FPF: A Home Run Statue? Nah… Think Bigger.

When looking around the world of major league baseball, you find 30 unique ballparks, all of which have their own style and character. The character of the individual parks is not just in their setting and overall design, but in the features they deliver to their fans. Some things are similar among all the parks. Concession stands, team stores, scoreboards, seats that are just big enough not to be considered too small. All parks present these to their fans in their own way. Overall design features, like retractable roofs, short porches, Pesky Poles, Crawford boxes, monument parks, all contribute to make every park an individual experience. Some have fish tanks around the play field; some have swimming pools, manta ray tanks, ivy covered walls. Some we laugh at: the recently removed Tal’s hill and Marlins’ home run monstrosity, the catwalks at Tropicana, the sewage issues in Oakland. I could go on, but the list of features present in the 30 home stadiums around the league are too numerous to list.

Here at home, Safeco Field T-Mobile Park already offers many of features of its own. The Hit it Here Café, Edgar’s Cantina, a statues of one of the greatest players and broadcasters ever, The Pen, a hand operated scoreboard, Mariner Vision, Kids play area, The Mariners Hall of Fame, that one place you can allegedly get cheap beer, the list goes on and on. There is something for everyone. Even art lovers can get lost wandering between (or during) innings: the baseball bat chandelier at the home plate entrance, a mural of "The Double," a wishing well, sculptures showing grips for pitches. Again, the list keeps going. My personal favorite? The view of the sun setting over the Cascade Mountains, and Puget Sound in those late-season evening games.

I could easily keep going, but this isn’t about what IS already present, this is about what isn't. There is indeed one feature missing. This isn’t some grandiose breakthrough idea, in fact, a majority of the stadiums around baseball already have it, and some even have multiple. It wouldn’t take much to add it to the park, and it could be placed anywhere there was space. Perhaps near one of the entrances, for all to see as they walk in, maybe on the concourse or in the team store, near the Moose Den for the kids to look at, maybe even Dave could look after in center field. You could even put it in the pen, though, given its $15,000 price tag, you probably don’t want it housed there, especially during one of THOSE games. There would be many fans, past and present going straight for it, wanting to see it, take a picture with it. It is a display of achievement, of being the best, of conquering all and putting to bed this dark era. Imagine it, walking in and seeing an item, 24 inch tall, 11 inch wide, made from sterling silver, topped with 30 golden flags flying above the base, and polished to perfection. That’s right. The one feature, above all others, that I would love to see added to T-Mobile Park is a Commissioner’s Trophy.