PEORIA, Ariz. -- A very fertile Mariners clubhouse over the past year paved way for the latest, and easily the most wholesome, digital short that the club rolled on Saturday ahead of Opening Day.
Titled “Babyproof,” the 30-second video features the many new fathers in Seattle and, more so, highlights the bonds that the fulfilling life chapter has brought among teammates going through it together.
“One of the things that has actually popped up in the past is how these guys, our fans and us with the team, have kind of watched them grow through our system in a way,” said Tim Walsh, the Mariners' senior director of digital marketing and social media. “So from the time a lot of them were drafted or traded over early on, just kind of watching them grow, not only on the field, but off the field as people.
“And then watching some of them get girlfriends or get engaged, get married, and now the next wave is a lot of them having kids.”
From whiteboard to screen
The bit culminates with a team meeting exclusively featuring the new dads -- called “Tri-Dads Up,” as a play on the club’s rally cry -- nearly all of whom had their baby on hand at the Peoria Sports Complex for their acting debuts.
There was J.P. Crawford (with his daughter, Korra), Logan Gilbert (with his son, Henry), Emerson Hancock (with his son, Myles), Luke Raley (with his daughter, Reagan) and Josh Naylor (who used a prop for his new son, as he was not on set).
Each baby was born within the past 15 months -- a sizable five that truly showcases just how recent, and widespread, this new wave of fatherhood has been.
The opening scene features Crawford explaining the quirky changes to make the complex more baby friendly. As Seattle’s longest-tenured player, he has the credibility to speak on this -- with a tongue-in-cheek tone -- because he’s been here since 2019.
It then cuts to George Kirby grabbing a beverage out of the cafeteria fridge, the entire top row of which is full of baby bottles filled with prop formula. Then there’s Bryan Woo meandering through the dugout and halting when he hears a baby monitor, at first in confusion then with clarity, to show he’s adjusting to the baby-forward changes.
And the most hilarious sequence centers on Bryce Miller, first finagling with a baby-proof device over an electric outlet then being locked out of the meeting with a feeling of FOMO. Also making a guest appearance is manager Dan Wilson, who steps over a baby gate to exit his office.
Casting call
Beyond the babies, the sketch was just as much about the buildup to the meeting -- and the characters were deliberate, to showcase their personality, fit within the clubhouse and which life trajectory they’re on.
Wilson, a father of four, embodied the grandfatherly demeanor of having been there before. Kirby and Miller each got engaged this offseason, and how they’re featured hints that they might very well be on a path to being dads at some point. Woo, the youngster, jokes that he’s further behind, but his loyalty to his guys shines by nodding in approval of the baby-friendly adjustments.
“The dynamic between the starters, they all get along really well,” Walsh said. “They're just such close friends off the field, too, so it felt like it fit really nice.”
Behind the scenes
The supplemental content is as essential to the shorts' overall presentation.
Coordinating schedules can be complex at Spring Training, where players are scattered, but Walsh and his staff also had to land on a time for the babies -- to ensure that they were in Arizona within the same window over the seven-week camp.
Rest assured, no nap times were disrupted in the making of this film. And maybe even more impressive was that there was no crying in the making of it, either. However, one diaper change was necessary over the roughly one hour of shooting.
Maybe the little ones are on a fast track to Hollywood, after all.
“People are always looking forward to it and yearning for the next one,” Walsh said, “and kind of trying to think about what it might be for the coming year. So it's been beyond what I expected, and each year, it continues to grow and fans continue to get fired up, so we try and do our best to level it up and try new things.”
The digital shorts have been a huge success since their return -- and slight rebrand from their previous designation as “Mariners Commercials” -- ahead of the 2024 season.
Satirical in nature while using a play on nicknames and other team-affiliated monikers, these clips are meant for fans to have fun -- but more so, to get to know the players.
And there is far more work that goes into these than most might think, thanks to the efforts of Walsh, creative director Keri Zierler, vice president of creative and content services Ben Mertens and many more that have a hand in bringing these to life.
Keep an eye out, too, because more are coming in the lead-up to Opening Day.