This Day in Mariners History
Sixteen years ago today Randy Johnson threw the first no-hitter in Mariners history. The 6'10'' lefthander scattered 6 walks in the 2-0 victory over Detroit.
20,014 lucky fans (we still have our ticket stub somewhere) packed the Kingdome on that probably rainy Saturday night. Across the region tens of people were glued to the radio as Dave Niehaus called the action. The final pitch, which actually bounced off of the roof before landing in the glove of a standing Scott Bradley, was swung on and missed by Mike Heath.
An interesting note about that game, following the singing of 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' during the seventh inning stretch, The Kingsmen were given a few minutes off from hawking peanuts, and climbed on top of the dugout to sing 'Louie, Louie.' That song is still played during the seventh inning stretch to this day.
A lot has changed since 1990. An increasingly unpopular George Bush was president, and we were involved in a war in Iraq. Two years later the Democrats would nominate a Clinton for president. Locally, Seattle had no major transportation system, and both the Downtown Seattle Art Museum and bus tunnel were under construction. Tom Hanks was starring in a very bad adaptation of a popular book, and everyone ate all their meals at Boston Market.
Maybe most shocking of all was that the Mariners were a bottom of the standings team with lagging attendance. Can you even imagine?
Tonight the Mariners start a four game series with the resurgent Kansas City Royals. There may be a few tickets available.
