Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Where's D.C.?

Episode Date: March 26, 2020

With regular host D.C. Lundberg a bit under the weather, Locked On Mariners contributor Jon Miller fills in for him and introduces himself to the audience; he talks about some of his favorite baseball memories, and touches on his experience as an umpire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you, J.M. for that marvelous introduction, and thank you listeners for tuning in today. As you may have noticed, I am not your humble host, D.C. Lundberg. He's feeling a little bit under the weather today and has asked me to fill his great big shoes. You have heard me on the show before. I am Locked-on Mariners contributor and guest host today filling in for D.C. I am John Miller. I want to remind you before we're getting new further to download, rate and subscribe to Locked-on Mariners on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or just about any other podcasting app you care to name.

And be sure to ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariners podcast or any other show on the Lockdown Network. Be sure to follow this show on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. Follow our host, DC at DC underscore Lundberg. And you can follow me at Seattle Pilot 16. I feel that I should introduce myself a little bit to you. I've been on as contributor. I'm honored to do that. But to give you a little bit more about me,

I am a lifelong baseball fan that it has a loyalty to two teams, that Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners. My love for the Dodgers runs in the family for at least three generations. My grandfather and my father would tell me stories about watching Sandy Kofax and even going back to Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges. I loved hearing those.

And the love for the Mariners goes all the way back to their inception. My father and grandfather were fans from the time that a team was announced coming back to Seattle. even though I'm not old enough to have gone to those early Mariners games. I was born in the mid-80s. I really remember hearing those stories. They would relate stories going to early mariner games. Every now and then, I could get a story out of them of going to see this Seattle pilots play at Sixth Stadium. And before that, they'd get to see the Seattle Rainiers.

I know that's going way back, but it's just interesting. our family. We have love for Seattle baseball and just baseball in general. It seemed like often we would go to the ballpark, spend an evening or an afternoon. I have very distinct memories of many games at the Cheney Stadium there in Tacoma, watching the Tigers, and then after that the Rainiers. Every now and then we'd go up to Everett and watch the Giants and then the Aqua Sox. I've even been over to the other side of our beautiful state to visit our host, D.C., and take in a few Spokane Indians games. And my love for baseball doesn't just go to the Mariners. I played for a number of years. I wasn't good enough to play pro or semi-pro, but I would be out there at rec leagues and church

leagues. I played for, was it, 12 or 13 years or something like that, even well up into my late 20s. And from there, due to leg trouble, I had to stop. But that meant I was able to get into the game even more to something that I have done for right around 20 years now. I have umpired. And this started out at just the 10 and under level, and it went up to the 12s and 14s. I have had the privilege and honor, and it really is seeing these players grow up, knowing they're not going to be on the streets, becoming productive members of society, and talking to some of the coaches and saying, yeah, this player is getting scouted by this college, and he might even point to the scout in the stands. I started umpiring at age 14. That was my first job. I didn't have a real job otherwise until I graduated from college for the first.

first time. And from my very first game, I loved it. Being able to be out there on the field and be involved in the game, to be able to not just say, I saw something from the stands, but I saw it on the field. And one of the hardest parts about that is you can watch a great double play, triple play. I have been privileged to be on the field and watch a couple of no hitters. I even got to see a perfect game in person. And perhaps the hardest part, other than maybe dealing with an angry coach or a manager, is when you witness a great play or just great performance in the game, is not being able to applaud or go up to them and congratulate them on a great performance. It's hard to not let your inner fan come out at that time. And this time, I think the time we go to

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So here's the deal. You can get 25% off Whithings Body Plus right now at Withings.com for a very limited time. Go to Withings.com. Wittings.com slash MLB to get 25% off Body Plus Body Composition Scale. That's W-I-T-H-I-N-G-S dot com slash MLB to get 25% off Body Plus Body Composition Scale. And with that, we'll be back from a short word. Hey, this is Dylan Short, host of the Locked on Braves podcast, and you're listening to Locked On Mariners. Thank you, Dylan Short, for bringing us back. I would like to remind you to listen to Dylan on Locked On Braves, and a reminder, in case you have forgotten, because we sound so much alike, I am not your humble host, D.C. Lundberg. I am Locked on Mariners contributor, John Miller, filling in for D.C., who is a little bit of under the weather. D.C. has asked me if I would kindly share with you some of my favorite Mariners' memories, talk about my favorite players. Well, as I previously mentioned, I had gone to

games at the Old Kingdom. I really missed that place. Gone to games at Safeco Field and T-Mobile Park. And actually, as I've talked to DC, it turns out we went to some of the same games. We were both at the last game that took place at the kingdom. We didn't even know each other at that point. I did very distinctly remember being at games and then if I wasn't at a game, I was glued to my television set during the 1995 season during that pinet chase. It was a nail biter and we seemed to at that point live up to the phrase that was going around, refuse to lose. thankfully some of those players are now enshrined in Cooperstown. If you get the opportunity, go and look at their plaques.

It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to go over there. Your host might at some point mention to you that he's had the privilege of going there. I'll save his story for another time. But aside from the 1995 season, maybe my favorites have been the 2001 season. And that was a roller coaster ride that we didn't seem to come down from until we hit the playoffs. Everything went right. I recall one of our announcers saying at the time early in the season, all we need is just a bloop and a blast. And that seems like what we got.

We would get that bloop hit that just went over the infielder, got through the outfielder, maybe got on an error or a walk. And then we would get a home run at the right time, get a few runs in, and we were just unbeatable. Other favorite memories, I recall watching a game on television. Felix Hernandez was pitching and you get to the end of the game and then you realize I just saw a perfect game. I can't believe it. Just phenomenal. Didn't think there would be one in Mariners history.

And from there, some of my favorite players, well, from those great teams, love King Griffey Jr., Jay Buehner, Edgar Martinez, going back as far as. the Mr. Mariner, Elvin Davis, and even some current Mariners. Kyle Seeger or Ben Gamble when he was with us, some of these guys, and there are others that are slipping in my mind right now, they have a good personality from what you hear. They're a good family person. They're good with the fans. And from what best you can tell, they love the game.

And Mitch Hanager is another one just popped to my mind. and you see them out there. At times it's almost like their kids again. They truly love the game, and it comes through in how they play. They play with a finesse and a passion that seems to be lost on some of the other players that have just seemed to get caught up in the money, and you hear about disputes in the dugout or the clubhouse or the with the press or whatever. And another player, he's not a mariner, but he is incredibly fun to watch,

one of the best in the game, Mike Trout. You can tell that, yes, he's making a ton of money, but he truly loves the game, loves what he is doing, and plays it as if he were a kid in Little League. That is, I guess, what I love and I look for in players and what I miss. It was said of the old players in the 50s, 60s and stuff that some of them would have played for free, that they just loved the game and were privileged to be able to make a living playing baseball. If you're a diehard fan, I imagine that might be what you look for, is for whether he's making a ton of money or whether he's making just $500,000 a year. But that player who's out there and he doesn't have to be a star, but just loves playing the game

of baseball and whether he has time, he'll stop and even just sign one or two autographs, especially if he's doing it for the kids or I've seen players do it for people in wheelchairs or something like that, it shows that their heart is still in the right place, that they haven't lost that love for the game, and they know that it's the fans that are keeping them where they are. And to tell you just a little bit more about myself, get a little bit personal, I live on the west side of Washington. It's beautiful over here. I think I'd prefer it a little bit more, get some of that dry heat over in the Spokane area. I live over here with my wife. We've been married for just about five years. We have one cat. I am a full-time student in Bible college, studying to be a minister.

I serve as a deacon at my church. And if I am not at the ballpark, I can often be found in front of a television set watching a ballgame. That's enough about me. I think we'll wrap it up here. I would like to remind you to download, rate and subscribe Locked-on Mariners on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or whichever podcasting app you choose to name. Please follow this show on Twitter at LO underscore Mariners. Follow me on Twitter at Seattle Pilot 69. Follow your host on Twitter at DC underscore Lunberg. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on MLB upon the conclusion of this program. DC will hopefully be back tomorrow to continue talking about the 1990s, maybe 2000s Mariners.

Until then, thank you for listening and have a good day. This is Joey Martin. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.