I’ve heard that asked often over the years since I first relocated from Dodgertown to Seattle back in 1973.
Remember, when I first got here, there was no Major League Baseball in Seattle. Oh, they had flirted with it. The one-season Seattle Pilots which gave Sicks Stadium its last hurrah before become a Lowe’s.
When the Mariners were born in ’76, I kept my feet in both camps. Cheering for the M’s during the season, following the Dodgers when they made the post season.
But for several decades now, as much as I’d like to believe we’re a baseball town, I’m continuously reminded that we’re not there yet.
Sure we have a team. And we’ve made a couple of playoff runs. Fall baseball is so much fun, we should try it again sometime.
But around here, unless our home team is involved, the second someone yells out “Hike!”, the football field becomes the darling of every sports fan. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but those of us in the long-suffering baseball fan biz find it a little frustrating when you flip on the KING 5 11 o’clock news on a Saturday night and after rattling off 4-minutes of football scores, there’s not even one mention of the day’s baseball playoff game. (I had to go to the Internet to get the results)
Yesterday, another playoff game and NO ONE IN TOWN had the game on the radio. Are you friggin’ kidding me? THREE sports radio stations in town and no one had the playoff game on? Frankly, it’s embarrassing. I remember years ago, having to run out to the store during a World Series game and I spent the entire drive there and back trying to find the station carrying the game….and I came up empty.
Sure, it’s only a few more months until we’re back at it locally. But if you love baseball, this is the dessert. This is when magic happens, when one game determines if there will even be a next game. Every pitch, every play matters.
As to the question:  “Is Seattle a Baseball Town?”

The answer for now is, “Not yet!”

Tim Hunter