They’re partying like they’ve won the championship, but they’re still a long way from it.
But the Seattle Mariners have every reason to celebrate. The Pacific Northwest baseball team has finally shed its reputation as the biggest laughing stock in US sports.
The Mariners have qualified for the championship playoffs for the first time in 21 years. No other team in America’s four major professional leagues has waited longer to make it to the finals.
The joy was correspondingly great when Cal Raleigh (25) hit the decisive home run to win against the Oakland A’s on Friday evening. Six games before the end of the main round, Seattle can no longer take part in the playoffs.
“I knew the ball was flying far and looked straight at my team-mates. They jumped up and down. It was crazy,” Raleigh describes the moment of happiness, which was also celebrated in the stands.
While none of the current players were there when they last qualified for the playoffs in 2001, things are different for Mariners fans.
Since the Mariners last made the playoffs, the supporter on the right has changed quite a bit, she stuck a photo from back then on her poster
The team has been mocked for years. Many considered it cursed for lack of success.
Not uncommon in baseball. The Chicago Cubs once waited 108 years for their next championship. A man who was not allowed to remain in the stadium with his goat is said to have been responsible for the curse.
No such curious reason is known in Seattle. But the fact is: The Mariners won 116 games in 2001. No team in MLB has ever won more. Still, it wasn’t enough for the title. The M’s lost to the Yankees in the semifinals.
The frustration was immense at the time. It seemed as if the team had missed a golden opportunity for the first championship. Since then there was no chance for revenge – until last night.
After the game, the dressing room got down to business
Only the Sacramento Kings should have been annoyed about the end of the dry spell. The NBA team last made the playoffs in 2006, taking the place of the biggest losers.
The playoffs for the Seattle Mariners begin on October 7th.
