Is this heaven?

The Seattle Mariners are one of the best teams in baseball and it's pretty alright.

The Seattle Mariners were not going to lose yesterday. Not an option. Not a consideration. No way.

On a glorious Sunday afternoon in Seattle, the first-place M’s faced the usually woeful Kansas City Royals in line for the sweep. They had their rock on the bump. They had more than 40,000 in the building, again.

Hell, ignoring the dystopian causality behind the haze, it even looked like a damn Instagram filter out there.

Nah. They were taking that one.

God, it was so good to be there.

Eventually we’ll settle into this publication well enough that I stop saying, “As a heads up, this is a blog,” but hey, as a heads up, this is a blog and your’e gonna get personal perspective emblematic of the medium.

Yesterday afternoon was a little different than how I usually spend a ballgame, and it was perfect.

Saturday night, the family group chat was blowing up about who was planning to go. I have four siblings plus my dad all here in Seattle (we miss ya, Mom)—so we tend to spend quality time around sports. Always have.

But, I’d already made plans for Sunday. Even had a sick-ass garish-as-hell All-Star Game button-up I was looking forward to wearing for the first time.

I’ve met some of my best friends in life through the Mariners. One of them had a suite through work and invited me and my wife, along with another buddy and his, to join their incredible family for the matinee.

And man, let me tell you, sitting there with a couple of your best friends, each now with a walking and talking(ish) mini replica of themselves watching the first-place Seattle Mariners get a dub is about as good as it gets.

Yesterday was social. Honestly, honestly, this is just hitting me but I think it was mass.

Yeah, Julio and Luís and Teo and Andrés took us to church.

But way more relaxing. Like I said, they were gonna win that.

I got a Bloody Mary and a dog before I even got to my seat. I mingled, I soaked in the afternoon, I loved that Julio homer.

I don’t know how many Julio bombs I’ve seen live now, but it’s feeling like a lot and every one is so special. They’re so satisfying. That’s our guy, and this is what he does. And it’s all the better when they’re during a sunny matinee.

I walked out and met up with my brothers at their seats. One had the Twins game running on Streameast. Had a quick chat, caught up, then back upstairs.

The building was buzzing. You could really feel it late, for big outs in the eighth—and then Muñoz blowing through the Royals like me on an ebike through postgame traffic.

In the last post, I spent probably too many words on how long it’s been since they were playing games like this, but we have been dreaming of games like this—of afternoons like that—for so damn long.

Ho hum, they were already in first place. At the bar postgame on Friday, I honestly took a sense of pride in talking about it to an Orioles fan, us both supporting division leaders. It felt like we M’s fans were already settling nicely into this spot, but it sure is fun to be able to celebrate having it alone.

For the ride home, I cued up the postgame show—and Scott said something that made be stop for a second to text myself.

“It’s what baseball is supposed to be like.”

Yeah. Baseball.

Give it the big, old James Earl Jones voice.

Base-balll.

These are the days we’ve always dreamed of. Here’s to many more of ‘em.

Go M’s.