SEATTLE -- Humpy won a Salmon Run.
For two years, that combination of words would have instantly singled someone out as a Seattleite, similar to “bring back the Sonics” or “cream cheese on hot dogs.”
But Humpy -- the slow, clumsy salmon mascot with a life preserver around his waist, who had failed to finish first in the first 167 runnings of the Mariners’ interinning mascot race -- finally won for the first time, in the 15th inning of Game 5 of the ALDS.
Then, Jorge Polanco immediately followed his act with a walk-off single to send the Mariners to their first ALCS since 2001.
“We were trying to do everything we can to reignite the crowd and try to get the Mariners a win,” said Tyler Thompson, the Mariners’ director of experiential marketing and game entertainment. “We think that we made a decision that night that got the crowd back into it and may have something to do with the Mariners walking it off in the bottom of the 15th. Who knows?”
They’ve followed that with two wins in Toronto, sending them back home closer to a World Series than they’ve ever been in franchise history. As such, the saga -- and triumph -- of Humpy has begun to break containment from the Pacific Northwest.
He’s no longer just T-Mobile Park’s most lovable loser: Some see him as the franchise’s most timely blessing.
The Mariners began putting on the Salmon Run at the beginning of the 2024 season. The race had been run in all 162 regular-season home games since, at both of the open scrimmages the team hosted during its bye week ahead of the postseason and during Games 1 and 2 of the ALDS.
King Salmon, who runs in a crown and a cape, had won roughly one-third of the races. As had Silver -- the tech-bro stereotype with a headset on his head and a tablet in his hand -- and Sockeye, the personification (fishification?) of grunge, with his plaid shirt and nose ring.
Heck, even Victor Robles had a win under his belt, beating all four usual contestants to the finish line on a whim. Afterward, he said, “I didn’t want Humpy to win.”
Because Humpy didn’t win. Humpy wouldn’t win. Humpy couldn’t win. Sometimes, he simply lagged behind the group. Sometimes, he got off to a strong start, only to be distracted by something shiny in the crowd. At least once, he was tackled by another mascot.
And, of course, Humpy hadn’t won. After the fourth inning of Game 5 on Friday night, Salmon Race No. 167 went down as the previous 166 had for him: in defeat.
That should have been it until a possible return for the ALCS, but the Mariners and Tigers had different plans. After Leo Rivas’ pinch-hit birthday single tied the game, the scoring stopped. The ninth inning passed with the game still tied, and extras rolled around.
In the middle of the 14th, there was a second stretch. And in the 15th, Thompson’s team brought the salmon back out.
As they made their way into left field, Silver, Sockeye and King got tangled up. Humpy, for the first time in his life, took advantage, blasting through the gap to take the finish line.
The Mariner Moose immediately scooped Humpy up in celebration. T-Mobile Park erupted. In the Mariners’ dugout, multiple players got up and cheered, and Bryan Woo punched the air in celebration. In passing on Tuesday, Woo called Humpy’s win “the moment of the year.”
The rest, as they say, is history, though it’s history the Mariners are still writing after stealing Game 1 of the ALCS behind a gutsy outing by Bryce Miller and slugging their way to a 2-0 series lead in Game 2. Now, they get three games in front of a packed house at home, two wins away from the pennant.
Which raises the question: If it truly was Humpy who started the run of luck, will the lovable loser ever lose again?
“I’ve got no idea,” Thompson said. “He and the four fish are going to go out there and run a clean race … and we’ll see what happens. I know that people are curious, and people are asking. But I’m going to find out at the same time as them.”