T-Mobile Park is our home team’s stadium. We live in Edmonds, just north of Seattle, so we are Mariners fans! This wasn’t our first visit to the park. Ryan and I have both been to Mariners games this year. While Brad hasn’t attended a game this year, he has certainly attended many at T-Mobile in the past. However, this was the 30th stadium on our Baseball Fan Grand Slam.
In addition to being our last game, this game was special because we were surrounded by friends. We purchased 31 group tickets for the game and celebrated the end of our trip with friends from Wellspring Family Services, Rotary, our family, and our community.
Our Impressions of T-Mobile Park
After visiting the other MLB ballparks, a few things struck us as we returned to T-Mobile. First, the stadium feels much bigger and less intimate than we remember. However, it is also clean and up to date, which is a plus.
Second, T-Mobile Park has the best food selection in the MLB. While ballpark staples are available, the variety of concessionaires is impressive. From Seattle’s iconic Ivar’s to trendy Pacific Rim cuisine from Din Tai Fung, there is something for everyone.
Third, this was the only park where no one outside of our immediate party asked us about our trip. In most parks, we were stopped in line and in the concourse by people who were curious about our jerseys. People wanted to take their pictures with us. Ushers asked questions about the parks we had seen. Fans shared their own experiences with other stadiums. Not here.
While Facebook’s Ballpark Chasers noted that most ballparks celebrate fans who complete their 30-stadium tour at their stadium with public attention or gift bags, the Mariners do neither.
It would have felt very anticlimactic after travelling 16,000 miles around the United States to see all 30 stadiums and raising over $31,000 to address homelessness were it not for the friends in our own party. They really made the occasion momentous.
Our Seats: We sat in the outfield, in section 112, Row 25 (and 26, and 27), in Seats 1 through 10.
The Food: As noted above, the food was a highlight. Brad went for Ivar’s. Emma enjoyed vegetarian goodies from Din Tai Fung, and I had a poke bowl from Catch by Just Poke.
Non-Alcoholic Beer Review: We were delighted to find Athletic Brewery’s concession stand right by our seats! While they only have one option (the IPA), it was refreshing!
The Game Recap: 1 Final Home Run for Housing!
The Mariners absolutely crushed the Los Angeles Angels in a 0 to 8 win. While we would normally prefer a close game, we were thrilled to see our home team win in this final game of our tour!
The team took an early lead in the first, with three runs on two singles and a double. Then, they brought in four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Eugenio Suarez scored the only home run of the game in the bottom of the 5th. His single run brought the total runs for the Mariners to 8. The Angels never did make it onto the score board.
Suarez’ home run was also the last in our Home Runs for Housing. With a total of 84 home runs over the course of the 30 games we saw at 30 different stadiums, we generated $31,514 for asset-limited, income-constrained, employed individuals who are battling housing instability. Thank you to all of our donors.
If you wanted to support our campaign but haven’t yet done so, it’s not too late! You can make a donation here.
If you simply want to know more about what we’re doing and why, you can find out more about employed individuals struggling with housing instability in this post. You can visit this one to learn more about Wellspring Family Services and what we are doing with Home Runs for Housing.
Up Next:
Yes, there will be a few more posts! Stay tuned to see our final ranking of the stadiums, pictures of our Airstream and a glimpse into what it was like to travel 16,000 miles in 50 days, and a review of the cost of taking this type of trip. I’m also planning to update the Game Plans for each stadium with the information we learned. Of course, I’m also headed back to work tomorrow, so this may take some time!
Thank you for following our bucket list road trip, the Baseball Fan Grand Slam!
Amazing accomplishment!!! Your Dad and I are glad you’re home, safe and sound.
He had a great time at your final game.
Have so enjoyed following along! And glad to have you back in Seattle!