CSS and Converge takes on Spring Training: Day three
By Charles Hamaker
Peoria, AZ – The Thursday of this Circling Seattle Sports + Converge Media Spring Training trip was perhaps the most grounded/non-chaotic one of the three to this point, for a few reasons. Firstly, unlike yesterday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, Charles and Liv didn’t have to travel 20 miles and adapt to a new working press area. Secondly, the two had a much better idea of the way things worked at Peoria Sports Complex and what they needed to do that day. Thirdly, they spent the entirety of the day at the complex itself, and with the knowledge of the objectives that they needed to check off, their plan for the day was straightforward.
Charles Hamaker stands next to a giant cactus outside of the Mariners facility (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Rise and shine, the grind doesn’t stop
The day began early for the pair, around seven in the morning. The two wanted to get breakfast before heading over to the complex to begin their day, and breakfast at the hotel opened at 6:30AM. Following preparation for the day and breakfast, they headed over to the complex under the basking sunlight in the Arizona sky, thankfully having already applied sunscreen in case of extensive exposure to the Peoria sun. The goal in doing so, arriving so early and waking up at that time, was to get to the Complex to do work, prepare for interviews with players and create more content during this busy, busy week for Liv and Charles.
Nobody was at the media work room or the front desk upon arrival, so they had a few hours of work time and discussion about the week until they saw the first member of the media/PR. That was the resident stat machine, Alex, who had brought Tucker the team dog along with him. As a result of seeing Alex in the morning first, Charles and Liv’s names ended up in the media notes for the game against Oakland later that day, as members of the media are mentioned every game in those notes. This was the first time that either had made an appearance, and it was a very cool moment for both. Safe to say, Charles is taking a few copies of the notes home.
The official Mariners game notes against the Athletics, featuring the two names of Charles and Liv (Photo by Charles Hamaker)
Greetings from Tucker
Tucker just may have been the story of the day for Charles and Liv. The Mariners team dog was all over the complex today, checking out the media work room numerous times, running all over the back fields, and almost even slipping out to the parking lot on a few occasions. A rescue dog, Tucker is a little skittish around some humans but has certainly taken a liking to Mariners media members Shannon Drayer and Ryan Divish. The friendly pup with a constant grin on his face, and the first team dog in franchise history, sure seems to keep spirits high when he’s around and will do so again this season from the clubhouse in Seattle.
Liv stands in front of the back fields behind the Mariners facility (Photo by Charles Hamaker)
Preparing to bring more looks inside
The main part of the day, even more so perhaps than the game recap itself. The big deal was being able to begin a few interviews with players that we planned on speaking with as part of our plans for this Spring Training trip. I’ll hold those names for now, as those interviews should be released within the coming days, perhaps even sooner. It was great to finally speak with some of the folks, players that have spent some time here before last season as well as new faces that are being added to the roster this season. It’s a big part of what we’re hoping to do this week, and it’s going to be exciting to see the photos that Liv got from them.
Meeting with a division opponent prior to the regular season
Following the interviews that were conducted, Liv and Charles packed their things up from the media work room in the Mariners facility and headed over to the Peoria Sports Complex for the game. In this matchup, Seattle was playing host to their divisional rivals, the Oakland Athletics for the final time this Spring before the games that they play against each other matter towards a long-term goal. We got a bit of a scare pregame as Mariners starting shortstop JP Crawford was a last-last minute scratch. We later found out that the move to remove Crawford from the game was a precautionary measure, but general manager Justin Hollander joked that he “hadn’t been traded” and the sure mention of the word trade and Crawford’s name gave me a bit of a spook for a moment.
Charles and Liv at the end of the night (Photo by Charles Hamaker)
Tomorrow’s trip
Seattle will play a split squad game tomorrow, as part of the team will head out to Scottsdale to play the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale stadium with a first pitch time at 1:05PM PST. The other half will remain at the Peoria Sports Complex and play against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a first pitch time of 1:10PM PST. Charles and Liv will remain at the Peoria Sports Complex to cover that home game, so be on the lookout for that as well as a few pieces of content from today...
To tune into our game recap for the win against the Athletics, click here