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I think the first thing you’re going to notice about Safeco Field is that it’s a ballpark. It has all the elements of a great ballpark. It’s fan friendly. It’s fair for the players. It’s great for the fans, and, yet, it also incorporates what it’s like to live and be a part of the Pacific Northwest, which is one of the most beautiful parts of this country, so I think it’s the best ballpark in baseball. They did it right, and there’s a great feel and look to it.

—Rick Rizzs, Seattle Mariners radio play-by-play broadcaster

In the Pacific Northwest, there’s so much moisture even a rolling stone gathers moss. Seattle, the metropolitan epicenter of this region, although it pales by comparison to its rural neighbors, catches much of that moisture all year. Since a baseball player’s contract does not include the postman’s oath of “neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night . . . ,” something had to be done to not only invite baseball to the Emerald City but have it endure there as well. The Kingdome, a rain/sleet/dark-free Seattle landmark, hosted both MLB’s Seattle Mariners and the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks for years. Four fallen ceiling tiles, a player’s strike, and $517 million later, Seattle achieved the improbable, moving the Mariners into Safeco Field, an open-air ballpark with a state-of-the-art, 22-million pound umbrella.

Opened on July 15, 1999, Safeco Field features a very unique, nine-acre, retractable roof that shields the fans and field of play from the falling rain while still keeping the park unenclosed. Seattle Mariners play-by-play radio broadcaster Rick Rizzs describes the park’s unique feature: “I think that’s one of the greatest features of Safeco Field. We needed a roof. For years, we played indoors and had to because of all of the rain in April and May and later on in the year in September. So they had to have something, but, when the roof is extended and comes across the field, it’s still open. It’s still an open-air ballpark because there’s trusses that hold up the roof on the railroad tracks, so the elements are still there. The wind. The cold. The heat. It’s still an outdoor stadium that’s covered, so it’s very unique in that way.” While Safeco’s unenclosed, unsealed structure would probably not pass in the field of water filtration or as a potential site for the Washington State Center for Disease Control, you won’t hear Mariners fans complaining about the “elements” this configuration allows them to absorb. Rick Rizzs continues, “You’re gonna notice downtown off to your left. One of the other things that you’re gonna notice—you’re not gonna see it, but you’re gonna hear it—you’re gonna hear the sounds of the train beyond the right-field stands; of the commuter trains going in and out of the King Street Station, and that’s a very unique sound. It brings back great memories for me because of where I grew up on the south side of Chicago. There was a train track not too far away, and you could still hear the wail of the whistle of the engine, so you’re gonna hear that. You’re gonna hear seagulls. You’re gonna see seagulls come in off of Elliott Bay, where the wind will come in. You’re gonna smell the fact that we’re pretty much right on the water there.” Although not a fishmonger’s throw from world-famous Pike Place Market, Safeco Field’s proximity to the water helps it haul in the ever-so-fresh smell of the Pacific Ocean and its former residents, many of which will likely be found on the menu at the Ricenroll sushi and sake stand in section 137. One rainy city feature Safeco’s unenclosed canopy doesn’t completely detain is the fog. Luckily for the fans, in the event an untimely fog rolls in off Elliott Bay during a game, the 11,425-square-foot LED screen (largest in the majors) above the right-field bleachers, which could probably stop a tsunami, refracts these prodigal cumuli like a pocky pier and stays the hand of the umpire calling for a stoppage of play. With all these technological marvels keeping things from coming in to the ballpark, Mariners management, after the ’12 season, began to make changes to help things (like a home run ball) go out of it.

While Petco Park, Citi Field, and Marlins Park have outpurchased Safeco as far as sod is concerned, it’s the quality—not the quantity—that matters. Rizzs comments, “It’s one of the best playing surfaces in the game. Bob Christofferson is our head groundskeeper, and his crew—Leo, Tim, and all the guys—they do a great job, so if you’re a player at Safeco Field, you’ve gotta appreciate the surface that you’re playing on.” In its inaugural season, Safeco Field was considered one of the pitcher-friendliest ballparks in the majors. Its left center depth of 390 feet and counting was one of the largest in baseball. Adding to the equation, the foul territory down the base lines, although not nearly as expansive as that of the O.co Coliseum, allowed corner infielders to chase down a considerable number of foul balls, depriving hitters of would-have-been second chances in Globe Life Park in Arlington or Yankee Stadium. At the end of the ’12 season, the fences were brought in from right center all the way to left field just before the foul pole. Although not too dramatic in right or straightaway center field, the changes in left center were the biggest, bringing the fences in as much as 17 feet. Since the areas behind the sections with the greatest change are occupied by bullpens and an eating concourse, no additional seats were added to Safeco’s capacity. In defense of Seattle Mariners management, who seem more like baseball-hoarding, crotchety next-door neighbors, this alteration was for the benefit of the fans, making Safeco Field a more hitter-friendly ballpark. Rizzs adds, “It’s your home park, and you’ve gotta make it feel at home. It’s a fair ballpark. It was a pretty good pitcher’s ballpark, and now the fences have come in, but you’ve still gotta hit it out for a home run. It’s still fair. If you hit it in the gaps, a line drive is a base hit, whether it’s Safeco Field, or Yankee Stadium, or the old Metrodome, or wherever. A left-handed hitter will get it out to right field. Right-handed hitters, if they hit the ball the other way, it’s gonna go out, so it’s fair for the pitchers. It’s fair for the hitters. I think it just plays well for the players and especially for the fans who come watch these guys play.” The results of the changes in field depth were almost instantaneous; in the following season (’13), the Mariners were second only to the Camden Yards–aided Baltimore Orioles for most home runs in all of baseball. With the addition of Seattle’s third “C” (Cobain, Coffee, and) Robinson Cano, the Mariners may just unseat the O’s for the long-ball title. “Rounding out the field,” Safeco is best described by Rick Rizzs as a fair ballpark; however, from a visiting player’s standpoint, one could bring the fences in to Little League regulation, and it still wouldn’t impede Safeco Field’s feature that is most unfair to hitters: “King” Felix Hernandez.

The King’s Court Is in Session

Currently in his ninth season (’14) as a starter, Felix Hernandez has surpassed the 200-strikeout plateau in each of the last six years, and though averaging only 13.33 wins a season, has a career ERA of just 3.08. In fact, since 2010 Hernandez has had 45 starts of eight innings or more allowing one earned run or less, more than any other pitcher in all of baseball. Rizzs notes, “Every time that Felix Hernandez pitches, this guy just turns up the crowd. He turns up the electricity at the ballpark. He’s a treasure for us. We love the kid. He’s the king.” As a king will have his subjects, one of Safeco Field’s most unique elements is “the King’s Court,” an entire section located near the left-field foul pole dedicated to the Venezuelan right-hander. To obtain a seat in the King’s Court, a fan buys a specially priced ticket, which includes a yellow “King’s Court” T-shirt and a giant yellow “K” card, representing the pitcher’s propensity to strike out hitters. Living up to his title, on August 15, 2012, King Felix pitched the first perfect game in Mariners’ history, striking out 12 batters and out-dueling Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson for a 1–0 victory. Rick Rizzs calls Hernandez’s perfect game “one of the most phenomenal pitching performances that I have ever seen.” In honor of King Felix’s gem, the Mariners and their fans held a special session for their ace’s next start, calling it the “Supreme Court.” Everyone in attendance was given a yellow T-shirt that read, “King of Perfection” with a silhouette of Fernandez’s arms raised in celebration. Rick Rizzs describes what was easily one of his most memorable moments as a broadcaster: “I think there were about 34,000 people with yellow T-shirts, and just to see this site from my vantage point up in our radio booth; to see this sea of yellow honoring this young man who has accomplished so much in a Mariner’s uniform. It was just an overwhelming site to see the city, the organization, and the fans give this kid the hug they gave him on that day. It was a beautiful site.” Hernandez pitched 7⅔ innings, giving up only one run and striking out five in a 5–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Serving as the proverbial bailiff in King Felix’s Supreme Court, Seattle manager Eric Wedge took the ball from the right-hander, causing the 39,204 fans in attendance to “all rise” as court was adjourned.

All Alone Up There in the Pacific Northwest

Since Major League Baseball hasn’t made its way up the Oregon Trail from Silicon Valley or through the badlands of South Dakota, Seattle stands as baseball’s hub for the Pacific Northwest and sometimes finds itself with the unlikeliest of fans. Rick Rizzs relates how far his broadcasting voice echoes: “There’s always a lot of people that come up to us. People that are shut in. The elderly folks that have no chance of getting out to the ballpark and we’re their one connection. We can take ’em to the ballpark, wherever they are listening to the ballgame. I’ll never forget many years ago, I got a letter from these two elderly ladies from Montana. They said, ‘We really enjoy listening to your broadcast, but the only way we can get it in Montana is if we get in our pickup truck, drive up to the top of the mountain, turn the radio on, and then we can get reception and listen to the games.’ Every night, from that point on for the rest of the year, I thought about these two elderly women sitting in a pickup truck at the top of a mountain somewhere in Montana. We were the connection to them and Mariners baseball.” It’s likely that pickup truck made its way up the mountain many more times during the ’01 season.

September 19, 2001: A Division Win for the Ages

Although a year to forget for America, 2001 was one to remember for the Mariners, whose lineup consisted of hitters like Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, MVP runner-up Bret Boone, and MVP and Rookie of the Year winner Ichiro Suzuki. On September 10 the Mariners were an astonishing 64 games over .500 and 17 games ahead of an Oakland A’s team that would still end up winning 102 games. With Seattle on its way to breaking the American League record for most wins in a season, 9/11 occurred, and baseball shut down for a week. As soon as play resumed, the Mariners shut out the Anaheim Angels 4–0 on September 19, clinching the American League West Division for the first time in four years. Considering the division title was practically inevitable by the All-Star break, the Mariners’ postgame celebration was one for the country more than for themselves. Rizzs notes, “When the Mariners clinched, it wasn’t a wild, raucous celebration. We had a great crowd at Safeco Field. They were on their way to winning a record 116 games to tie the 1906 Chicago Cubs. It was a celebration on the field that was respectful to what was going on in the country. The guys went out to the mound led by Lou Piniella. I’ll never forget it. Mark McLemore and Mike Cameron had the American flag. It was just a celebration of our resolve as a country, as a people; to come back from these terrible events, and it was a way for baseball to galvanize the country. It was a time for the people of Seattle to, at the time, rally around the ball club and the success they had, but also be very respectful to the lives that had been lost in the World Trade Center and those brave firemen and policemen who tried to go in and help those people. It was just one of the most incredible days that I’ve ever seen at a ballpark.” Two weeks later, the Mariners won their 116th regular season game, tying the ’06 Chicago Cubs.

There’s No Place Like Home . . . in the Emerald City

Safeco Field opened nearly five years (to the day) after four tiles fell from the Kingdome ceiling onto seats that would have been occupied by fans only hours later. With the ’94 season players’ strike occurring just a month after, Mariners ownership had the fall and winter to assess the situation. While a bandage was applied to the Kingdome, the state legislature got to work on finding ways to fund a new stadium, which included a surcharge on rental cars. Why not, right? If the voters don’t want to be taxed, syphon money from tourists, who will probably never go to a game because they’re too busy hiking Mount Rainier. Even though restaurant patrons in the Seattle area had to scratch their heads over the added “food and beverage” tax on their bills, and Mariners ticket holders found a fourth added charge (after the LET, online purchasing fee, and “just for the hell of it” fee) to their price of admission, the owners have been gracious hosts in this new ballpark. Since their magical 2001 season, the Mariners have not returned to the playoffs, and attendance numbers have gradually decreased, yet the team continues to supply the fans with the best and most enjoyable amenities they can. Despite the team finishing last in the AL West and attendance being the fourth lowest in the American League, a $15 million renovation took place after the ’12 season, which included the addition of the “fog bouncing” MarinersVision, the second-largest scoreboard in all of sports (first is AT&T Stadium, Dallas). Although it’s unlikely low attendance numbers will be rewarded after every season, it’s clear baseball is here to stay in the Emerald City. The Ichi-roll may be a thing of the past in Safeco Field, but Edgar’s Tacos are as much a stadium fixture as its indoor plumbing. Sounding off on Safeco Field—from its inception to today—Rick Rizzs adds, “I love it there. I really do. It’s a great ballpark. They did such a great job of going to all the other ballparks—the old ones and the newer ones—and to incorporate what they wanted in Seattle, and they built a ballpark. Great sight lines and it just feels like baseball, and I’m so glad they did that because we shared the Kingdome, but now we have the best of both worlds. We’ve got the best ballpark in the country, and, right across the street is Century Link Field, home of the (2013) Super Bowl Champion Seahawks. It’s going to be a monument to the game up there in the Northwest for a long time.”