Ballpark Tour: Mariners

As the calendar turns to 2025, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head to the Pacific Northwest for a look at the Seattle Mariners. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with T-Mobile Park.

Stadium Name: T-Mobile Park

Years in Service: 1999 – Present

Visits: 2

After 22 plus seasons of indoor baseball at the Kingdome, the Mariners moved partially outside midway through the 1999 season, when the stadium then known as Safeco Field, with a retractable roof, opened in 1999 following the All-Star break.  The Mariners dropped that first game 3-2 to the visiting Padres.  The name changed to T-Mobile Park prior to the 2019 season.  The park has seen two perfect games, both in 2012.  The first, by Phillip Humber of the White Sox, came in April and was followed four months later by the Mariners’ own Felix Hernandez.  The park has hosted two All Star games, first in 2001 and again in 2023.

My first and only trip west to Seattle came in the summer of 2023, when Danny finally cashed in his high school graduation trip.  We arrived in town on a Friday afternoon and, following a trip to Pike Place Market for lunch, we headed over to the stadium, where the Mariners bested the White Sox.  Having upgraded to the special all-inclusive section behind home plate, we returned on Saturday with better results, as Zach Remillard made his major league debut and led to the White Sox to an extra-inning victory.

Another Name Change

Eight years into a thirteen-year deal, Guaranteed Rate Field will now be known as Rate Field.  While the new name rolls off the tongue a little easier than the previous moniker, it is still a bit of a clunker.  Guaranteed Rate rebranded as simply Rate this past July, so the new name aligns with the corporate master.

In the time the park was known as Guaranteed Rate, I saw 203 games, including post-season play in 2021 and the worst team in modern MLB history in 2024.

All-Time Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Milwaukee Brewers 3 1 0.750
Cleveland Guardians 4 2 0.667
San Diego Padres 2 1 0.667
Arizona Diamondbacks 2 1 0.667
Chicago Cubs 7 4 0.636
Seattle Mariners 7 4 0.636
Toronto Blue Jays 5 3 0.625
Boston Red Sox 6 4 0.600
Cleveland Indians 7 5 0.583
New York Yankees 4 3 0.571
Detroit Tigers 13 10 0.565
Houston Astros 6 5 0.545
Cincinnati Reds 1 1 0.500
Los Angeles Angels 3 3 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 2 2 0.500
Texas Rangers 3 3 0.500
Oakland Athletics 6 7 0.462
Chicago White Sox 93 110 0.458
Minnesota Twins 7 9 0.438
Kansas City Royals 8 12 0.400
Baltimore Orioles 3 5 0.375
San Francisco Giants 1 2 0.333
Tampa Bay Rays 2 5 0.286

Ballpark Tour: Braves

With the offseason well underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head to the suburbs of Atlanta to take a look at the latest home of the Atlanta Braves.  So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Truist Park.

Stadium Name: Truist Park

Years in Service: 2017 – Present

Visits: 1

In November of 2013, the Braves announced that they would be leaving their longtime home of Turner Field for a new stadium, opening in 2017.  Originally known as SunTrust Park, the stadium hosted its first regular season game on April 14, as the Braves battled the Padres.  The name changed to Truist Park in 2020 following a merger between SunTrust Banks and BB&T.

I made my first and only visit to Truist Park in 2021 while driving home from a trip to Florida.  The Braves were scheduled to battle the Yankees that night, so I decided to make an early stop on the drive home to take in another stadium.  My hotel claimed to be within walking distance of the stadium, which it was but they forgot to mention that it was all uphill.  After I managed to drag myself to the park, I headed to the upper deck, which were the only seats still available.  After snagging a couple souvenir cups, I left the game a little early for the hike back to the hotel.  Thankfully, that trip was all downhill.

Stadium Name: Braves Field

Years in Service: 1915 – 1952

Visits: 0 (or a handful, depending on your point of view)

From 1876 until 1952, the Braves made their home in Boston.  When they moved west to Milwaukee prior to the 1953 season, the stadium was purchased by Boston University.  The pavilion grandstand at the end of the right field line was retained as the seating core of a football, soccer, field hockey, and track-and-field stadium, as was the outer wall.  The stadium’s ticket office was converted into the school’s police station. The rest of the stadium structure was replaced by dormitories covering the former main grandstand; and the Case Physical Education Center, which houses Walter Brown Arena, home of the synchronized skating team.

Now known as Nickerson Field, I’ve made a few visits while in Boston to visit Angelina over the years and to see her skate at Walter Brown Arena.

The Will Venable Era Has Begun

The White Sox have hired Will Venable to be the 44th manager in franchise history, and the sixth since 2020.  Venable, who was the associate manager under Bruce Bochy for the Rangers these past two seasons, had previously been part of the coaching staffs for the Red Sox and Cubs and was a special assistant to Theo Epstein with the Cubs.  Prior to that, Venable spent nine years as an outfielder, mostly with the Padres.  When former manager Pedro Grifol was fired back in August, general manager Chris Getz said, “I think it’s important to bring in a new voice, a fresh voice, perhaps that’s been exposed to areas of this game that we don’t currently have in our organization.”  Venable does seem to check those boxes.

Venable takes over a team that set the modern major league record this season with 121 losses and is not expected to spend much money to improve the on-the-field product in 2025.  Given that the White Sox appear to be in a slow-moving, long term rebuild of the entire organization, Venable looks to be the manager for today and also for the future, when the team should be competitive once more.

2024 Final Standings

A hugely disappointing season came to an end this weekend, once again leaving both Chicago teams home for October.  The Cubs planned on being a playoff contender this year after poaching manager Craig Counsell from the Brewers but failed to put it all together.  The White Sox, on the other hand, put together an absolutely horrific performance, setting the modern MLB record for most losses in a season and notching the sixth time in franchise history that they’ve lost 100 or more games.  Because of this, I ended up attending just 27 games, my lowest total since becoming a season ticket holder in 2002.  All told, I managed to see 20 of the 30 teams.

2024 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Detroit Tigers 4 0 1.000
Baltimore Orioles 1 0 1.000
Cincinnati Reds 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Guardians 1 0 1.000
Houston Astros 1 0 1.000
Toronto Blue Jays 1 0 1.000
Los Angeles Dodgers 1 0 1.000
New York Mets 1 0 1.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0 1.000
San Diego Padres 1 0 1.000
Seattle Mariners 1 0 1.000
Boston Red Sox 2 1 0.667
Chicago Cubs 3 2 0.600
Oakland Athletics 1 1 0.500
Kansas City Royals 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 6 18 0.250
Los Angeles Angels 0 1 0.000
Atlanta Braves 0 1 0.000
Colorado Rockies 0 1 0.000
Tampa Bay Rays 0 1 0.000

2024 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  With the Wild Card round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Rays

Well, after missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, the Yankees stormed back to take the AL East crown.  Meanwhile, the Rays struggled early and never really found their groove.

Central: Guardians

Would you look at that?  I got one right, as the Guardians led a resurgent AL Central for most of the season.

West: Mariners

The Mariners did lead the division for a while, but, at the end of the day, the Astros managed to win the division for the fourth straight year and the seventh year out of the last eight.

Wild Cards: Astros, Blue Jays, Yankees

I guess I can take solace in the fact that two of these choices are headed to the post-season, though as division champions.  A surprisingly strong AL Central, thanks to getting to face the putrid White Sox many times, landed two Wild Card spots with the Royals and the Tigers.  The Orioles snagged the top spot.

AL Champion: Yankees

The Yankees look to have the hardest path, having to face either the Tigers, the hottest team in baseball heading into the post-season, or the Orioles, against whom they lost eight of their thirteen contests this year.  I hate to say it, but the Astros may make another appearance in the Fall Classic.

Cy Young: Tristan McKenzie

McKenzie struggled this year and split the year between Cleveland and Triple A Columbus.  Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner.

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

Another wrong guess.  Aaron Judge will probably take it home for the second time in three seasons.

National League

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T Minus 2

Following last night’s loss to the Padres, the White Sox now have 118 loses. just two away from the modern record set by the expansion Mets in 1962.  They would have to go 7-1 over their remaining eight games to avoid tying the record.  They have won seven games since August 16.

Selling Your Soul

The Cubs made their deal with the devil, Motorola in this case, on Thursday, agreeing to add an advertising patch to their jerseys as part of a multiyear deal to make the company the team’s “official smartphone.”  The patches made their on-field debut Thursday night against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

For the home pinstripes and road grays, the Motorola logo will have a blue background with a white M.  The alternate blue jerseys will have a white background with a blue M, while the City Connect jerseys will have a white background with a navy-blue M.  Motorola is also the jersey sponsor for the Padres in MLB and, in Chicago, the Bulls.

The Cubs become the 23rd MLB team to strike a uniform patch deal, worth an average of $7-8 million with the largest deals, believed to be with the Yankees and Blue Jays, worth over $20 million.