“One Man’s Opinion” by Gordon Curvey

As I watch the Angels sign big Albert to a huge contract, as a sports fan here in Seattle I am saying to myself that the Seattle Mariners need to make the move and sign Prince Fielder!!

The Mariners have been on the downhill slide for years. Attendance is way down and the interest in the Mariners is way down in Seattle.

Most fans go to Safeco Field to be at a great stadium and buy hot dogs and popcorn and beer and cotton candy and talk about their families and how fast their dogs have grown etc. Heck sometimes you will see ladies knitting a sweater or something. Not giving a damn about the game on the field. This is for real readers.

Plus, going to a Mariner game is like going to a Republican National Convention. Hardly any African Americans or people of color in sight in the stands. I even heard Mariner broadcaster Dave Sims tell Seattle Times newspaper writer Steve Kelly on his podcast (www.seattletimes.com) just that. It bothers him that African Americans can care less about going to a Mariner game.

This could change if the Mariners would open up their pocket books and offer a big contract to free agent slugger Prince Fielder RIGHT NOW!!

Fielder is only 26 or 27 years old. He is a borderline superstar. The Mariners can have a superstar pticher in King Felix Hernandez and a superstar hitter in Fielder who can help sell tickets AND win more games.

Young kids in the inner city can see a African American star on the Mariners and might want to be like Prince just like they want to be like LeBron or Kobe or Primetime Sanders or Ray Lewis. They might want to turn out and play baseball again.

Young African American kids are turning to football and basketball after about 12 or 13 years old. They are not trying out for high school or college baseball teams. Go look at a high school game or college game readers and count how many African Americans are on the team. Few if any and this is very sad.

If the Mariners sign a future superstar in Prince Fielder it will help the Mariners reach into the inner city and hopefully reach the youth to play baseball and come to Safeco Field and see a game. Heck it can reach the adults too because right now when I watch a game on TV from Safeco Field and the camera goes into the stands, the face on the other end is not a person of color.

So folks what are the Seattle Mariners waiting for? Offer a huge contract to Prince Fielder NOW! And oh yeah, BRING IN THE FENCES!!!