The Royals will still "turn the clock" Saturday night against the Mariners



[ad_1]

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, which is very much talked about since Funny Nose Glasses Night in 1982 attracted more fans than Gaylord Perry's 300th. win two nights earlier – with Turn Ahead on the day of the clock.

Rather than wearing retro uniforms as most teams do for the Day of Return Clock, the Mariners have imagined what things might look like in 2027, 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 ground.

The Mariners' Moose mascot is 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 intact uniforms that Griffey, the center of the Hall of Fame, helped design.

According to Kevin Martinez, Mariners' director of marketing in 1998, Griffey had the idea of ​​changing the colors of Mariners from the Navy, Teal, and White to Crimson, Black and Black. ;money. 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 the Clock Tour when they meet Saturday night at Safeco Field.

Royals outfielder Jorge Bonifacio is certainly looking to the future after making his season debut in Friday night's 4-1 defeat at Mariners.

Bonifacio missed the first 80 games of the season while he was serving a Major League Baseball suspension after testing positive for a drug that improved his performance in the spring.

"I'm so excited to be 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 the fifth Friday, from 0 to 3.

"We are delighted to have it back," said Royals manager Ned Yost. "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 drive, until it all came up."

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

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

On the mound, right-handers Jason Hammel of the Royals (2-9, 5.34 ERA) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (7-6, 5.10) will be looking for performances 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 South Kitsap High School graduate near 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 American League's Cy Young Trophy, 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 innings, allowing three runs and six hits.

[ad_2]
Source link