A Long Game

Win or lose, a dedicated baseball fan always stays at the stadium until the final out is recorded. However, if you live in Bremerton and depend on a ferry ride to get home, it isn’t always easy to be dedicated. During last night’s Mariners game against the Orioles (a 4-2 Baltimore win in 18 innings), I took the easy way out.

My nephew from Japan has been visiting me this month before flying to California for his second year of college. We’ve had a lot of fun catching the M’s games on radio and TV. He even has a new favorite Mariner (team RBI leader Kyle Seager) now that Ichiro is a Yankee. He also quickly understood the frustration of being a Mariners fan—not much offense and a lot of close games.

Last night (his last night here) we decided to attend a game at Safeco Field. We did everything right. We bought return ferry tickets in advance and even timed the hike from the terminal to the stadium so we could stay to the last minute if needed.

Using the Mariners web site, I got us seats in Section 121 just a few rows up from first base. The weather was perfect so the roof was open. We sat next to a couple of friendly season ticket holders who gave my nephew tips on how to get the baseball from the Mariner who makes the final putout each inning when he returns to the dugout. Unfortunately, at age 21 my nephew couldn’t compete with the kids in our section as the players kept tossing the balls to them. But he had fun trying.

The Mariners scored 2 runs in the 4th inning on a home run by Miguel Olivo. Meanwhile Erasmo Ramirez, our starter, was pitching a shutout. The game moved along quickly. No problem making the 10:30 PM sailing I thought. Based on a 7:10 PM start time and allowing 20 minutes to hustle to the ferry, all we needed was a 3-hour game. That’s about 10 to 15 minutes longer than the MLB average.

At this point let me say that I understand that if you care about time you shouldn’t go to a baseball game. Unlike football there is no time limit. A game takes as long as it takes. But I submit that Abner Doubleday didn’t think about people riding a ferry to Bremerton to get home. Especially when the next (and last) departure after the 10:30 PM sailing is the 12:50 AM late boat and the fans need to get up at 5:00 AM to drive to SeaTac airport.

It turned out that even the 12:50 AM ferry wouldn’t have been late enough.

The Mariners were ahead 2 to nothing after 8 innings. Ramirez had allowed just two hits and no walks so Seattle manager Eric Wedge let him try for a complete-game shutout. The first two Baltimore hitters singled to start the 9th inning. Both scored on a solid single following a sacrifice bunt. Tie game.

Should Wedge have put our closer in to start the 9th? In hindsight, yes. In the opinions of the fans seated near us, an emphatic YES and Wedge is a (unprintable). Our saves guy does better when he doesn’t inherit base runners. We might have won the game in the regulation 9 innings.

My nephew and I stayed through the 10th. That’s when we left the ranks of the dedicated and sprinted to the ferry terminal.

We listened to the game on the radio during the ferry and car rides home. It kept going. Once we got home, my nephew turned on the TV. Meanwhile I went outside to look for the Mud Cat, who sauntered in almost an hour after we got in. Both teams were still battling as the cat ate a late dinner and acted like he wasn’t overdue. (Are cats like baseball games with no firm schedules?)

The game ended shortly before 1:00 AM after Baltimore scored 2 runs in the top of the 18th and the Mariners couldn’t answer in their final at bat. Game length: 5:44.

The 5:00 AM wakeup call came mighty early.