Edgar Martinez Day at Safeco Field

Today is day two for me going to see the Seattle Mariners. The game did not start until early evening. I had to clean up the yard for doggy-doo-doo. That was the highlight of my day. NOT! Seriously, I was looking forward to seeing the Seattle Mariners and more importantly Edgar Martinez.

I headed down to the field early so I could get a close spot. I was not close enough. I still parked almost the same spot that Jim and I parked last night. I walked to the field and the gates were not yet open. I stood in a long line waiting to get in. I wanted to make sure I was there early enough to get an Edgar Martinez DVD. It had highlights and other stuff about Edgar. I also picked up some Edgar Martinez magazines. I got one for Ryan.

The gates opened and I went inside. I found my seat and got on the phone to Ryan. I was straight back from the infield dirt. I was about thirty-five rows back. It was really cool how close I was.

Before the game got started they had a tribute to Ichiro for breaking the record last night. The Sissler family was there. They gave him a signed baseball hat from the St. Louis Brown baseball team that was signed by George Sissler.

Each time Edgar or Ichiro went to bat the fans would stand up and cheer. In one inning Edgar was at second base. Right behind him in the dirt was his name “EDGAR”. Tons of people were taking pictures of it. That would have been a cool photo to have.

At the begining of the 9th inning I could some people standing and pointing. I hear some murmers go across the crowd. I was looking around trying to see what they were looking at. I had hoped Edgar would get one more chance to play the field. Then I looked at third base and it was Edgar! The stadium announcer made the announcement "Your attention please, now playing third base, number eleven, EDGAR MARTINEZ!" The crowd went CRAZY. I was so happy. The first pitch was a ball. Then Willie Bloomquist came out to replace Edgar. The crowd first booed, then they got into one of the loudest stading ovations of the day. Then the crowd went into a fast Ed-Gar chant. Soon Edgar appears out of the dugout for a curtain call. The crowd went nuts again.

The Mariners lost the game. Then they got ready for the Edgar Day celebration. They brought out many old M’s and old teammates of Edgar. Bud Selig was there. People booed him. He had a shattering announcement. Major League Baseball was renaming the Designated Hitter of the year award for Edgar Martinez. The crowd went nuts. Then the Governor of Washington announced that the week was Edgar Martinez week in Washington. The Mayor of Seattle announced that the street next to Safeco Field was being renamed Edgar Martinez Drive. It was pretty cool.

Then near the end Edgar made a lap around Safeco Field giving fans high fives along the way.