The Seattle Mariners won three games in the American League Championship Series before losing in game 7 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Oct. 20. The three games were the furthest the team made it in their 49 years of existence. UPrep felt the excitement with students and teachers invested in the team’s success.

Science teacher Tom Strouse recognizes the importance of the run, even though it didn’t mean a World Series appearance.

“What a season, what a great season,” Strouse said. “I’ve been following this team for 30 years, and that’s further than we ever got, even when we won 116 games in 2001. It was just a great season.”

As a teacher and long-time Mariners fan, Strouse noticed the excitement growing around the school during the playoff run.

“A lot of the younger students started getting really into it, too. And it was fun to see as things were developing,” Strouse said. “Then, to see people slowly getting on the bandwagon, just very fun.”

Fine arts teacher Ty Talbot saw the same pattern.

“It was just so fun to come to school every day and everybody’s wearing stuff, everybody’s talking about it,” Talbot said. “It’s like, when that happens, your city kind of unifies in a way.”

Baseball captain and senior Owen Bradley understands why their playoff run was so important to the city and the school.

“I’ve been a passionate Seattle sports fan my whole life,” Bradley said. “The Mariners have always been my number one team, and I can say with confidence that I had never seen a Mariners team like this before.”

After five decades, the Mariners remain the only MLB team to never make it to the World Series. On Oct. 20, in a win-or-go-home game at Rodgers Center, home of the Blue Jays, the Mariners held a two-run lead until the seventh inning, when they gave up a three-run home run to the Blue Jays’ George Springer. The loss devastated the Mariners and their fans.

“You know, it’s hard to be that close. I mean, the amount of games the Mariners had, all we need to do is give up one run and eight outs to seal the game,” Bradley said. “And yet, when it mattered most, we couldn’t do it. That’s the beauty and the pain of postseason baseball.”

According to Bradley, this meant more than just any playoff game.

“The whole city was really behind this team and ready for this team to win,” Bradley said. “I’ll remember that feeling … being able to see everyone in Seattle come together.”

Talbot emphasizes that triumphs are inevitably accompanied by setbacks.

“That moment of pure joy is pretty incredible, and it’s what keeps you coming back to watching sports,” Talbot said. “Yet, that’s also what makes it so devastating.”

Although the season ended on a loss, many notable moments and achievements arose.

“I’ll remember this season for Cal [Raleigh],” Strouse said. “When you’ve got a catcher who’s managing an entire staff like that. And then to do what he did this year putting up 60 homeruns, just unbelievable.”

DEIB Program Manager Flor Hernandez Morales is a lifelong Mariners fan.

“We connect with the team really well,” Hernandez Morales said. “I know the team wants it as much as we do. I think the whole school wanted it, and the whole city is also, like, really into sports and really into the community and believing in the team.”

Bradley knows that the Mariners’ playoff run meant a lot, not just to baseball fans, but to the community as a whole.

“You can feel it in UPrep, there’s just this energy and this excitement and alignment coming from this Mariners team’s success,” Bradley said. “Every student I’ve seen, even those who don’t know anything about baseball or aren’t baseball fans, was excited by the Mariners doing well and succeeding.”