Those of us who chose an overcast Sunday around Puget Sound to watch some sports on TV owe a tip of the trident cap to Fernando Tatis Jr. After recently returning from an eight-day COVID-19 staycation, he completed a weekend savaging of the Mariners with a timely grand slam in the seventh inning of the Padres’ 9-2 win (box), their ninth straight, and the Mariners’ sixth loss in a row.
Voyeurs at that moment who were toggling the remote control between the unraveling of the Mariners and the renaissance of Phil Mickelson were relieved of the pressure by Tatis’s decisive homer.
Along with the rest of the U.S. sports world, Mariners followers are going to see plenty more home runs in the spectacular career of San Diego’s human exclamation point — perhaps for as long as we see the Mariners unravel.
Although it’s a better bet that Tatis, 22, will age out in 20 to 25 years. Unlike Mariners futility.
Something viewers may never see again was happening with Mickelson at the 103rd PGA Championship.
He was ageing in.
I assumed Mickelson, at 50 years, 11 months and seven days, was on the slow slide to the Senior Tour, a very good golfer whose career was forever in the shadow of Tiger Woods. I did not expect to see him leading a near-riotous crowd of screamers down the 18th fairway at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
It was as if John Lennon decided to leap off the album cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for an encore.
In one of the splendid early moments of the slow return to semi-normalcy in the sports world, a maskless, un-distanced herd of jubilation rolled over the spectacular Ocean Course and nearly consumed Mickelson and his peeved playing partner, Brooks Koepka. Both were jostled at times when course marshals temporarily lost control of the beach party that was “limited” to 10,000.
When was the last time a major tournament seemed dangerous?
Said Mickelson: “Slightly unnerving but exceptionally awesome.”
Maybe like when the Mariners don’t get no-hit.
Incredible. pic.twitter.com/criAsHIvvE
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 23, 2021
Mickelson hadn’t won a tournament since 2019, hadn’t had a top-10 finish in a major since 2016. But for four wind-whipped days of 70-69-70-73 for a two-stroke win at 6-under 282, he had a firm grip on mind and body.
It was his sixth major win, first since the 2013 British Open, and made him oldest golfer to win a major, surpassing Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship at 48.
In a time when data, technology, equipment, weight training and youth are nearly everything in golf, Mickelson beat the field and the longest course on the PGA Tour with his will.
“This is just an incredible feeling because I just believed that it was possible, but yet everything was saying it wasn’t,” Mickelson said. “I hope that others find that inspiration. It might take a little extra work, a little bit harder effort to maintain physically or maintain the skills, but gosh, is it worth it in the end.”
Mickelson isn’t the first top-tier competitor to reach deep to go long and high, although he’s the oldest among the active.
In tennis, Serena Williams was the oldest woman to win a major at 35 in 2017 at the Australian Open, and made four subsequent Grand Slam finals before losing. She’s ranked eighth in the world heading into the French Open later this month.
At 36, LeBron James is in the NBA playoffs for the 14th time and seeking his fifth title.
And Mickelson’s pal, Tom Brady, did three months earlier at 43 what many thought preposterous after he left New England during the pandemic and joined one of the NFL’s most futile franchises. He won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.
Mickelson is the first in PGA Tour history to win tournaments 30 years apart. The first of his 45 titles was in 1991 as a junior at Arizona State. Someone who can pull off that feat probably thinks he can do it again.
“So it’s very possible that this is the last tournament I ever win,” he said. “Like if I’m being realistic. But it’s also very possible that I may have had a little bit of a breakthrough in some of my focus. and maybe I go on a little bit of a run, I don’t know.
“But the point is that there’s no reason why I or anybody else can’t do it at a later age. It just takes a little bit more work.”
His simple truth is there for Mariners fans too. Forty-three years in, it just takes a little bit more work.
49 Comments
Hey Art – crazy crowd! I’m glad I wasn’t the only one watching that was a bit freaked out. Big “oooops!” on the folks running that show. The contact tracing numbers vs new COVID cases should be an interesting read.
Good for Phil though! I’d like to know what trick he used to stay focused – distraction being his biggest opponent.
Focused? Knowing Phil, he has twenty grand on himself to win at 200:1 odds.
I’d bet on that too.
Mickelson has talked about meditation helping with his focus.
https://sports.yahoo.com/mental-focus-unique-club-help-185256605.html
I may have to try it.
Youtube the play that shall never more be mentioned, sit in the lotus position in front of the screen and chant 400 times, Nami Myoho Renge Kyo.”
You tell me if it works for you.
Me too – I’m sold
wait, you put the ragtag rudderless Mariners in the same column as Phil Mickelson, and made it work? nicely done! ps M’s now hitting .200 as a team, last in MLB by a sizeable margin. Mario Mendoza looks positively Ruthian compared to this crew.
It took a couple of pry bars, a jig saw and a sledge hammer, but I thought it came out plumb and flush. Thanks for noticing.
I love This Old House.
Congratulations to Phil Mickelson and his caddy brother Tim. The crowd was GOT crazy and the drone shots disturbing.
Just as with the rest of the sports world, the tournament ops people were not prepared for Phil Mickelson’s journey back from the margins.
The crowd/mob towards the end was on the verge of being out of control, no not the Mariners fans. Even though there is more than enough reason for Mariner fans, what’s left of them to storm the castle of Stanton & Co and demand more than just hollow promises of we’re trying to do better. Just wait until 2022 when they take off the training wheels, then voila instant contender. If you believe that I’d like a little of your time to tell you about a great opportunity to invest in ocean front property in Kansas.
The patience train has left the station, I know that Servais will not be sent to the Russian front, and this is being sold as the new beginning of something great. But any other franchise would have shown Scott the door. Is he the sole reason for their demise, absolutely not but at what point does this team start playing like they deserve to be MLB players? Oh that’s right…2022. Unfortunately Scott is the front man for this team and Dipoto sure as hell ain’t gonna take the blame. So if and when the blade falls, it won’t be Dipotos neck on the chopping block. I guess the answer continues to be 2022. Oh and we still need a catcher.
Aside from mismanaging Paxton’s spring workload, I don’t see much that Servais has done that’s a fireable offense. Youth, injuries, covid . . . not his doing. He didn’t coax Mather to speak up either.
He’ll go when Dipoto goes, and it’s going to take more than this for ownership to change course midseason for a team that had no expectations. The club doesn’t even have a president.
Agreed the ownership group won’t pull the trigger, but managers have been fired for lesser reasons. As far as president’s are concerned, I heard that there’s an ex living somewhere in Florida. He’d fit right in.
He is now living in New Jersey.
Time to change the name from Mariners to No Expectations. :)
The Mariners got the hatchet the last six games and the ax will soon fall for the first victim. It is often the hitting instructor in a case like this. Losing is one thing. Failing to compete is another. And then there is Phil. Thanks, Art, for adding perspective for his monumental achievement by looking at other sports. Pancho Gonzales may have had a big win or two at 40 in tennis and Serena has come close at 37 or 38. But only Tom Watson at 59, who made it to a slam playoff, has any comparison to what Mickelson did. Phil has been through so many train wrecks on courses, damaging arthritis, his wife’s cancer, on and on. I think that’s why people went kind of crazy at the end. He was the ultimate long shot to win at Kiawah Island and he fought through, persevered. He became an ultimate model for club players. Believe you can do it. Work at it. Focus. 50 is not too late.
Old guys rule.
Yeah!
Must quote the Bard in response:
“Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill”.
Shakespeare (Henry the Sixth, Part2?). Credited, though, to many from the last 100 years.
It is a familiar refrain to those of us over 30.
You’re right about the whole Phil bio, some controversies self-induced, that adds to the drama. And on pure golf, a 270-to-1 longshot ahead of the tourney. Those fans fortunate to attend knew they were part of history. What a way to walk out of a pandemic.
“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
― P.T. Barnum
The Mariners fans have been suckered year after year with promises of rebuild, step-back or just sitting on the sidelines. And yes, I used to buy a season package with friends for over 20 years. This ‘sucker’ is done with Mariners ownership. Sell your snake oil to someone else.
You’re amid a long line, I believe.
As far as presidents are concerned. I hear there’s an ex available down in Florida somewhere.
The M’s have had decades of Joe Btfsplk (look it up) times…the Argyros and Smulyan years, the Kingdome roof tiles falling, Dave Niehaus’ passing, the Maury Wills catastrophe, 100+ defeat seasons, losing the ALCS to the Yankees and Indians, the disasters of Carl Everett and Chone Figgins, the Kevin Mather mess….but, the past week may rank as one of the absolute low points in team history.
Oh there’s still lots of room for further misery and disappointment for Mariner fans. Heck Stanton & Co have only been at the wheel for a few years, even though they were around for the Nintendo days and learned from the best. Lincoln & Armstrong. All they offer is hope for the future. Unfortunately, hope is not a strategy.
So you’re thinking they’ll be swept by the A’s, eh?
Eh? That would be the Jays wouldn’t you say. Yeah pretty sure the A’s sweeping the M’s is a certain. You couldn’t even get even odds at the sports books in Vegas.
M’s win game one.
Well there ya go, it’s the start of the push for 2022.
M’s win game two.
Speaking of, the only positive I can see of the speculated A’s move to Portland would be forcing the M’s ownership to face local competition, instead of a five-state monopoly.
You’re not the first to think of that virtue. Watch the M’s fight it.
As San Francisco fought a potential A’s move to San Jose.
How about the M’s move to Vegas.Vegas desperately wants an MLB franchise. They’ll over pay. The A’s move to Seattle, their stadium issues are resolved. The kicker is, the entire Mariner franchise, “this is gonna hurt”. Ownership goes with the team to Vegas. A clean start for all involved. The Seattle fans get a team that has beat the M’s like a drum for 42 years and gain one of the best GM’s and scouting staffs in baseball. Can anyone imagine how good the Seattle A’s would be with the increased revenue potential that is possible with being in Seattle?
Food for thought.
Las Vegas is not desperate for MLB. Private interest just built a beautiful new AAA stadium.
I doubt the owners of a $2 billion franchise would move their business into the chaos that is downtown Portland any time soon. Additionally, a Portland-area stadium is perhaps 4-8 years away.
You missed the biggest controversy — threatening to leave town for Tampa after not providing a single winning season in their first 14 years, the longest such drought to that time in modern pro sports team history.
The 16-1 loss was appalling on multiple levels. But given the injuries and covid absences (not a failed function by club management), a six-game losing streak (and counting) is, relatively speaking, still in the shallow end of the fetid pool.
But I get that the sequence of events that has led to the worst offense in MLB is aggravating, particularly when fans were preparing to see hope.
I addressed it…the Smulyan years.
There’s a quote from the late,great John Prine tune ,’I’m a quiet man” that may help a bit with those in the decision making departments at the Mariners: “Steady losing means you ain’t using what you really think is right.”
Not a bad thought, but in a monopoly, there’s little consequence to steady losing.
Thanks to the Mariners for making my boycott of all things MLB easy to endure
You have ’em where you want ’em — begging you to return. Let me know when they hit your price point.
Firing Manfred is the price. Not holding my breath
The final 2 rounds were excellent theater, not seen since Tiger’s better days. The crowd was boisterous all day and supported both players 100%, even though Phil’s fans were much louder.
He has been and still is the best on tour with his short irons – I actually look forward to seeing his genius on display when he is in a sand trap – It’s worth seeing and remembering, because he’s simply the best.
He has always had trouble keeping it in the fairway, and this was no exception, but his putting, together with Koepka’s incredible number of rim-outs Saturday and Sunday, made it seemed preordained. I don’t ever remember a pro golfer have so many misses inside of 5 feet, and Koepka I’m sure has already destroyed the tape, as it would be too ugly to bear witness.
So congrats old man, you put on a great show that will not soon be forgotten.
As far as forgettable, the M’s are still televised? haha, what a sorry waste of air time. I’m shocked people watch that trash. MUCH better baseball can be had in both Everett and Tacoma, when you can get a ticket!