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Mariners announcer Rick Rizzs said fans should be excited by the future and the Division Series loss to the Houston Astros was “not an end, but a beginning.”

“This is a young team,” Rizzs said on The Gee and Ursula Show. “They’re going to go out and make this team even better. I’m sad that it ended, but I’m very hopeful for the future.”

Mariners fans are back!

The Mariners lost 1-0 in their historic 18-inning playoff game Saturday. The defeat ended the series and the season for the Mariners, but it also ignited a new love for the team and hope for the future.

Mariners swept in ALDS after Peña HR lifts Astros to win in marathon

“Baseball galvanizes a city. We now have something to rally around,” Rizzs told ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio. “We rally around those kids. It was fun watching their enjoyment. They took us somewhere that we haven’t been in a long-time. This team is going to take us to the World Series.”

The Mariners finished 90-72 and swept the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round of the MLB playoffs. It was the team’s first playoff appearance in 21 years.

“Getting to the World Series is truly a journey and that was a huge, I mean a huge, leap forward. This is one of the youngest teams in baseball,” Rizzs explained. “George Kirby and Logan Gilbert and Cal Raleigh and Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodríguez, are going to carry us for many, many years to come. 18 innings of exciting baseball show you how good these pitchers are that they could limit the Houston Astros. They got one run with that offense.”

People posting on the Facebook page are proud of this team

On many fans posted, former KING 5 anchor and Today show host Margaret Larson. She wrote: “They accomplished so much this year and gave us thrills all the way into the playoffs. Looking forward to what’s next for them!!”

“They never give up. There’s so much heart and hustle and grit and determination in this team,” Rizzs continued. “And that’s what carried on. So I’m excited about the future and I can’t wait to get to spring training for so many reasons.”

Another listener posted: “Very proud of our young team. I’m already looking forward to next year’s playoff games. We will be a bit older and wiser! Thank you Mariners for all the entertainment this year!”

Mariners front office will continue to make this team better

“Keep an eye on what (Mariners President of Baseball Operations) is continuing to do, Rizzs predicted. “He started this rebuild five years ago and he’s not done yet. This is just part of it. I look for Jerry to make some changes.

“The Mariners have to figure out how to score some more runs offensively. Our pitching is already outstanding. He’s added Robby Ray in winter. He’s not only added Luis Castillo, one of the best pitchers in the game but extended him to a five-year contract extension.

“They will do what they need to do to make this a World Series ballclub because that’s the goal, now they’ve had a taste of it. They’ve had a taste of the playoffs now. They won that first round. They won a wild card series against the Toronto Blue Jays. A lot of people in baseball didn’t believe they had a chance to win. They went out and beat the Toronto Blue Jays and that amazing comeback when they were down 8-1. It was one of the largest comebacks wins in postseason history.”

This team continued to come back

“They were 10 games under .500 at 29-39. We’ve talked about it throughout the course of the year. They go out shortly after that, put it together and they went 22 out of 25 and [won] 14 in a row leading up to the All-Star break. Julio Rodríguez is gonna be the American League Rookie of the Year. Cal Raleigh stepped up. I don’t know how [he] even caught a pitch with his thumb so damaged as it was late in the season. I’m so happy about what lies ahead for this ball club and for the fans here in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

“We saw a rookie make [his first] postseason start at home, George Kirby, who was outstanding with seven scoreless innings against that offense,” Rizzs said. “It was a 0-0 tie until the 18th. There were a lot of firsts. I am so proud of these guys and what they did. The biggest compliment you could give any athlete or any team is that they left it all on the field. And they left it all on the field.”

The 2022 campaign was a success

“That’s the way you got to look at this 2022 season. And the joy is that it’s not the end. We’re gonna keep going. We’re gonna keep going forward and this team is gonna get to the World Series.”

Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.