Picturing favorite Mariners memories / Greg Asimakoupoulos
Published 2:30 pm Friday, August 7, 2026
Last weekend, the Seattle Mariners observed a 50 seasons celebration with a number of special events. Favorite players and special memories were paraded across the field and on the jumbotron.
Catching the spirit of the weekend, I pulled out my Mariners baseball cards. My collection calls to mind memorable moments over the past five decades. One of my favorite memories is a game I attended in the Kingdome 45 years ago. That was the night Mariners outfielder Tom Paciorek hit a three-run walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning beating the New York Yankees. It was the second consecutive game in which “Wimpy” Paciorek had beat the Bronx Bombers with a bottom-of-the-ninth home run.
A second special memory took place when I was stopping to fill up my car at the Shell gas station on Mercer Island. I inserted the nozzle into my gas tank and engaged the automatic feature before returning to the driver’s seat to check some emails on my cellphone.
Next thing I knew, the person on the other side of the pump was banging on my window pointing to the rear of my car. Getting out, I discovered the hose had become dislodged and fallen to the ground. When I thanked the Good Samaritan for his kindness, I realized it was Mariners’ third baseman Kyle Seager. After a brief conversation, my favorite player graciously posed for a selfie with me.
A less-happy memory took place in a Mexican restaurant in Evanston, Illinois, last October on the eve of my daughter’s wedding. My wife and I were watching the Mariners play the Blue Jays in the seventh game of the ALCS while noshing on nachos in the bar. Our team was just eight outs away from their very first trip to the World Series. The tortilla chip in my hand was not the only thing that broke as Toronto won the game 4-3.
Perhaps my favorite Mariners memory, however, took place three years ago on my 71st birthday. I had won a charity auction item that entitled me and three friends to meet Mariners play-by-play announcer Rick Rizzs. The prize included sitting in the broadcast booth watching Rick at work for an inning. This amazing broadcaster made us feel like family. Even though the hometown team lost, I felt like I had won. It was a birthday I will never forget. Rick and I have stayed in touch ever since.
As I sort through my baseball cards, other memories surface. Memories made by the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro and the Big Dumper. I love my card of Alvin Davis (“Mr. Mariner”) who became a leader in his church after hanging up his glove. Each photo represents a season of time when individual players wore the Mariners uniform while playing for Seattle. Some of my cards picture players (like Dan Wilson and Randy Arozarena) wearing the uniform of the team for which they played before being traded to the Mariners.
What’s interesting is that most of the Mariners cards in my collection are of players current fans would not likely remember. They are not immortalized in Cooperstown or in the Mariners Hall of Fame. But they are players who are part of our team’s history. Each contributed to the story that comprises our team.
A community of faith, much like a baseball club, includes a host of individuals unknown to the masses but whose card is worthy of collecting. Those who are no longer in the starting lineup are part of our history.
The 11th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews pictures individuals who epitomized unusual faith among the ancient Jews. It’s a “card collection” of sorts. Reading through those verses recalls those who laid the foundation on which we’ve built. The names listed are those who demonstrated courageous faith while rounding the bases of life and reaching home safely. Their example of trusting God serves as motivation for us to stay in the batter’s box and keep swinging.
Guest columnist Greg Asimakoupoulos is a former chaplain at Covenant Living at the Shores in Mercer Island.
