KANSAS CITY — Erik Swanson stood in the Sacramento airport with his teammates on the Tacoma Rainiers, waiting for their flight to Sea-Tac International airport Monday evening. They’d opened the minor league season on the road with a five-game series and were now headed back to the Puget Sound for Tuesday’s home opener at Cheney Stadium.
But his ringing cellphone with the caller ID of Andy McKay, the Mariners’ director of player development, changed his travel plans quite drastically. He was headed to the big leagues for the first time in his career.
“At about 7 o’clock, Andy McKay called me and told me I’d be meeting the (Mariners) in Kansas City,” Swanson said.