SEATTLE – Their faces still beaming, the Skyview baseball team snapped one last series of photos at Safeco Field on Thursday.
This one, fittingly, was next to the statue of Ken Griffey Jr., the Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer known as “The Kid.”
For the previous 45 minutes, Skyview players were giddy as kids living out a dream. The Storm took an up-close tour of Safeco Field, where they will play in Friday’s Class 4A state semifinal game against Puyallup.
Most of Skyview’s players have been Mariners fans their whole life. Many have been to dozens of games as fans.
But none had ever sat in the home team’s first-base dugout, until Thursday.
None had ever pretended to rob a home run by leaping up the left-field wall, until Thursday.
And none had looked at the giant video scoreboard above center field and seen their school’s name on the linescore, until Thursday.
“It’s just an incredible feeling to have the opportunity to play here,” said Brody Barnum, who will be Skyview’s starting pitcher Friday. “It’s a once in a lifetime type of thing. Everyone as a kid has a dream to play in a major league ballpark once in their life. This is our shot.”
Skyview (17-8) plays at 10 a.m. Friday against Puyallup (23-2). State champions in 2014, the Vikings have won 23 straight.
But Thursday was about taking in the grandeur of the Northwest’s largest baseball stadium. When they emerged onto the field for the first time, some players recorded the experience on their phones. Others just took in the moment.
Some reminded themselves that, yes, the mound was the same 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate as their high school field back home.
“Just walking out from the clubhouse was awesome,” senior Johnny Carter said. “To see how big of a stadium it is first-person … Watching actual games in the stands, you think it’s so much bigger. But being on the field, it’s the same thing.”
Skyview coach Seth Johnson beamed with the same excitement as his players.
“My whole life I grew up coming to the Kingdome watching the Mariners,” he said. “Anytime you’re in a big venue like this, there’s added excitement. That’s what baseball is. It’s definitely a kid’s sport. You should play it with some joy.”
There was enthusiasm, but also focus. While touring the batting cages used by the Mariners, Skyview players snapped photos of hitting tips Seattle coaches had written on a whiteboard.
When the Storm arrive at Safeco Field on Friday, the time for being awestruck will have passed.
“I want them to have fun. Experience the elements. Enjoy what they’re doing, but also stay in the moment,” Johnson said. “We’re here for a goal. We’re trying to win a state championship.”
