Bring em’ down to the ballpark: Mariners celebrate Pride, Juneteenth, Fathers day and more during their fifth homestand
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Heading down to T-Mobile Park for a Mariners game doesn’t only include the fun of great baseball (most of the time, at least), it also includes the different ways that the organization gets fans engaged and involved through community and theme nights! During the fifth homestand of the year here in the month of June, the Mariners had three value games during their series against the Miami Marlins before the real festivities begin with a three-game slate against the Chicago White Sox! Starting with the continuation of Pride week, after the team had a special section you could buy tickets in for a Pride shirt, as well as celebrating Juneteenth and Father's Day through the weekend.
A promotional graphic showing what the Mariners Pride shirt giveaway looked like (Photo from the Mariners website)
Pride week festivities continue with fireworks
After the team had the first of two Pride Night’s back on June 13th where if you bought a ticket from the specialized link, you’d receive a Pride Night shirt, the Mariners will host their official “Pride Night” on Friday, June 16th when they host “Pride fireworks” after the ballgame against the Chicago White Sox. In addition to the fireworks night that will be happening after the game, if you bought tickets via this link (it’s too late to do so now, sadly) you would’ve been able to purchase a ticket in a section that would’ve included a Pride fanny pack. $5 from every ticket sold through that link will benefit the GSBA Scholarship fund, which is nice to see that there is some action outside of wearing Pride colors.
Black and white images of the Mariners in their Steelheads game on June 16th, 2022 (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Steelheads salute
Following Pride Night, the next day when the Mariners host the White Sox for a 1:10PM PST first pitch, Seattle will be saluting the Steelheads and hosting African American Heritage Day. In case you weren’t aware, the Steelheads were the cities Negro Leagues team that sadly only existed from 1944-1946. Playing in the old home of the Seattle Pilots, the Steelheads called Sicks Stadium home, while the team also played games in Tacoma, Bellingham, Bremerton, and Spokane in the West Coast Negro Baseball League. Starting in 1995 and spanning on and off, the Mariners have honored the Steelheads and their history by wearing jerseys inspired by them once a year, and the giveaway for the Saturday, June 17th game will be a Steelheads jersey for the first 10,000 fans into T-Mobile Park.
The Seattle Mariners wore their Steelheads jerseys in a June 16th loss last year to the Los Angeles Angels (Photos by Liv Lyons)
In addition to this salute to the Steelheads that will include these giveaway jerseys presented by Alaska Airlines, special graphics around the ballpark and on social media, and merchandise in the Mariners team stores, the organization will be hosting “African American Heritage Day” on the 17th where you can get buy tickets at this link to get a special “42” shirt inspired by Jackie Robinson’s number during his playing days. In addition to getting the t-shirt if you buy a ticket at that special link, you will have $5 of your ticket donated to the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. Again, it’s nice to see some action from the organization outside of simply just having a piece of clothing dedicated to a cause.
Father's Day fun with Geno (and Cal, if you’re a youth)
After two big days to celebrate Pride and the Steelheads, a busy Sunday follows in terms of giveaways and special nights. For dads, the Mariners will be celebrating Father's Day with a giveaway to the first 10,000 fathers into the ballpark with a Eugenio Suarez themed talking bottle opener. Some of the phrases it includes are “This is good vibes!” and “Give me a sip of that!” If you’re a kid 14 and under, you’ll be given a Cal Raleigh poster to hang on your wall so that maybe one day you too can hit a drought busting homer that seems like something out of a storybook, we just hope the Mariners won’t need another one of those to get back to the playoffs. There are two special themed sections/tickets that day, one for Girl Scouts (including a Mariners-themed patch!) and Gold Together for childhood cancer day that includes a special shirt if purchased at that link.
What to look forward to next homestand
When this homestand ends after the three-game slate against the Chicago White Sox, the Mariners will head out on a six-game road trip on the East Coast against the Yankees and Orioles. After that trip to the East, Seattle returns to T-Mobile Park for another six-game homestand against the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays to continue a big stretch leading into the city hosting the All-Star game. While the enter Nationals series is value games (you can join us down at the ballpark for as low as $10!), the Rays series is patriotic as can be with USA themed giveaways and fireworks nights.