of company now. The Mariners not only are generating record TV
ratings in the Northwest and repeatedly selling out their games, they're
prompting Japanese fans an ocean away to gladly set their alarm clocks for
live 4 a.m. broadcasts. All-Star tickets are as unavailable as naked photos
of Ichiro and about as valuable.
The city has fallen so hard for this team that you expect the fans to look
at the team all misty and dewy-eyed while saying, "You had me at 'Play
Ball." I would say Edgar Martinez could be elected mayor but no one wishes
such a terrible misfortune upon the beloved designated hitter.
When Seattle hosted the All-Star Game in 1979, tickets cost $10 and fans
were just excited to see Bruce Bochte get into the game and get a base hit.
Times change. All-Star tickets cost $110-$160 this year and Seattle fans
were temporarily outraged last week when only six Mariners initially made
the All-Star team, compared to seven Yankees.
Thanks to some late injuries, there now are eight Mariners and six Yankees
on the team, which has satisfied some fans.
Others think the Mariners should simply play the National League. They view
it as a nice tuneup for the World Series.
Jim Caple is a Senior Writer for ESPN.com.
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