Seattle Mariners Fans Remember Futuristic Game on Anniversary
The Seattle Mariners have undergone a lot of different looks over the team's 47 years of existence. This year alone they have five uniform options.
Thursday marked the 26-year anniversary of one of the most... creative uniform choices in the history of the Mariners.
On July 18, 1998, at the since-demolished Kingdome, Seattle and the Kansas City Royals competed against each other in a game marked "Turn Ahead the Clock."
The game was the precursor to a league-wide promotional endeavor in 1999 started by the Mariners in which all but eight teams wore jerseys to have a "futuristic" style. Specifically, they turned the clock ahead to 2027.
Both sets of jerseys were sleeveless. Seattle's were black, silver and crimson with a logo of the North Star compass rose and Kansas City's were bright yellow with blue undershirts (ironically the same color scheme as the Mariners' current City Connect uniforms).
The event in 1998 came with some festivities. The Kingdome was decorated to seem more "futuristic" and even had a DeLorean right outside of "Back to the Future" on the field.
Today In 1998: The Seattle #Mariners & Kansas City #Royals wear baseball uniforms from the future (2027 to be exact!) in a now-classic "Turn Ahead The Clock" game at the Kingdome! #TATC #MLB #History pic.twitter.com/0Nlc7Z9I3D
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) July 18, 2024
Seattle legend Ken Griffey Jr. helped with the design of the uniforms, according to an ESPN article from 2008. The team's then-marketing director Kevin Martinez described the uniforms as "gaudy" in the same article.
Seattle players did have some fun with the event and wore the jerseys un-tucked and turned their hats backwards when they were out on the field.
The Mariners ended up winning the game 8-5 and Ken Griffey Jr. had three hits and Rico Rossy had four of his own.
The overall endeavor was viewed as a failure across the league, but it was still a fun moment in time.
It was so fun, in fact, that the Mariners celebrated the 20th anniversary of the occasion on 2018 by doing it again, also against the Royals.
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