Safeco Field will be full of festivities, fans, players, managers and coaches and more, for FanFest. New general manager Jack Zduriencik, manager Don Wakamatsu and a brand new coaching staff will be there. Spirited mascot Mariner Moose will be on hand to provide his own brand of entertainment as no other can.
Tours of the Mariners clubhouse will be available for attendees as well as memorable opportunities to catch a fly ball, run around the bases or hit a home run over the fence. Question and answer sessions are always in order for curious fans with inquiring minds as well as autographs from players.
The list of attendees includes: Don Wakamatsu, Mike Morse, Aaron Heilman, Franklin Gutierrez, Roy Corcoran, Mark Lowe, Tyler Walker, Ty Van Burkleo, Lee Tinsley, Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs, Mike Blowers and Dave Sims.
The new Mariners Hall of Fame and History of Baseball in the Northwest Exhibit promise to thrill those fans who want to see how the Mariners got their start and how far they've come. There will also be opportunities to go behind the scenes and learn how the retractable roof opens and to check out the control room.
Likewise, for children, the Kids' Zone will provide chances to have a keepsake picture taken with Mariner Moose along with some of the most enjoyable kid-oriented ideas around such as the waffle ball batting cages, speed pitch, an obstacle course and face painting.
With so many years of experience, it's easy to imagine that there's no difficulty in making each subsequent year of the FanFest a success. On the other hand, however, it's not hard to imagine the creativity that must go into keeping the Fanfest exciting, fresh, original and appealing to the fans.
The FanFest at Safeco Field represents one of the last big events before the team heads off to Spring Training in Peoria, Arizona this year. With little more than a month left before the official start of Spring Training, the Mariners are hoping to sign Josh Fields to the rosters before training starts. Discussions have been taking place but with the change in general managers, there is a matter to deal with that the new GM inherited.
During earlier talks where Bill Bavasi was the general manager, Fields was offered $1.5 million but his agent Scott Boras advised him to hold out for $2 million, which Fields did and that's as far as it went. The Mariners have until late May to get Fields signed or Fields gets his Draft eligibility back and become available for the First-Year Player draft, to be held in June.
The Mariners anticipated that Field would take the fast track to the Major Leagues but thus far, that anticipation is unsatisfied and a very real possibility exists that Field may become the first unsigned No. 1 Draft choice since 2002 with John Mayberry.
"I don't have an answer right now. We'll go down that road and see how it works out," Zduriencik said.
Portuguese
Spanish
French