It was a wild and crazy day. After a 4:30 am wake up, 6 hours of plane flights, 3 hours of wait time in airports and a 3 hour time difference, the Yankees and Mariners dropped a 12 inning 4 hour game on us. It was a cool and breezy evening in the Northwest as we arrived at the stadium and there already was a considerable crowd waiting at the gates at 5:00. The Yankees were in town and it was a big deal in Starbucks Land. The roof was open and the massive structure dominates your vision as you enter the stadium. It is a basic 3 tier stadium. There is a windowed cafe in right field and the stadium has a large amount of standing room so fans can watch the game from a variety of places. There is a main concourse that allows roaming. There is a suite level runs from right center to the foul pole in left field. Even with the roof closed the stadium is not completely enclosed as wide open areas on the sides remain. There is a big board and bleacher seating area in center field. We sat in the first level down the left field line 39 rows from the field, underneath an overhang. Even in this modern stadium there is a throwback aspect with a manual scoreboard next to the foul pole in left field. Legendary and Hall of Famers Mariner broadcaster Dave Niehaus is honored in a big way in the ring of honor and on the outfield fence. Niehaus was the Mariner broadcaster from 1977 until his death in 2010. Ichiro’s influence is seen as they put messages on the board in Japanese. A group of fans sits down the left field line dressed in orange T-shirts in an area called King’s Court. King Felix Hernandez was on the mound and last year’s Cy Young award winner commands that type of respect in Safeco. They hold up K signs whenever he strikes out a batter. Safeco absolutely has more variety in food than any other stadium visited so far. Some of the options include fish, Thai food, cheese steaks, hot roasted peanuts ( yummy!), and vendors delivering chocolate covered strawberries to the fans in the stands. All this with all the traditional ball park options also. For a change up I dined on an Ivar Dog. This is Alaskan Cod with slaw on a hot dog bun. It was delicious accompanied by my old staple Dr. Pepper. In pre game ceremonies Edgar Martinez and John Olerud were inducted into the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame. From the very beginning the evening was packed with emotion. There is a bitter rivalry between the fans form both teams and there were continual taunts and threats being thrown back and forth. Of course as the evening wore on the alcohol being consumed added to the bravado of some of the all stars. The fans welcomed ARod back to Safeco with a loud chorus of Bronx cheers every time he came to the plate. In the bottom of the 7th inning a series of bizarre events began. A fan jumped onto the field behind third base and ran toward center field and was brought down hard by security personnel. This started a monkey see monkey do reaction and 3 more joggers decided to get their miles in during the game. One of the athletes dressed only in a cap and shoes ( what he did with the rest of his clothes is still a mystery) sprinted from the first base dugout area toward second base and was dropped quicker than a pound of velveta. He went down hard in the infield dirt with gravel entering every orifice possible. They brought some towels out to bring modesty to the situation as they took him off to center field. At that point they increased the security level and it was impossible for anyone to get on the field. The M’s put together 3 hits in the bottom of the 12th and beat Mariano Rivera and the Yankees. Great game!
Game: May 28
Ballpark: Safeco Field, Seattle
Final: Mariners 5, Yankees 4 ( 12 innings )
Accessibility – 9
Stadium Personnel – 8
View – 8
Food – 9
Overall Stadium Experience – 9
