The Mariners are inspiring more than just the fans in the Pacific Northwest during their magical run to the American League Championship Series.
The Seattle Mariners will open up the American League Championship Series on Sunday night at 5:03 p.m. PT when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
It will be the first time in the ALCS for the M's since 2001, a span of 24 years, which was the longest ALCS drought in the American League. And while the team is inspiring fans across the Pacific Northwest with its run, they've evidently also inspired other area professional teams.
Check out the Seattle Sounders soccer team, who recently brought out the Mariners win celebration for a scored goal.
The M's debuted the dance in the 2022 season and have kept it going ever since. It's become a fun tradition and a reminder of the importance of celebrating wins in a long season, something that players sometimes forget to do.
The win dance was started by Carlos Santana during that 2022 campaign, which also saw the Mariners get to the playoffs. Ironically, the Mariners beat the Blue Jays in the playoffs that season, with Seattle sweeping a two-game wild card series at Rogers Centre.
The two teams have never met in the American League Championship Series. Toronto last appeared there in 2016.
Quick Game 1 thoughts
--The Mariners are essentially out of pitching. They emptied the tank in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, which lasted 15 innings. Bryce Miller will start the game on three days rest and will be expected to go a handful of innings. After that, the Mariners have Eduard Bazardo, Matt Brash and Andres Munoz, who each threw multiple innings on Friday, and they have Emerson Hancock, who hasn't pitched at all in the playoffs.
--The Blue Jays, on the other hand, wrapped up their ALDS series on Wednesday and enter with a fully rested bullpen. Kevin Gausman will start. The Mariners beat him in that 2022 wild card series.
--According to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, the Mariners had their team plane delayed on Friday night. They arrived in Toronto on Saturday night and were unable to work out at the field, though it's unlikely they were going to.
Related Mariners Stories
LATEST PODCAST IS OUT: Brady Farkas is back for the latest episode of the Refuse to Lose podcast, and he's giving a 30-minute episode on what happened in Game 5 of the ALDS, how he almost missed his flight as a result of it, the nice managerial job by Dan Wilson in that game and much more. LISTEN HERE:
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