One of the best baseball watching experiences I ever had was had from 800 miles away. In 2019, as the Mariners were slogging through the first year of the rebuild at the big-league level, the Modesto Nuts in the California League, Seattle’s High-A team, were playing thrilling baseball night after night, led by a crew of names that would soon become familiar to every Mariners fan: Cal Raleigh, Logan Gilbert, Julio Rodríguez, Jarred Kelenic, Penn Murfee. (And some that are not: shoutout to Ian McKinney, Eugene Helder, Nick Duron, and other lesser-hailed contributors). Many was a time when the Mariners would play some form of unwatchable baseball in the Eastern time zone, and I would turn on the sweet succor of Cal League promise to close out the night.
Cal League game breaks out at Mariners game, Mariners win 9-6
