Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “.
Watching the Blue Jays play last night, I was reminded of a great CFOS trip some 5 years ago.
In 2015, CFOS & YMT Travel presented an Alaskan cruise, which was followed by a couple of days in San Francisco.
The cruise ship departed from and returned to the port of Seattle, Washington.
We arrived in a place called Renton, Washington, just outside of Seattle, on Friday May 29th in the afternoon; a day in advance of our sailing date which was the next morning,
So, with ample time to roam and explore, I booked the hotel Town Car and the driver took me to Safeco Field where the Mariners where facing the Cleveland Indians that night in an American League contest.
Somewhat out of character for me, I went deep into my pocket and forked out $ 95 ( US ) dollars to sit 7 rows behind home plate.
It turned out it was money well spent
Sitting that close, I was dazzled by the performance of Seattle’s 23 year old starter……..Taijuan Walker.
Walker, who was just 1 & 5 going into that game, was dominant, throwing a 2 hit shutout through 8 complete innings before turning the ball over to reliever Fernando Rodney……. who did his best to blow it.
The Mariners hung on to win 2-1 that night and the buzz as 32,000 people left the ball park was the outstanding performance and appealing potential Walker had.
It hasn’t exactly played out as we envisioned that evening. Over the course of his career, Walker essentially has been a .500 pitcher at 34 & 34.
But the hope for the Blue Jays is that at age 28, in his prime, Taijuan Walker will be a big factor for the playoff bound squad and will frequently display the form he showed in Seattle on Friday May 29, 2015 with the Mariners.
I’m Fred Wallace