Arozarena’s AB before HR absolutely captivates Mariners radio crew

Dave Sims and Rick Rizzs are the two longest-tenured Seattle Mariners broadcasters, so they’ve seen just about everything you can see in the game of baseball. And yet in Sunday’s 7-0 M’s win over the Texas Rangers, they still saw something that completely captivated them while on the Seattle Sports radio call.

The Mariners are coming alive just before it’s too late

The situation: Seattle is leading 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning with Randy Arozarena is at the plate, looking for a home run that would give him his fourth straight season of 20 homers and 20 stolen bases.

Let’s just spoil the result now: Arozarena gets that 20th homer. But it’s how the entire at-bat unfolded that had Sims and Rizzs almost in disbelief.

Step out. Step out. Step out. BOOM. 💥 pic.twitter.com/WSEtkTbkli

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 16, 2024

On the first pitch from Rangers rookie reliever Gerson Garabito, Arozarena took a step back, ruling out the chance that he would swing at the pitch.

Ball 1.

On the second pitch, Arozarena does the same thing.

Ball 2.

The third pitch? Yep.

Ball 3.

Well, surely after watching three straight balls that he never even considered swinging at, Arozarena would watch a fourth, right?

No way. Arozarena’s got the green light on 3-0, and Garabito’s 92 mph fastball was blasted 432 feet off the facing of the upper deck beyond left field at T-Mobile Park to make it a 5-0 game.

That’s a rope-a-dope that would make Muhammad Ali proud, and it certainly entertained Sims and Rizzs – especially since Sims predicted along the way that it was Arozarena’s plan the whole time, making the announce duo’s reaction even better (hear it all in the video near the top of this post).

“He got what he wanted, a 3-0 cookie… Wow,” exclaimed Sims after Arozarena’s homer landed.

Rizzs followed up: “Sometimes a hitter sets up a pitcher, and I think that was a classic example right there.”

Let’s let Sims have the last word.

“Randy baited the trap, and Garabito took it hook, line and sinker, and goodbye. Goodness gracious, that was amazing.”

Catch the next Mariners game on Seattle Sports 710 AM, the Seattle Sports app and at SeattleSports.com on Tuesday when they begin a three-game series against the AL East-leading New York Yankees. Pregame radio coverage starts at 5:30 p.m., with 6:40 p.m. set for first pitch. The Mariners entered Monday with a 77-73 record, 2 1/2 games back for a wild card and 4 1/2 behind in the AL West with just 12 games remaining in the regular season.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Mariners’ Victor Robles is on fire – but he’s also banged up
• J.P. Crawford helping make a path to big leagues for young players
• Mariners recall right-hander Emerson Hancock, DFA catcher
• Insiders break down why Bryan Woo is so hard to figure out
• Drayer: The gloves are off for Seattle Mariners’ Bryan Woo

Follow @BrentStecker