Emotional and Reflective Bryan Woo Wins Last Game in Oakland For Seattle Mariners
Thursday was an important day for the Seattle Mariners' postseason aspirations.
The Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 6-4 and moved up to 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West and five games behind the Kansas City Royals for the third American League Wild Card spot.
Thursday was also an important game for Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo.
Woo went five innings and allowed two earned runs on eight hits while striking out six batters. It wasn't a quality start, but it was enough to give Woo the last win ever by a Seattle pitcher at Oakland Coliseum.
Bryan Woo, Wicked 86mph Sweeper. 🤢
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 5, 2024
6th K thru 3. pic.twitter.com/fuFv64vGkU
For Woo, the win meant more than just getting the last win at an iconic stadium. It was the final win for his current team at his hometown field.
Woo was born in Oakland and spent the entirety of his life in California. He went to college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif. — a three and-a-half hour drive south from Oakland.
Woo took some time after his win on Thursday to talk about what getting the last win meant to him.
"That's pretty crazy, honestly," Woo said. "Obviously I've (had) couple more games here than anywhere else in the world, anywhere else in my life. I can't even wrap my mind around that right now. It's sad, it's crazy. A lot of emotions, I don't know. But yeah, that's wild."
Woo stayed pretty even-keeled throughout his start and didn't let the emotions of the circumstance get the best of him. But he still took some time during the week to reminisce on the ballpark that he's been familiar with since he was a kid.
"I wouldn't say (I was) more amped up," Woo said. "I think it was more throughout the week, just trying to walk around and looking around. ... All the memories and stuff coming here so much as a kid. 'I sat here for this game, and watched this game from this and this no-hitter and this playoff game.' Just kind of trying to enjoy it as much as I could throughout the week so that gameday I could focus on doing my job. But the last three days has been a lot."
Woo’s full post-game Q&A: pic.twitter.com/hi0JADhvnz
— Mariners Playoff Hopeful (@MsPlayoffHope) September 5, 2024
There will be many more memorable moments as the Coliseum counts down to its final moments.
But for Woo, he was the winner in the final game he'll ever play at his home field. It was his final moment with the Coliseum. The last in a lifetime of them.
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