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Seattle supporters make trek to Toronto in hope of seeing MLB team clinch franchise’s first trip to World Series
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Longtime fans of the Seattle Mariners who made the trek to Toronto are hoping the team makes history at Rogers Centre Sunday or Monday night.
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With a commanding 3-2 lead against the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series, several M’s fans made the trek to Toronto in hope of seeing their team clinch the franchise’s first trip to the World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers await.
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Matt Walker, from Portland, said he was “nervous” while watching the Mariners take batting practice.
“I’ve had my hopes get up there and then dashed,” he told the Toronto Sun. “So, I’m just nervous.”
Walker went to games 3 and 4 at T-Mobile Park and went to games 1, 2 and 5 of the AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. He made the decision to travel to Toronto after a weekend trip to New York City brought him east on Saturday.
“I was supposed to go home today, but when they won Game 5, I redirected my flight through Toronto,” Walker said.
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The Mariners clinched their first ALCS berth in 24 years when Jorge Polanco hit a single in the 15th inning that lifted Seattle past the Tigers 3-2 in the longest winner-take-all game in post-season history.
Walker couldn’t put into words what a win in Toronto might mean for longtime fans of the franchise, which joined Major League Baseball as an expansion team in 1977 — the same year as the Blue Jays.
“Everyone in Seattle is super-pumped, but it’s almost like nobody knows how to act,” he said. “We’ve been to the post-season, but we’ve never made it to where we’ve needed to go … so most people I know are kind of waiting for the bottom to drop out.”
Before first pitch, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said he was “grateful” for the support “faithful” Seattle fans have given the team all season long.
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“You can’t do it without them,” he said. “We’re hoping to bring this home.”
Seattle native Dominic Adams bought his ticket to Game 6 in the middle of the ninth inning Friday night during the Mariners’ comeback 6-2 victory in Seattle.
“I bought a return ticket for Tuesday and I hope I can switch it for tomorrow,” he said.
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‘BIG DEAL’ TO MARINERS FANS
Adams, who has been to all of the Mariners’ home games during the post-season, said a trip to the World Series is a “big deal” to M’s fans who have been waiting 48 years for their shot.
“It means a lot,” he said. “Especially to those of us who’ve been there for the tough years. We’re looking forward to seeing it.”
Whoever wins, the reigning World Series-champion Dodgers will be a tough test.
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“But just to get there would a huge plus for all of us,” Adams said, namechecking Eugenio Suárez’s clutch grand slam Friday night as the highlight of his season.
Raymond Jones, another lifelong M’s supporter who became a fan at the age of five when his mother took him on a trip to the city, bought tickets with his wife and drove up from Indiana on Saturday.
“I’m finally getting a chance to see them get to the playoffs and get this chance to win to go the World Series,” he said. “It’s an opportunity I haven’t had much of in my life … To be a fan your whole life and see them get to this point and have that opportunity in person … it’s a big moment.”
Seattle transplant Ryan Sutton made the decision to drive up from Michigan Saturday morning. “We bought tickets yesterday and then made the 4 1/2-hour drive here,” he said.
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“There’s no words for this,” said. “If we can clinch it, it’s going to be probably one of the best things for Seattle. Period … It’s long overdue.”
“To get that monkey off our back, to no longer be the only team in baseball to never go to the World Series, that’s big for me,” his friend Chris Kalaluhi added. “We watched Game 5 Friday and said to one another, ‘Let’s go. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’”
Game 6 gets underway just after 8 p.m. on Sunday with Jays rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage going up against star Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert.
mdaniell@postmedia.com
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