Seattle’s celebration on the field lasted more than 10 minutes as fans and players lifted themselves from the burden of two decades without seeing playoffs from their baseball team.
“I remember the moment when I knew it was fair and looking at the team and everybody’s jumping. Raleigh, pinch-hitting for Luis Torrens, hit a 3-2 pitch from Domingo Acevedo (3-4) just inside the right-field foul pole for a solo homer that sent the Mariners to the postseason for the first time since 2001. Raleigh hit a game-winning home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Mariners clinched a wild-card berth in the American League with a 2-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. “It's better than maybe what you could dream it to be,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. But after 21 years, the Seattle Mariners could be excused for going a little over the top upon their return to the playoffs. The celebration was more akin to winning something big in October, rather than a victory on the last day of September. SEATTLE - More than an hour after Cal Raleigh ended the longest playoff drought in baseball, he was back on the field with his teammates, circling the perimeter of the field to acknowledge the tens of thousands of fans who still stuck around. Mariners' 21-year playoff wait ends on Raleigh's walk-off HR
