Drayer: How sweet it was – 41 years of Rick Rizzs as Mariners’ voice of summer and hope

There is perhaps no entrance to a baseball field more awe-inspiring than the walk from the visiting clubhouse in Boston to the diamond. The path takes you through a dark, dank, at times moldy tunnel that has seen decades of visiting history pass through on the way to the glorious, often sunlit stage that is Fenway Park. From the dark into the gleam and finally the green, this is baseball.

All the ways to celebrate Rick Rizzs in his final series

Two Aprils ago, when the Seattle Mariners were in Boston for a three-game series, Rick Rizzs made that short journey from the clubhouse through the tunnel and found himself rewarded by a couple minutes alone on that field, save for a few groundskeepers setting up for the day’s work. It is a privilege to get to have those moments, and Rizzs no doubt was feeling that as he took it all in and logged every frame of his surroundings from what he calls the greatest camera ever created – one’s imagination.

On most days, the fully developed snapshots would be shared with those that couldn’t be there – the listeners on the evening’s broadcast. But on that day, he was looking through a different lens.

“Could you please take a picture of me,” he asked when he turned and saw he was no longer alone on the field. “I am probably not coming back here.”

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On Sunday, 41 years behind the microphone calling Mariners games will come to an end. The Mariners’ voice of summer, voice of hope, voice of unflagging belief that there will be good things, will say his final goodbye.

It is hard to believe 2027 will be the first year a Mariners season opener takes place without the voice of Rick Rizzs or Dave Niehaus. Rick has stressed he will still be around the team, and while those closest to him believe that, what will be lost is the daily presence on and off the air.

Rick is leaving the microphone part of his baseball life at a time when he is still very much on his game. The daily opens, what he calls one of his favorite parts of his baseball day, still sizzle with energy and excitement. His voice on the game seasoned and strong, every bit worthy of a 60th home run, a clinching game and more. His calls rapid fire, with even the most improbable combinations of names and plays flowing lickety-split out of his mouth. See it, know it, call it – few know how difficult that really is, and Rick is among the best.

The familiar voice has done more than just usher Mariners fans through the best and worst of times. His vocal presence has brought Mariners fans into the stadiums throughout the country, telling the stories and painting the pictures. On the good days he celebrated with you, on the bad days, he reminded you there would be baseball tomorrow. And with that, hope.

For those who have been lucky enough to be around him, Rick has brought much more. For the players, he has been a steady presence. A friendly face to see. A good friend to talk to. Watching Rick introduce himself to a new player and welcome them to the club, or seeing him talk with players hours before a game on the rail of the Mariners dugout has always been special. From Alvin Davis and Mark Langston (who he came into the game with), to Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson and the ’90s gang, to Ichiro – who thanked him in his Baseball Hall of Fame speech – to the current youngest of Mariners having those rail conversations, the appreciation has been unmistakable.

For the community, Rick has been tireless in his work to help those who are less fortunate. His Toys for Kids charity, which he and Dave Henderson founded in 1995, has grown from the idea of 12 friends pooling money together to provide a party with over 300 gifts to local homeless and disadvantaged kids, to an organization that has raised over $2.7 million, enabling them to purchase toys for over 200,000 children in Washington, host parties for the kids, give annual scholarships, provide sports equipment and school supplies, and more. Rick has been the driving force in Toys for Kids both in and out of season. Few is the trip we have seen him come back from without signed auction items from the cities we have visited.

For us in the Mariners broadcast booth, he has been our rock. As it was with Niehaus when I first started working with the broadcast crew, a favorite part of my day has been whenever I was the second person to arrive in the booth. To see both men already set up and going through their daily prep with their scorebooks, newspapers, stat sheets, pencils and highlighters in front of them, then to have a short conversation with them was the welcome I enjoyed most days.

There is no better seat in baseball than those in the radio booth of the Dave Niehaus Broadcast Center at T-Mobile Park. We hear that many times from the visitors, most invited by Rick, who want to share the experience if only for an inning or two. Rick would agree. His baseball dream came true across the way at the Kingdome, where he was taken under the wing of Niehaus. Decades later, with his career winding down, it has been a particular joy to watch Rick take delight in Gary Hill Jr.’s progression in taking a microphone and becoming a voice himself.

For all the joy this game brings, it is hard to find balance in baseball life. For the players, the journey for most is much shorter. For those who take on the passion of sharing the game, it is very different. It is shocking how fast even the worst of seasons can go by. What goes mostly unnoticed for those outside the game is what also goes by in that time. A complete balance is impossible. No matter how much you love the game and what you do, there are other loves, other moments that are missed, aspirations and dreams away from baseball that are put aside.

While the tears have been coming for some time, Rick is ready for this. There have been other flirts with retirement in the past, but the conversation about retiring that followed the picture taken in Boston almost two years ago was convincing.

Baseball is going nowhere. It will always be there for Rick, and he will always be a part of Mariners baseball. We will still see and hear him around, his baseball stories perhaps pushed aside a bit for more stories about his grandkids and his travels.

Here’s to a fantastic retirement. It has been well earned.

More on the Seattle Mariners’ Rick Rizzs

• Cal Raleigh gives Rick Rizzs a one-of-a-kind retirement surprise
• Iconic Rick Rizzs will go in Mariners Hall of Fame in 2027
• Rick Rizzs ‘still walking on a cloud’ after Mariners HOF reveal

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