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Matthew Boyd, Eastside Catholic alum, gives emotional interview after hometown Seattle Mariners end 21-year MLB playoff drought

Mercer Island native helped end the longest playoff drought in major professional sports Friday night at T-Mobile Park

Andy Buhler

Matthew Boyd, Eastside Catholic alum, gives emotional interview after hometown Seattle Mariners end 21-year MLB playoff drought
Matthew Boyd, Eastside Catholic alum, gives emotional interview after hometown Seattle Mariners end 21-year MLB playoff drought /

Seattle Mariners left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd’s roots run deep in the state of Washington.

He’s a Mercer Island native and attended Mercer Island High School for his freshman year, before he transferred and finished at Eastside Catholic, ascended to All-Pac 10 honorable mention selection and was drafted — twice — out of college into MLB.

On Friday night, a bottom-ninth inning walk-off home run by catcher Cal Raleigh ended the longest playoff drought in sports —21 years — Boyd was overcome with emotion. In an interview with ROOT Sports in the locker room postgame, his tearful reflection drew the admiration of fans.

He talked in-depth about his childhood baseball experience and how deeply intertwined his relationship with the sport is to his Seattle Mariners fandom. He's the only player on the current roster from Washington state.

“The Mariners are the reason I love baseball,” Boyd told The Athletic in August after he was traded to the Mariners to the Giants.

“Now I get to play for my hometown team. I get chills just thinking about it. I get to be a small part of this winning organization.”

Watch his full postgame interview below:

“I can’t put this into words that I get to be here, wearing these colors,” Boyd told ROOT. “It’s been the craziest year of my life and I’m eternally grateful.”

The next question was about the fans. Boyd choked up.

“It’s cool, man,” Boyd continued. “It’s being little kids coming to this park … I love baseball because of Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar and Jay Buhner and Ichiro and those teams … watching this on TV is what spurred my love for the game. I hope we can do the same for this next generation in this area.”

Boyd transferred to Eastside Catholic and excelled for three seasons, rising to an all-state pitcher as a junior with a 7-0 record and 0.71 ERA.

He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays after he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He’s in his eighth season in MLB — less than a season with the Toronto Blue Jays and six seasons with Detroit.

Steven Bisig, USA TODAY Sports

Lead photo by Joe Nicholson / USA TODAY Sports

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Andy Buhler
ANDY BUHLER

Andy Buhler is an editor overseeing Texas and the breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, and helps oversee the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, to MLS to velodrome. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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