“Swung on and lined down the left field line for a base hit!”
If you’ve followed the Mariners for any significant amount of time, you can probably fill in the rest of the words yourself. With one swing, Edgar Martinez sent the Mariners to their first ever American League Championship Series, and by many accounts, saved baseball in Seattle.
What you may not know is that before Edgar, Griffey, Randy, and Alex, professional baseball in Seattle came close to folding before it ever really took off.
This Sunday, July 7th, the Mariners will be honoring the 100th birthday of the original savior of baseball in Seattle: Fred Hutchinson.