10 things you need to know for Mariners Opening Day

The Mariners have finally returned to the friendly confines of *checks notes* T-Mobile Park – wait, where?

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That would be the stadium formerly known as Safeco Field, which still resides on the corner of Edgar and Dave but now has a decidedly more pink look to it.

Anyways, that’s where the Mariners will resume the Major League season with a four-game, home-opening series against the Boston Red Sox beginning at 4:10 p.m. Thursday. So what do you need to know about Opening Day at T-Mobile Park? We’ve put together a primer for you.

Weather

The weather will be spring-like and great for a Mariners game. KIRO 7 meteorologist Nick Allard said Seattle will maybe see a shower with partly sunny skies and temperatures warming to around 60 degrees.

New name/new sponsor

For the first time in the ballpark’s history, there’s a new name above the door for the Mariners, with T-Mobile now acting as the team’s primary corporate stadium sponsor. New magenta signs now hang around T-Mobile Park, with added perks for customers of the Bellevue-based mobile carrier.

T-Mobile customers now have their own fast-track entry gate into the ballpark. There are also mobile charging stations set up inside, marked by magenta-painted support beams. Each beam will house 32 outlets.

Customers on T-Mobile will also get better reception in and around the stadium, with the company tripling its coverage capacity in the area.

New food

Newly added to the cornucopia of food vendors at T-Mobile Park are Paseo Caribbean sandwiches, Li’l Woody’s flame-grilled burgers, and Fat’s Southern style chicken. For dessert there is Shug’s Soda Fountain & Ice Cream. The constantly-evolving menu at T-Mobile Park is part of a nine-year collaboration between Centerplate, the Seattle Mariners hospitality partner, and consulting Chef Ethan Stowell, the 2019 James Beard Award Semifinalist behind How to Cook a Wolf, Red Cow, and Bramling Cross, among numerous other Seattle restaurants.

Opening music

How very Seattle of the Mariners! Macklemore will host a live performance in The ‘Pen at 3:30 p.m. The capacity is limited to 2,000. The show will be shown live on MarinersVision. Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready will play the National Anthem at 3:53, followed by a flyover by an EA-18G Growler from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Edgar!

Soon-to-be Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at 4:03 p.m. In October, Martinez stepped away from his role as Mariners hitting coach and took on the role of organizational hitting coach with the team. Edgar took over as the hitting coach in June 2015, having previously served as a guest instructor and special assistant since 2004. In his new role, he will work with hitters at all levels. Oh, he’ll also be taking a vacation trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., this July.

Fan swag

On Opening Day, all fans in attendance will get magnetic schedules. The free swag doesn’t stop there though for the first month of the season. For a Friday, April 12 showdown against the Houston Astros, the first 10,000 fans will get a Mariners hoodie. The first bobblehead night arrives on Saturday, April 27 against the Texas Rangers, featuring star right fielder Mitch Haniger.

World Series champs vs the best record in baseball

The Boston Red Sox may be the reigning World Series champions, but there’s only one undefeated team entering Thursday’s game, and you can probably guess who it is. The M’s swept the Oakland Athletics in the opening series of the year over in Japan, making them the best in baseball, at least for now. It’s not often in recent years that Seattle can boast the best record in the league, so let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

New tunnel

If this is the first time you’re headed to T-Mobile Park since January, beware that there’s a new tunnel to contend with on Highway 99. If you’re headed southbound out of the tunnel, you won’t be able to take a left turn from the Dearborn exit to get to the freeway. It’s part of the traffic control measures that allow the stadium garage to empty out. KIRO Radio traffic reporter Chris Sullivan says SDOT will use signage to alert drivers of the game-day changes.

Season excitement

Brent Stecker of 710Sports.com explains that while it’s not about squeaking into a playoff berth, watching a rebuilding year can be a lot of fun. That rebuilding effort will still include plenty of fan favorites returning in 2019, including Mitch Haniger, Félix Hernández, Dee Gordon and Kyle Seager (once he returns from the injured list).

New faces

The rebuilding effort includes a handful of new faces both on the active 25-man roster and in the minor leagues. Players new to the Mariners this season include Japanese star hurler Yusei Kikuchi, versatile outfielder Domingo Santana, shortstop Tim Beckham, speedster Mallex Smith, veteran sluggers Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion, backstop Omar Narvaez, and closer Hunter Strickland.

Waiting in the wings for a chance are plenty of promising prospects, a list that includes pitcher Justus Sheffield, shortstop J.P. Crawford and second baseman Shed Long, all acquired in the offseason in a slew of trades orchestrated by GM Jerry Dipoto.

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