SEATTLE -- The Mariners won’t have their Ted Lasso-themed banner hanging beyond left field on Friday night, the massive, yellow placard with blue lettering that reads, “Believe,” from the hit -- and wholesome -- Apple TV+ show.
That was 2021, when they were the sport’s surprise darlings and competitive way earlier than expected. And this is 2025, where the foundation of their core players has blossomed into one with superior talent and are American League West champions.
Yet, Lasso’s messaging might still have parallels to what echoed from Seattle’s clubhouse after a dispiriting 9-3 loss in Game 4 of the American League Division Series in Detroit.
But it comes from a place of expectations rather than ambition.
“We've got a lot of resiliency in this club,” Cal Raleigh said. “And I have confidence in the guys that were going to go out and play good baseball. We know it's going to be tough. But we're up for the challenge, and that's what you have to do at this time there. You have to face good pitching and face good teams, and there's going to be challenges and bumps in the road. And we're up for it for Friday.”
That moment will come in ALDS Game 5 from T-Mobile Park, where the new yellow banner atop the left-field bleachers will likely hang. It first surfaced during Seattle’s final homestand of the regular season and reads Ichiro Suzuki’s phrase of “Seize The Moment.”
And an elimination game in front of nearly 50,000 starved fans certainly falls into the criteria of that Hall of Famer’s messaging.
“We play really well at our park,” J.P. Crawford said on Thursday in Detroit. “Our fans make it really fun. And the vibes are great. So, we go into Friday with a positive mindset.”
As Seattle’s longest-tenured position player, who arrived at the start of the rebuild in 2019, Crawford wears the hard losses more than any within the Mariners’ clubhouse.
Which made his words carry weight, even if he isn’t the most elaborate.
“We have a lot of vets in here, so we've got to keep a positive mindset,” Crawford said. “It is what it is. We can't wait to play Friday.”
Then there was Gabe Speier, who had been Seattle’s most impactful reliever of this series before surrendering the game-tying and go-ahead runs in Game 4. On most days in the regular season, a reliever responsible for stumbling in a game’s highest-stakes spots would probably be sour. Yet, after dissecting what went wrong, Speier pointedly pushed the conversation to Friday.
“It's part of it, and all we can do is just really, just fall back on Plan A -- attacking the zone,” Speier said. “We've all got good stuff, and just trusting it and attacking with it. I think everyone's excited to get back to Seattle, and take this one home for Seattle.”
Josh Naylor chimed in, too -- and while he’s only been here since the Trade Deadline, the 2025 Mariners are the fourth playoff team he’s been on. This is familiar territory for him.
“We're kind of in a good spot,” Naylor said. “We're going home to our home crowd. We've been playing good baseball. We just lost the game. Big deal.”
Then there’s Raleigh, who -- despite a soft-spoken demeanor -- is the unquestioned spokesman of the team. He earned it well before this historic season, too, that will have him finish as AL MVP or runner-up. His durability, availability and reliability are all why. He’s honest in the worst of times, so his commentary had credibility in the wake of Thursday.
“You know going into the playoffs, it's going to be challenging. It's not going to be easy,” Raleigh said. “You're not just going to roll teams like that. It's not usually how it goes. There's a lot of fight in the other clubhouse as well. They're a good ballclub. And to me, it's just stay even-keeled, flush it, forget about it. We can't dwell on it. You go on to the next game, and take it one pitch at a time.”
The Mariners went 51-30 at T-Mobile Park in the regular season, MLB’s sixth-best home record. But they’ve been even better here since the All-Star break, an MLB-best 27-10 (including the first two games of the ALDS). The crowd figures to be among the most electric of the sport’s entire postseason, compounded by the possibility of reaching just their fourth ALCS ever and first since 2001.
The opportunity is right there in front of them, and they know they must seize it. And while their words say that they’re prepared to, it’s more so the demeanor in which they were spoken that echoed on getaway day in Detroit.