Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (131 page)

Josh:
When I grew up dreaming of being a baseball writer I never would have guessed I’d wind up writing about quilts.

Kevin:
Shut up and appreciate the art!

Located on the main concourse level of Safeco, the BMPN honors the developments of the game and the teams that have graced the fields of the region—including Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and British Columbia. It’s a neat little exhibit full of history and pride, and there are plenty of interactive exhibits to convey the touch and feel of Northwest baseball, past and present. Perhaps the most unique exhibit is the “You Make the Call” booth, dedicated to Dave Niehaus and the fan experience of the game. Old and young fans will get a kick out of adding their own personal descriptions of the game as it plays out before them on video monitors.

Located inside the Baseball Museum of the Pacific Northwest, the Mariner Hall of Fame opened its doors for the first time during the 2002 season. The M’s announced just two charter inductees: Alvin Davis, the 1984 AL Rookie of the Year, and Niehaus. Since then, Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez have been added. Can Ken Griffey Jr. be far behind?

The delicious aroma of coffee wafts around the ballpark in combination with the seafood smells and the wonderful saltwater scent coming off Elliott Bay. The eating experience at Safeco will not disappoint. While there are foods to avoid, there is plenty of local fare to enjoy. Another Safeco first, 411-ing yourself some eats. That’s right, you can use your cell phone, computer, iPad, or any other device fit for the task to request that anything on the menu be delivered right to your seat. Several other ballparks have since picked up on this innovation.

Local seafood establishment Ivar’s features two stands inside the stadium. This is not only a great trademark food of the ballpark, but also of Seattle. You have to try the Fish Dog, which is exactly what it sounds like, and all we hoped it would be. A deep fried link of cod, smothered in tartar and coleslaw. The deep-fried fish and chips is a staple of the Seattle dining experience. The fish is lightly fried to perfection and will warm your soul on those sea-breezy evenings of spring or fall. The homemade chowder and salmon sandwich are also exceptional. Deep-fried salmon and chips used to be our favorite, but they took it off the menu at the stadium stands. Bummer.

Kevin:
Last time we pleaded that they bring back the salmon! Isn’t anyone listening?

Josh:
Ivar, hear our prayer.

Several great dog options abound at Safeco. The Superdog is an oversized red hot with a respectable amount of snap to it. The aforementioned Ivar’s Fish Dog takes the top ranking of all dogs not made of pork. For a special treat outside the park, try the Ichi-dog.

Many fans have been lauding Safeco’s
garlic fries
as the ballpark’s trademark food. We agree that chopped garlic and herbs unabashedly spread over crispy french fries makes for a delicious ballgame treat. But the problem is, they’ve been serving garlic fries in San Francisco for years—first at Candlestick and now at AT&T Park. Seattle ain’t San Fran, nor is anywhere else for that matter. It has its own personality that should be reflected in its most cherished munchies. To this day the aptly named
Ichi-roll
remains our favorite Best of the Rest selection. This is a sushi roll made of spicy tuna and rice, wrapped in delicious seaweed. It has become so popular at the ballpark in recent years that restaurants around town have started serving the Ichi-roll. Now to us, that is how ballpark food should be, leading the epicurean charge rather than lagging behind.

Yes, Martha, they do offer authentic
Parisian crêpes
at the ballpark in Seattle. Now, we know what you’re thinking. Crêpes? Aren’t they a bit messy for ballpark food? Sure they are, but then again so are nachos, and we’re not seeing anybody getting rid of those anytime soon. And the crêpes are good. Perhaps not the best ever, but definitely worth a try.

Seattle continues to up the ante for ballpark food. We look at it this way: Seattle hipsters led the way with sushi at the ballpark, so maybe they’re on to the next big thing. They remodeled the old “Bullpen Market,” out in centerfield, now calling it simply “The Pen,” and it features food from prominent chefs. There’s
grass-fed beef burgers
and
sausages made in beer
by chef Ethan Stowell at the Hamburg & Frites stand; and
Mexican tortas
by chef Roberto Santibanez at Tortugas Volandoras that are surprisingly fresh and delicious. There is also the
New Haven–style thin crust pizza
made with local ingredients and fired in a real brick oven by chef Bill Pustari at Apizza.

Kevin:
It’s a bit yupp-ity, isn’t it?

Josh:
I have tasted the future of ballpark food, and I like it!

Kevin:
You’re eating a crêpe at the ballpark. I mean, it’s more like a dessert than a meal, right?

Josh:
What can I tell you? I like sweet as much as savory.

Kevin:
Turn off the food channel, Emeril.

We still give our most mediocre rating to the Hit It Here Café, which is located on the second deck. While ideas like this often seem great when stadiums are being designed, they usually turn out pretty average. This is no exception. The food is nothing special and it’s hard to see the game from all but a few tables. Save your money and eat at one of the Terraces instead.

Also beware of High Cheese Pizza, available at several stadium locations. We rank this a half-step above freezer pizza.

On our first trip across baseball America, we tried to alert our readers to the joys of microbrews at the ballpark. It seems as if someone out there was listening, because nearly every stadium in the land now offers microbrewed goodness in some form or another. But some of the best remain in Seattle.

Our favorites at Safeco are Alaskan Amber, Mirror Pond, Widmere Hefeweizen (pronounce the Ws as Vs, lest ye sound like a tourist), Mac & Jack’s African Amber, and of course, Red Hook.

Josh:
What are you doing drinking a Pabst? I thought you were Mr. Microbrew?

Kevin:
It’s the counter-revolution, my friend.

Josh:
No, you’re just getting old.

Seattle fans have been through it all. The good times, the bad times, and the ugly times when their franchises have picked up and left town. But through it all, they’ve developed a true love for their hometown ballclub that is certain not to fade. And their love of team infuses their attitude and behavior at the park.

An example of this civil behavior was told to us by Kevin’s friend Jim Sander, who accompanied us to a game. As Jim tells the story, the M’s were leading their divisional rivals, the Oakland A’s, late in a game. David Justice was in right field when a few loud and drunken men began yelling “Hal-le Ber-ry! Hal-le Ber-ry!” in reference to the fact that Justice and the actress were once married. This offended one Seattle woman, who stood up and shouted back at the men, “Stop saying that! You could really hurt his feelings!” And that was it. The men shut up.

Though taunting a rival player occurs often, it rarely gets as vicious as it does in cities like New York and Boston. Seattle fans seem to prefer cheering on their favorite Mariners stars.
While some might misread this as a lack of passion among Seattle fans, we don’t see it that way. We see Seattle fans as folks who embrace the power of positive thinking.

We all dream of the glory days returning again. But alas, it never comes to be. And so Seattle fans longed for the return of their departed heroes, Ken Griffey Jr., first among them.

That dream first began to take shape in 2007, when the aging star returned to Seattle while his Reds visited during an interleague matchup. Over the three-game series, every time Griffey came to the plate or a ball came near him, the Seattle crowds rose to their feet and roared their approval for the superstar who’d left town so many years before. Griffey, obviously overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from the city where his best (and least injury-plagued) years took place, joked that he wouldn’t mind winding up his career in a Mariner uniform. Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner were on hand to greet him, and as the fans cheered at the sight of Junior’s sweet swing, it all seemed as much a pipe dream for Mariner fans that Griffey might actually return.

Well for Mariner fans the dream did come true. Though it took a playoff stopover with the Chicago White Sox in 2008 to break Junior free of Cincinnati, the 2009 season brought Griffey back to Seattle. “The Kid” was a kid no longer, and he retired with the Mariners midseason 2010. His “Victory Tour” lasted a little more than a season, but brought few victories. He was a shell of his former self, of course, batting just .214 and .184 in his two final seasons with the M’s, but it was still nice to see him finish in the city where his illustrious career began.

Many ballparks have signature outdoor seating areas: picnic spots, outfield hot tubs, etc. Since this is Seattle, the signature outdoor seating area is a small outdoor fireplace, located behind the centerfield batter’s eye with no view of the field. On a positive note, it provides the one area in the entire ballpark where you can be warm prior to the Fourth of July.

During the seventh-inning stretch, after the obligatory singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” Safeco fans sing along to “Louie, Louie,” popularized by the 1960s Northwest rockers, The Kingsmen. When the tune first became a national sensation, J. Edgar Hoover had a team of FBI special agents dedicate hundreds of taxpayer-financed hours trying to crack “the code” hidden within its cryptic lyrics. Why? We haven’t a clue. Might as well ask why Hoover went parading around in ladies underwear. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

In the 1970s “Louie, Louie” was featured in the Northwest film classic
Animal House,
which was filmed on the University of Oregon campus. In the 1980s a recurring ballot measure was voted on in the Washington State Legislature to make “Louie, Louie” the official state anthem. None of these measures passed, but the Mariners still play the song religiously.

GM Jack Zduriencik came to Seattle from Milwaukee, where he was known as a general manager who embraced sabermetrics as a form of talent evaluation. Coincidently (or perhaps not), with his arrival to the Jet City, that knowledge is being passed on to the Mariner fan base. Scoreboards throughout the ballpark have been tweaked to show not only the standard pitch count and MPH, but the first pitch strike ratio and summary ball/strike breakdowns for pitchers, as well as on-base and OPS percentages for hitters. In addition, the scoreboard not only records when a player is out, but also displays the proper scoring syntax for those interested in keeping score at the park.

Josh:
Well, this guy’s record is 3-7 but he has a sweet WHIP.

Kevin:
I guess that means Zduriencik is doing a good job.

There is an official Code of Conduct at Safeco Field, and breaking that code will warrant receipt of a red ticket. On the ticket is printed Safeco’s code of conduct and unacceptable behaviors:

1. Foul/abusive language or obscene gestures
   
2. Intoxication or other signs of impairment related to alcohol consumption
   
3. Displays of affection not appropriate in a public, family setting
   
4. Obscene or indecent clothing
   
5. Any disruption of a game or event, including throwing of objects or trespassing on the playing field or other restricted areas
   
6. Sitting in a location other than the guest’s ticketed seat
   
7. Fighting, taunting or making threatening remarks or gestures
   
8. Smoking or the use of tobacco products, in any form