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The hunt for this season’s trio of American League wild card spots is shaping up to be a tight one, as three teams (the Orioles, Astros, and Blue Jays) are currently tied for position at the top of a list where eight franchises are within five games of the spot that will allow them to punch their ticket to the first round of the playoffs.
That second group includes the Seattle Mariners, who have the chance to gain some ground on Toronto when they welcome them to T-Mobile Park for a three-game series that will kick off on Friday night.
Those opposing squads aren’t exactly considered fierce rivals, but there’s still no reason to think the Mariners would go out of their way to prepare a warm welcome for the Blue Jays and their fans.
With that said, it appeared that Seattle’s official team store had done exactly that when a picture surfaced showing an entire rack dedicated to Blue Jays merch inside the outlet ahead of the aforementioned series.
On Tuesday, Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford made it clear he wasn’t exactly thrilled with that decision in a tweet where he stated “damn smh” along with a facepalm emoji. Seattle reliever Paul Sewald also chimed in to express his displeasure, as he asked “What the hell is this” while tagging the store in question.
When the picture started to make the rounds, there was some speculation the Mariners were hoping to make some money from Blue Jays fans who might be making the relatively short trek (at least compared to a trip to Toronto) across the Canadian border for the chance to witness them play in person.
However, according to The New York Post, the store released a statement where it said it was simply trying to move unsold merchandise from the All-Star Game it hosted last week and that it had opted to remove the offending items after they caused more trouble than it was worth.
That seems like a smart call.