Royals, sailors return to the future (June 30, 2018)



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The Future is Back

Twenty years ago, Ken Griffey Jr. and the marketing department of Seattle Mariners staged one of the most memorable promotions in the history of the franchise – That says a lot, since Funny Nose Glasses Night in 1982 drew more fans than Gaylord Perry's 300th win two nights earlier – with Turn Ahead the Clock Day.

Instead of wearing retro uniforms as most teams do for the day, the sailors imagined when they will celebrate their 50th birthday.

The Kingdome has been transformed into a "Biodome". A DeLorean actor led James Doohan, who played Scotty on "Star Trek", to the mound to deliver the first ceremonial pitch.

The browser mascot Moose has been replaced by Marty the Martian Marins. Griffey was called "Digit 24" instead of his last name by the advertiser of the public address.

Player positions were called quadrants. And the Mariners and their opponent that night, the Kansas City Royals, wore futuristic and upright uniforms that Griffey, the Hall of Fame center player, helped draw.

According to Kevin Martinez, Mariners' marketing director in 1998, it was Griffey's idea to change the colors of Navy Mariners, teal and white to crimson, black and silver. Junior wore his hat back and painted his glove and his silver tips.

"There have always been some surprises," Griffey told The Athletic recently. "You never knew what was going to happen that night, it was like" Stay tuned. "

Twenty years later, the Mariners and Royals will resume Clock Tour when they meet Saturday night at Sececo Field

Royals fielder Jorge Bonifacio is certainly looking to the future, missing the first 80 games of the season while He was serving a Major League Baseball suspension after being tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in the spring.

"I'm so excited to be coming back with the team," said Bonifacio, who beat .255 and hit 17 home runs as a rookie last season.

Bonifacio beat .392 in 13 games for Triple-A Omaha before being activated He beat on the fifth Friday, rising from 0 to 3.

"We are happy to have it back," said Royals manager Ned Yo st. "He swayed very well (in Omaha).

"I mean, the kid hit 17 circuits last year … Yeah, he was going to hit in the middle of the order, until all of this appears. "

Bonifacio played Friday on the left field to give Alex Gordon a day off, but he will probably be in the right field on Saturday

" We will move him, he will play, "said Yost . "He's going to play well, play a little to the left, what's the difference?"

On the mound, Jason Hammel of the Royals (2-9, 5.34 ERA) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (7-6 , 5.10) will be looking for performance of the time.

Hammel, who won 15 games for the Chicago Cubs in 2016, lost four straight starts, in which the Royals scored a total of five points. The graduate of South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, Wash., Is 3-3 with a 3.53 ERA in eight career appearances against Seattle, including seven starts.

Hernandez, winner of the 2010 AHL Cy Young Award, is 6 -6 with a 3.15 ERA in 15 career starts against the Royals. That included an 8-3 win on April 10 in Kansas City in which he pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and six hits.

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