Lookout Landing

0:00-16:25: Welcoming Nat Baird to the show for his first appearance on the Lookout Landing podcast! Nat is the newest hire and also probably the coolest person on staff, as he gets to travel the world with his rock climbing school. As a teenager, Nat has also never inhabited the planet at the same time as a Mariner playoff game. He still managed to become a fan though, partially due to his own mishaps. 16:30-25:35: Surprise! We’re a rock climbing, Seahawks, and Utah Jazz podcast now. What “were” the Mariners when Nat first became aware of them in *gulp* the mid-2000s? Kate then explains what Seattle felt like as a baseball town, even though Nat wasn’t alive and Matthew could barely read at the time.  25:40-43:15: Why won’t Brodie van Wagenen add Matthew to his LinkedIn network? He’s been on TV after all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbzLEkRty1Q&feature=youtu.be Never sleep on the A’s and never talk about the Mariners as a sure thing. Is it a sure thing that they’ll be better than the Orioles? Who is Nat’s

0:00-11:00: Welcoming Hillary Kirby, one of the founders, OGs, and co-leads of the Maple Grove to the Lookout Landing podcast! Hillary grew up in Ferndale with a British family, which is not typically a recipe for baseball fandom. As she describes, an elementary school teacher provided the entry point. Less than eight minutes in, John Olerud’s outstanding invitation to come on the podcast gets rescinded. Both Hillary and Matthew commiserate over their childhood heroes being not-so-great people. Edgar Martinez, though, would never do a shirtless interview. Duh. 11:15-28:00: Chatting shit about cricket, the wonders of cinema, and Mike Cameron stories! Then, getting into the Maple Grove’s humble beginnings. How did it start? Who was involved? Surprisingly, part of the reason has to do with Canadians being mean. Matthew recalls his first Maple Grove experience, which came during a seminal James Paxton start. Hillary effuses her extremely distant relative George Kirby, talks about Nintendo characters, and laughs a

0:00-13:45: Jeffrey discusses his upbringing on a Native American reservation, where baseball is competing for people’s interests with pro wrestling and Elvis, among other things. While he describes himself as a baseball fan (by way of the Bash Brothers) before a Mariners fan, Jeffrey came to love the M’s with a little help from his wife. Then, we move to baseball cards being a portal into the game. 13:50-24:10: A natural shift to young player talk and how that teaches patience. Full nostalgia comes next, with Jeffrey recalling his admiration for Mark Langston. The temptation of “What if?” rears its ugly head, but that’s nothing new around here. 24:15-32:15: Eat your heart out nerds, we’re talkin’ INTANGIBLES! Jeffrey mentions how much he likes a certain player that will not be named here. The one thing we agree, on though, is The King. Also, as Mariners fans, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing players leave Seattle and wind up in the playoffs. How do you approach that? 32:20-44:45: Where does Jeffrey’s exci

Spike Friedman joins the podcast! It was great! Follow Spike on Twitter for a look into his brain, or on Instagram to see his dog Edgar Martinez Friedman. 0:00-11:45: Obviously, we start with some Kendall Graveman and Wally Joyner goss. As always, then we get into Spike’s entry point to Mariner fandom and reminisce about our favorite guys who weren’t actually very good. Then, somehow for the first time in this podcast series, we mourn the Ben Broussard trade. 11:50-25:15: A love letter to Bret Boone, one of the few people who was probably stoked to become a Mariner. Jerry Dipoto may not be as accomplished as John Schneider, but at least he’s not a movie quote frat bro. Spike shares the story of moving away from the Northwest in 1995, a year in which things happened. How the Mariners' rise mirrored that of grunge music. 25:20-34:40: The requisite Edgar Martinez appreciation chat. Spike’s highest volume of Mariner consumption did not coincide with wins. The same can sadly be said about or deposed king of pit

0:00-14:00: How Kevin and Tristan began their lives as die-hard Mariner fans in Boulevard Park, all thanks to Rich Amaral and Russ Davis. They also explain the beauty of Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. Would they have gravitated to baseball so hard if the Mariners were terrible in the 90s? 14:05-19:55: A reminder that Matthew’s birth saved the franchise. What do Tristan’s kids think of the current Mariners? Are children lacking an obvious entry point to baseball? 20:00-33:55: When did apathy kick in for Kevin and Tristan? Kevin mentions a gradual decline while Tristan praises baseball’s endless churn (sports, always better than no sports) before realizing he probably just doesn’t like baseball that much.   34:00-42:10: The spice levels elevate off the charts! Tristan starts by wielding a flamethrower toward all people that abandon their hometown squad for the Flavor of the Month team. Then, he goes off about 1995 and 2001 actually being the worst things that ever happened. Finally, Tristan

0:00-10:40: Matthew welcomes Brittney Bush Bollay to the spacious, opulent recording studio. Brittney is the first guest in our “Why I’m a Mariners Fan” series who did not grow up in Washington at all. Somehow, someway, Brittney’s path to baseball went through the Mets and she still decided “This is good.” Her introduction to the Mariners, specifically, came in 2013. Again, the perseverance and tolerance for treachery is unmatched. 10:45-24:00: How having a kid provides a different lens into fandom. The art of keeping score remains undefeated. Expressing genuine gratitude and appreciation for Twitter dot com. How Brittney formed an attachment to the Mariners without having an obvious everyday player to get behind. As a pioneer of the Maple Grove, Brittney was also able to merge baseball and the community together to create something beautiful. 24:05-32:10: When bad sports things cross over into real life, and how to explain that to a child. Has cancel culture seeped into our nation’s playgrounds? What of th

Thank you to Brian Floyd of Banner Society, Seattle fandom, WSU allegiance, and now parenthood, for joining us on the podcast! 0:00-10:55: Brian ignores his kid to provide some steaming hot content for us. We start by talking about the omnipresence of baseball in Seattle during the Griffey years, and how baseball is the perfect sport to come across accidentally. The fervor around the 90s Mariners feels like the current version of the Seahawks. Is rooting for the Mariners hipster now? It takes Brian less than ten minutes to start thinking about existential crises. 11:00-23:00: Mariner fandom and WSU fandom are cousins; we all accept this now. Matthew also relates the Canó-Cruz era to edging. Be good, be bad, but never be boring. Or if you’re the Mariners, be an iceberg. Making the minor leagues a major part of your fandom, or not. 23:10-36:45: Getting meta about covering the Mariners. The season ticket holders are the bravest people on this entire space rock. How do you find something to latch on to the sam

0:00-12:25: Introducing outfield prospect Gunn Omosako, who is already an incredible podcaster despite recording this in his third language. Gunn is from Brazil, where baseball is not very popular, so how did he end up signing a contract with the Mariners? His early success terrifies Kate and Matthew, who were not excelling as teenagers. The secret is to have good friends like Arturo Guerrero and Noelvi Marte, among others. 12:30-18:05: Weird things that white people do. The joy of non-American players is actually a big part of what drew Gunn to the game. What is a regular day for a Mariners prospect in the Dominican facility? How would Gunn describe his style of play? What MLB players does he like to watch? 18:10-33:00: Gunn explains the injury that kept him out for all of 2019. His rehab process involved a lot of reading and going to the movies by himself. He also found light amid the darkness of American corporate food.  33:05-43:50: Getting into Gunn’s interests off the field. Shout out Kansas, CCR, Skyny

Note: We had some technical difficulties during this so the final version is three different recordings pieced together and uhhhh…you can definitely tell! Sorry about that. 0:00-13:10: Introducing our guest, the one and only Isabelle Minasian, whose name has been corrupted by thousands of incorrect pronunciations. Now that she’s taken a step back from Lookout Landing for the bright lights of Cooperstown, Isabelle gets a bunch of fun new titles. Moving across the country and taking a job with an unbiased baseball institution has slightly morphed her fandom, much to her mother’s chagrin. 13:15-33:40: Defeatism and pessimism, the Griffey and Edgar of Mariner fan emotions. Matthew turns a serious conversation into a method of shoehorning Love Island into the podcast. Then, the first guest in this podcast series who isn’t just “I was born in Seattle, so I like the Mariners” shares her fandom origin story. Ichiro the penguin, if you’re listening, come on the podcast and give us a health update. 33:45-45:15: How

0:00-17:20: John sneezed on the pod and the pod got sicker. Kate’s neighbors provide a nice drum fill and then we talk about baseball, sort of. This episode is dedicated to the Arizona Fall League, which both Kate and John attended this year! After a primer on what this league actually is, we get into the best team names and why scorpions are gross (apologies to all the scorpions).  17:25-33:25: The Mariners have a white man with cornrows pitching in their minor league system and he’s actually quite good! His name is Penn Murfee, he has a signature hat, and he shreds on the guitar. According to a wonderful firsthand story, Murfee had no desire to even attend the Fall League, and he ended up balling out. The 25-year-old may be a touch old for the league, but he left with a badass chain. 33:30-44:25: A question from Twitter! Always ask us questions on Twitter, even if you don’t have a Twitter. More stories from Kate and John being on the ground in Arizona, including Rick Rizzs meeting the prospects, and said

0:00-12:15: Crown Hill (and then Capitol Hill’s) own Grant Bronsdon blesses the mic to talk about his Mariner fandom. He says it was born partly out of newspaper sports sections. Kids, newspapers are like acoustic Twitter. In a wonderful sliding doors scenario, Grant and last week’s guest were at the same formative game in 2001. A long overdue Woody Williams shout out somehow leads us down the football and soccer paths. Sports are intersectional, I think? 12:20-21:45: How does Grant remain a beacon of optimism despite ... [gestures vaguely at the Mariners]? The central tenet of Mariner fandom is definitely bonding over the badness, right? How has that evolved with age and cynicism? Are the mechanics of your viewing experience different? 21:50-34:55: Trying to figure out when our fandom began to shift toward logic and reason over emotion, which for Grant, unsurprisingly, came from being a boy genius that eventually went to Yale. Grant then describes his time interning in the Mariners’ baseball operations dep

0:00-8:00: Introducing the concept for this new podcast series, which should result in some catharsis about this misery we share. After welcoming Zach Gottschalk (who loves Sublime and Bill Simmons), we launch into our conversation. Before the meat and potatoes, we have an appetizer of unicorns, Blink-182, and aliens. The first course is a heaping pile of playoff baseball, which we have to watch other people eat. 8:10-21:00: A power move by Zach within the first ten minutes, as he plugs something he wrote in 2018. While we settle in, the boys reminisce on their intros to the Mariners. Zach’s involves his father trying to sell him to Bobby Higginson at Safeco Field in 2001. In peak early-2000s Seattle moments, we bring up a story of John Olerud visiting an elementary school. How do our lives unfold if the Mariners hadn’t been a team of mercenary gods back then? 21:15-33:40: Realizing things are bad. Who introduced you to this pain we shoulder with every move, and can they pay for extensive therapy? When did

0:00-22:00: A history making episode, as the franchise we know and love sails to uncharted water. Praise be Dylan Moore, our dung beetle champion. We were thrilled to have a season of Moore rather than a season of Rumbelow. It wasn’t all bad, folks. What happens to the other star of the Dylan Moore game? Could he be joined in Houston by a certain Nordic prince? John wonders where Joe Maddon is headed, and Kate broaches the topic of quinoa enchiladas. 22:05-37:10: bUt WhAt AbOuT tHe MiNoRs? What would the Mariners pitching dev look like in other hands? Particularly, Matthew’s hands. There would be extensive hair care and Twitter two-a-days. A weekly show of gratitude for Brodie van Wagenen and a quick bop around the league. Do not fact check anything John says about Mookie Betts playing second base. If the Mariners pass, former San Diego resident Matthew Roberson will be the Padres’ pitching coordinator slash youth influencer. While you’re here, yell at Grant Bronsdon on the world wide web. 37:20-1:02:40: If

0:00-16:16: Put on your bedazzled loafers and revealing dresses because it’s time for celebration, baby. Before handing out various awards, we check in on Edgardo Alfonzo. First award goes to our favorite games of the 2019 season, which unfortunately were few and far between. Remember when Tim Beckham and David Freitas were on this team? And they walloped the Red Sox on national television? There was also apparently a fleeting moment of joy on Father’s Day. Kate urges you to remember the 2019 Mariners as Maybe Not Actually That Bad When You Consider the Circumstances and Also Remember the Orioles and Tigers are Whoopee Cushions. Bob Nightengale is also a Whoopee Cushion. 16:20-24:30: In the 2019 T-Mobile Park division, amid the shapeless goop, there were still moments of life poking their head above the surface. These are those moments [Law and Order noise]. 24:35-51:20: The three of us choose our most cherished Mariner from this names-out-of-a-hat roster. After a quick detour to ponder which Mariner minor

0:00-15:25: A brief breakdown of our cowardice, hydration, and overall health levels, as determined by Kyle Lewis. 15:30-34:30: We love it when a plan comes together. As the Mariners’ farm starts to congeal into a big-league team, the Astros’ sheds some of its big names while still operating with maddening efficiency. The key to player development seems to be – and stick with us here – having a clear organizational philosophy and then acting upon said philosophy! Could be something to consider. George Kirby’s unwavering dedication to strikes falls beautifully into the Mariners’ vision of growth, which is giving us early returns on the franchise’s player development strategy. 34:35-43:30: Is Donnie Walton part of the bigger picture? How does Dylan Moore’s baby fawn body play baseball? Kate dubs Moore’s swing the “dish rag” because it wrings every micro-ounce of power out of its frame. Let’s also get corporate barista Austin Nola some reps behind the plate before the season ends. Matthew dares you to finally

0:00-8:00: Kate comes in hot with a Shane Victorino take? August is tough when your team isn’t good. After talking about other teams’ minor league systems for no reason at all, we get into the actual reasons that we record this podcast, which is for Matthew to declare himself the Sue Bird of Mariner podcast hosts. 8:05-26:20: The M's won a home series against the Blue Jays! This is a cause for celebration, but like lots of Mariner success, it comes with a caveat, as we realize that beating the Blue Jays hurts the Mariners’ tanking efforts. Praise for Matt Magill and the Mariners’ bizarre alchemy this season, which does not include plucking sons and brothers of other famous baseball players. 26:25-41:10: PROSPECT TIME! Julio Rodriguez is taking a flamethrower to the Cal League, and he was not born the last time Seattle made the playoffs. JULIOOOOO and Jarred will also be in the Arizona Fall League this October, which Kate encourages you to attend. With the season winding down and various prospects set to gra

0:00-21:30: Matthew and Kate are joined by staff member Eric Sanford at Beveridge Place Pub for the most important hour of your entire life. Kate and Eric talk about their approach to Edgar Weekend, which they will both be attending in some capacity. A trenchant discussion on the actual value of winning, and what location is best for that. A dive into prep prospects reveals that baseball players are just recycling names. Eric brags about having children, a job, and cool hats. A motorcycles roars on, and so does the podcast. 21:35-30:00: Logan Gilbert vs. Yadier Molina, the winner may surprise you. We stan the beef boys no matter where they go. As we reach another August of bad Mariners, do you care about the rest of Major League Baseball? We love and support both Nelson Cruz and Mike Leake in their new endeavors. We make a shameless attempt to have HBO buy the rights to the Lookout Landing podcast. 31:00-41:00: September callups are nigh. They absolutely, positively, 100% have to include Ian Miller or we st

0:00-5:00 – Explaining the premise of this draft, which is not nearly as complicated as it sounds in writing. Basically, we’re drafting Mariner players from a specific season with the hopes of constructing the best possible team to win one hypothetical game.  5:10-15:30 – Bongos begins the draft with an obvious first pick and also mixes in an unnecessary jab at the best player in franchise history. Matthew’s first pick comes from the same year as Grant’s first pick, which hilariously, is a year in which the team did not make the playoffs. The third overall pick is the first player taken from the 21st century.  15:35-31:45 – The first starting pitcher comes off the board. Just minutes later, Bongos wonders aloud if said pitcher was messing around with nefarious substances. Then, naturally, we discuss cleft palates, the troops, Macklemore, and the glaring lack of bobbleheads depicting podcasters. An appreciation for Bret Boone’s plug and his early-2000s hair. 32:00-39:30 – With the legends mostly gone, we wa

0:00-6:00 – We introduce our guest, sportswriter Josh Horton of the Everett Herald. Josh covers the AquaSox during the summer, making him arguably the most qualified person on earth to do an episode about the Mariners’ affiliate in Everett.  6:00-16:00 – How do the AquaSox adjust to life in Everett? Which of the players have the most unique stories? Who plays the role of translator for the AquaSox’ Spanish-speaking players? Kate points out the Mariners’ promotion strategies when it comes to challenging their prospects. 16:15-25:00 – Austin Shenton talk! Josh has seen him play, in person! We run through some of the less-heralded players in Everett who have stood out in their first month of pro ball. What sort of skills should we look for in the low levels of the minor leagues? Also, son of Beef Dad is discussed. 25:10-33:20 – The AquaSox fired their manager, and that’s about all we know. As Josh tells us, there’s lots of secrecy around this team. He can also confirm that the Northwest League gets chippy, an

0:00-9:00: Tim Beckham don’t listen to this,,,you are not a trade chip. Do we root for wins or the sweet specter of a high 2020 draft pick? What kind of arc is the Mariners’ season following, how many times can Matthew flex in ten minutes, and a story about violence on the kickball field? 9:00-17:00: The Three Amigos of Seattle, who are surely not the people we thought they’d be prior to the season. Satan’s Frisbee vs. The Devil’s Toboggan. What to do with Austin Adams? 17:00-26:30: We bravely talk about Mariner player development. If we have to give the current regime credit in their player dev strategies, it’s in the pitching category. J.P. is intriguing, though. Praise the Crawford bloodline. 26:30-34:00: Pray for Mitch Haniger’s crotch. Why do baseball players dress like tenth graders? Scared money don’t make none. I promise this is a good podcast. 34:05-40:50: Brodie Van Wagenen, accept Matthew’s LinkedIn request, you coward. Noticing a lot of similarities between Vogelbach and a certain player in An