Take me out to the ball game . . .

Today we went to a Mariners' game for the first time in several years. Ticket prices had become too crazy high for me. Scott had UW School of Medicine seats for his first Mariners game meaning that his first exposure was a few rows back just up from first base; convincing him of the charms of cheaper seats wasn't easy, and when even the cheaper seats meant spending more than a hundred dollars just to get in the door, I decided I'd just as soon watch the Dubsea Fish Sticks. (Full disclosure: I still heart the Fish Sticks more than the Mariners.) But today was a "value game" so we could get seats in the first row of the 300 level right behind the plate for $25 a pop. The forecast was for a bright sunny day in the low 60s so we committed to tickets and biked to what I persist in calling "Safeco" (even though I hated that name) though now, of course, it's "T Mobile Park." I went so far as to bring a sun hat and sunglasses, anticipating an afternoon in the sun.

Sweet view from the 300 level behind home plate

The first annoyance was the discovery that getting into a baseball stadium these days is more difficult than boarding an international flight; I had to transfer the contents of my purse into a clear plastic bag I fortunately happened to have with me and was chagrined to learn I couldn't carry my empty purse into the park at all. I stored that in Bessie's basket where, happily, it was unmolested all afternoon. Once inside, we ascended the stairs to the third level (being cheered on by the staff at the 200 and private box levels) and found our seats. Which were delightfully in the sun for about ten minutes. We were shivering a bit by the time the top of the 3rd rolled around so we migrated along the third baseline to some unoccupied seats in the full sun. It was bliss. Until the sun shifted enough to leave us in the shade again.

View from the third-base line, 300 level

Our third move was down a level and to the bleachers in the outfield for full sun and a view not really impeded by the foul pole, at least not after the people to our left moved elsewhere and we could slide over a few more feet. It was, I tell you, the perfect spot for watching Jonatan Clase score from second. Every news story I see makes vague reference to Mitch Haniger's RBI, but the real beauty of that score was Clase reaching second on a sort of hit-and-run (Julio Rodriguez, I think) though it's credited as a stolen base. The Mariners' fielding was all pretty beautiful as well; Luis Urías made a gorgeous stop at third.

 View from the outfield bleachers

Scott felt that the pitch clock resulted in a much zippier game, but my theory is that there just weren't a lot of pitching changes or bad plays to stretch the innings out. It was, regardless, an excellent way to spend a few hours of a sunny afternoon. And come the dog days of August, the shady coolness of those seats behind home will feel pretty darned nice.