On Wednesday, the boys and I toured Safeco Field.
While Liam enjoyed the tour greatly (with more interest than Crispin), he seemed righteously indignant that I would distract him by taking photos, so all the photos of him present something of a melancholy, such as
this photo outside the field, waiting for the tour to commence. And particularly when we were inside by the Mariners' dug-out.
He did smile for this group photo.
In the picture below, the boys are looking at the seat where star player Ichiro Suzuki sits during games. He has a special hole to keep his bat next to him. The Japanese product, "Sato," is unavailable in America. Ichiro is so popular in Japan--our tour guide stated that perhaps only Michael Jordan at his height came close to Ichiro's immense popularity in Japan--that Safeco field has lots of Japanese advertising, room for Japanese press, and things that only mean something to fans watching back in Japan.
All this support is helpful; until the Mets and Yankees built their new stadiums, Safeco Field was the most expensive ballpark in baseball, and unlike the home of the Yankees, it is home to a team that has not won a world series.
The field is now paid off. Ichiro's $17 million a year contract is cheap in contrast to all the money he brings into the team (his jerseys are a big hit with American children, too). The Mariners have an owner with the 2nd longest duration in the major leagues--only behind the Steinbrenner family. The majority owner has never been to a game--or left Japan because he is afraid of flying. He owns Nintendo, and the Seattle Nintendo offices did so well for the Japanese country that when the team was up for sale way back and nobody seemed willing to buy the team to keep it in Seattle, he worked together with a Microsoft baseball buff (he didn't need the money; but MLB wouldn't allow a majority foreign owner) to buy the team. He's now been such a reasonable owner, MLB has allowed him to acquire more than 50% of the team. We know all this because we got to tour his owner's suite that he has never been to (there are 10 other owners of a small amount of the team that go there a lot). We also were able to visit the clubhouse for the visiting team (empty because the Mariners are on the road).
Here I am taking a photo from Ichiro's seat on the bench. Crispin was actually cheery at this moment and wanted to pretend to be a catcher,
as he is in the picture above.
We toured the fancy club behind home plate--starting at $200 you get the best seats (the very best seats are more than that; prices are not revealed) and a gourmet meal in a club with pictures of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and Lou Gehrig. The boys and I have been reading a bio of Babe Ruth, so we were able to answer some trivia questions and impress the tour guide.
We also visited the spot where a winning pitcher or mvp might be interviewed. Here is Crispin ready to give his speech to the masses.
We ended our tour where the lucky reporters for newspapers (many from Japan) get to watch every game and eat all the soft ice cream and hot dogs they want and drink Starbucks (no signs of the sorts of beverages Harry Caray was supposed to have consumed; but we also didn't go upstairs to see where the television and radio commentators sit) to their delight--the Mariners want the press to say nice things about them. Here is a picture of the back of Crispin's and Liam's heads.
This delightful tour was intended to be a time filler on a day of adventures on the other side. I was impressed by how impressive it was.
Our main attraction of the day was attending a production of Jesus Christ, Superstar in Everett. Because of Rhapsody music service (to which I pay a modest subscription), the boys and I were able to listen to 4 different recordings before seeing the actual show. We knew the plot and were able to be fully engaged and enjoy seeing how this director and cast interpreted the plot. It took me a time or two of listening to Lloyd Webber's rock songs in 5/4 and 7/4 time, but now I find the soundtrack engaging and catchy. I would definitely see the show again.
