Sundays in Seattle are for Steelheads! Before the season began, it was announced that the Seattle Mariners would wear Seattle Steelheads uniforms on every home Sunday. The Steelheads were a Negro League baseball team in the brief West Coast Negro Baseball Association in 1946. They are part of Pacific Northwest Black history, though the league folded after two months.
Building on this announcement, seeing the uniforms in action produced unexpected emotion and tremendous pride. The Mariners’ media team did an excellent job telling the story of the Steelheads and included members from the community in their inaugural presentation. The uniforms look amazing, and this proactive action by the Mariners, who do not have a storied history in Negro League folklore, should afford the opportunity for teams like the Royals (Kansas City Monarchs), Cubs and White Sox (Chicago American Giants), Nationals (Homestead/Washington Grays), Phillies (Hilldale), Pirates (Grays & Crawford’s), Orioles (Elite Giants and Black Sox), and many more MLB teams to honor their past in an exciting way. And, let’s be honest, new uniforms bring in new revenue for the club too. It’s a great business move.
Turning to game action, the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Yankees, and Brewers are still undefeated. That may not come as a surprise to most; those teams all were in the playoffs last year, with stacked rosters. But, there is another team that is undefeated that is a surprise: Shout out to the Marlins. The Miami Marlins are 3-0 after sweeping the Rockies. Yes, I know the Rockies are trash, but live it up, MIA.
Looking more closely at the 2-1 teams, the Nationals were impressive, taking two wins in Chicago against the Cubs. The Rangers took two wins in Philly, and Andrew McCutchen hit extremely well. The Reds taking two off the Red Sox was unexpected. Most pundits have labeled the Red Sox the team to watch. I know it’s early, but the MLB season is off to a hot start.
To wrap things up, thank you for sharing part of your morning with BBM. A new podcast will be recorded live tonight at 9 PM EST. You can watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, or you can wait for the audio on Tuesday morning. See you tomorrow.