Thursday, May 04, 2006

MLB Free Agent Fan Response: Seattle


My quest for a new baseball team to cheer for received it’s first response today as the Seattle Mariners were the first to respond to my e-mail sent out to Major League Baseball.

Thanks for your e-mail, Matt. We are thrilled to have as many loyal and enthusiastic fans as we do and there is always room for more. However, we have never had to convince anyone to cheer for the Mariners; choosing a baseball team to root for is usually more of an emotional decision than a rational one, and there are a myriad of reasons that people become fans of a specific team.

As an organization, we place a high priority on responding to our fans and other people, so while we believe that the decision to become a fan is a personal one, we are happy to send specific information to anyone expressing interest in our team. We have an assortment of free literature that may be helpful to you (Ballpark A-Z Guide, Guide for Guests with Disabilities, information on assorted ticket plans, groups or suite sales, little fanpacks for our faraway fans, Transportation Guides, Pocket Schedules, etc.), and we'd be happy to send you any of that information if you provide us with your mailing address and the information you would like to receive. Again, thanks for taking the time to contact us and expressing an interest in the Seattle Mariners.


Obviously the Mariners are willing to negotiate. They come across saying that they, “have never had to convince anyone to cheer for the Mariners” but they are willing to mail me some free schedules.

I’m reading between the lines here and what I am seeing is that this may be a tough negotiation. The Mariners play in the AL West and even though they are in last place at 12-17 they are only 4.5 games out.

The Mariners have made it to my list but I’ll have to see what is in the free information packet they are sending as well as weigh other offers.

Stay tuned!