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Sports / Matt's Musings


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  • MATT'S MUSINGS

    Matt Baide|Oct 5, 2023

    The 2023 season had its ups and downs, and it came to an end in true Mariners fashion. Seattle had a three-game lead for the AL West crown at the beginning of September after winning the most games in a month in franchise history in August. Fan optimism and interest was at its peak when it's normally the time most Seattle fans turn their attention to the Seahawks. Copy editor Kirk Ericson became a big Mariners fan and we even watched some of a game in August at a bar, a loss against Baltimore....

  • MATT'S MUSINGS

    Matt Baide|Aug 3, 2023

    The Seattle Mariners are back, and no, not in the playoff hunt. It appears after last season of breaking the two-decade playoff drought, the Mariners are back to the team they were before last season: mediocre. Mariners’ fans came into the season with a lot of optimism, and for good reason. With breaking the playoff drought, they actually won a playoff series, defeating the Blue Jays in the opening round series in Toronto to earn a place in the MLB Divisional Series against the Houston A...

  • Seattle is Playoff City

    Matt Baide|Apr 13, 2023

    Being a fan of Seattle sports has its ups and downs, but within the last calendar year have had a lot more to cheer for than not. The Seattle Kraken has clinched its first berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in only its second season. The Kraken made some improvements in the offseason by acquiring some key players this season, including Andre Burakovsky, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Martin Jones, and bringing up the first ever draft pick by the Kraken, Matty Beniers. These players added to the core...

  • 2022 Seahawks are a success to me

    Matt Baide|Dec 29, 2022

    I looked back on the year that was for Seattle sports teams in my previous column, but this time, I want to focus on one team: the Seahawks. What a year it has been for the Seahawks. From winning their final regular season game in January against the Arizona Cardinals, to one of the craziest and most controversial off seasons in my lifetime. If you were living under a rock or aren't a huge sports fan, in March, the Seahawks traded quarterback Russell Wilson, who was the quarterback since he was...

  • Counting sports blessings around the holidays

    Matt Baide|Dec 22, 2022

    The end of the year is upon us with the holiday season, and it’s a time to be positive as the rest of the year is perfect for wallowing in the pain that comes with being a sports fan. Looking at Seattle professional sports and the state as a whole, it has been a pretty solid year. Let’s go through the teams and talk about the positives. Storm: The Seattle Storm helped Sue Bird reach the WNBA semifinals in her final season. Bird is one of the greatest basketball players ever, and she has four WNB...

  • Thankful for family, turkey and sports

    Matt Baide|Nov 24, 2022

    One of my favorite holidays is today, one that always has similar moments every year, but are still special in their own distinct way. I’m sure many of you have stories of family coming over on Thanksgiving in the morning, everyone conversing and catching up, perhaps watching some football before everyone is called to the dinner table to partake in turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls and whatever dish your family has decided is tradition to make every year. I’m sure there are a few fam...

  • What a ride for the 2022 Mariners

    Matt Baide|Oct 20, 2022

    It's Oct. 8, and I'm running errands to help my brother and sister in-law prepare for my nephew's third birthday party in Richland. The Mariners second playoff game against the Toronto Blue Jays had begun. The Mariners had already won the first game of the three-game wild-card series 4-0 behind a brilliant performance by pitcher Luis Castillo. I get to Costco to pick up five pizzas for the party. As I walk past the electronics area, the game is on the TVs. It's 8-1 in the top of the sixth. I am...

  • The Mariners' curse is finally broken

    Matt Baide|Sep 29, 2022

    I don’t want to jinx it, curse it, whatever you want to call it, but after 21 years of involuntary abstinence, the Seattle Mariners should break the longest playoff drought in pro sports. It’s been a long time since the Mariners were in the playoffs. To put it in context for you, it was the same year as 9/11, and I’m sure many people reading this remember where they were that day. I was 11 years old that day. I remember attending opening day and watching Ichiro play and my mom bought me matching...

  • The Mariners have been fun, playoffs or not

    Matt Baide|Aug 11, 2022

    The year is 1995, and the Mariners are facing the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Divisional Series. Edgar Martinez hits the ball down the left field line and Ken Griffey Jr. motors around the bases and slides home for the game-winning run to send Seattle to the American League Championship Series. Fast forward to 2001, a young Matt Baide attended games in the brand-new Safeco Field as the Mariners went on to tie the record for most wins in a season with 116. Seattle defeated...

  • Go watch Sue Bird ball before she's gone

    Matt Baide|Jul 14, 2022

    One of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform in Seattle will be retiring at the end of the WNBA season. Sue Bird, who has played for the Seattle Storm since being drafted first overall in 2002, is calling it a career after this season. If there was a Mount Rushmore of Seattle sports athletes, she would certainly be on it, along with Walter Jones, Ken Griffey Jr. and Gary Payton. She’s won four WNBA titles in Seattle in 2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020, and she’s a 13-time WNBA all-star. Bir...

  • The ebb and flow of a sports season

    Matt Baide|Jul 7, 2022

    For people not on social media, I envy you. If you’re involved in Seattle sports Twitter, Facebook or Reddit, you have probably seen the highs and lows of a sports season as it happens. People reacting (and overreacting) to everything posted by media members, analytics websites, hot takes from national pundits, player or staff news and games. This could be about every sport in Seattle, but this time, I am referring specifically to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners season has been nothing n...