Over the past few months, as the Mariners grew from a 29-39 disappointment to the cusp of a breakthrough, Stanton’s responsibilities as principal owner changed with their fortunes. He didn’t need to answer for the franchise’s competitive sins anymore. He was now high-fiving strangers in the grocery store.
“It’s so special, just standing in his presence,” said Stanton, a 67-year-old Pacific Northwest lifer. “It is for every kid that grew up in Seattle. This is so cool. The city deserves it.”Sports are often a painful obsession, built to guarantee perpetual dissatisfaction. Every year, there’s a single champion rising above a frustrated swarm. The experience is full of anguish, booing and constant “what if?” musing.
“I haven’t been in Seattle but a few years, but I feel like I’m one of the fans that has waited for 21 years,” 25-year-old pitcher Logan Gilbert said. “It was just a culmination of a lot of waiting.” “I got cut from my junior high baseball team the same week,” Stanton said. “For me, that was the worst baseball week of my life. To see this, over 50 years later, is just so special and surreal. To see these guys that have come together as a team, to see where we were in June to now, it’s just amazing.”