Mariners' dugout led league in characters

More than any other sport, baseball has seen its share of characters out on the field.

One could write a book - many have, and have been quite profitable by doing so - about the kooks, clowns and grumps that at one time or another laced up their cleats and walked out to the diamond.

Baseball historians should at least notarize this year's Mission Valley Mariners' team dugout. Or at the very least, NBC should send some writers over to listen to these guys; they might learn a thing or two about comedy.

There are some teams that just hope the players will get along and talent will carry the clubhouse.

Then there are the Mariners. This team doesn't just have chemistry. Somebody broke the chemistry set and spilled something all over the field.

"We let our talent talk," Cory Hardy said.

Hmmm, there's certainly lots of talent on the team, as the Mariners went 42-18 during the season. But let's be honest guys, you do some talking too.

From pitcher Josh Rostad's quips and verbal stabs at the coaches, Kyle Bagnell's demand for frozen dairy products after strikeouts and Jay Sorrell's guarantees that he'll win the team's home run derby, there's plenty of light-hearted jabbing on this team.

And that's what you need. It may be a chicken before the egg argument, but teams that have the most fun seem to be the ones that win the most.

My first Mariners game this year was punctuated by somebody from the dugout yelling a pretty well-known Staples slogan after a good play.

"Wow! That's a low price!"

Then someone else joined in. "Wow! That's a low price!"

Now I usually assume high school athletes wouldn't have a high priority for office supply prices, but the Mariners obviously gain some sort of motivation from retail savings.

Then there's the hugs. Lots of them. I don't think I've ever seen a baseball team embrace as much as the Mariners.

There are hugs after innings, hugs before innings, hugs on the mound and hugs just for the heck of it. I haven't seen this much hugging at a family reunion.

"It's all really a circle of happiness," Bagnell said.

Bagnell, who struck out 20 batters in one game during the last doubleheader of the season, knows the wrath of the dugout.

"Hey Bagnell! I'm bored, do something different!" they'd yell after another strikeout.

That's not something you'd hear from a pro dugout, someplace that Bagnell is almost assuredly going to end up if he keeps turning in performances like that.

The regular season ending doubleheader was the loudest the dugout had been in a long time, head coach Jami Hanson said.

That's saying something, because these guys don't exactly act like they're in a library.

"I can't say enough about all of them," Hanson said. "I love my kids, that's all there is to it."

The Mariners hit their stride in the home stretch of the season, thanks to some phenomenal pitching and an ability to come back in games. Mission Valley went undefeated at districts to earn the No. 1 seed from the west at the state tournament.

"That's when we came together the most as a team," Chris Alfiero said.

The key to their success may have been their venerable team bus that broke down on the way to districts and the state tournament.

Since they did so well at the district tournament after the automotive issues, they assumed it would be the same story in the state tournament.

"We kind of thought we would win if our bus broke down at state," William Wallace said.

Hanson said that he had seven guys he felt confident

putting out on the mound at any given time. That's the kind of confidence that has found its way all throughout the team.

"We definitely got some swag for sure," Hardy said.

During the Fourth of July Firecracker Tournament, the Mariners got access to the field's sound system for pregame and in-game music. One would think for warm-ups, they might blare a large selection of rock or rap music.

Maybe a soundtrack from their favorite movie. Heck, even country music would have been perfectly acceptable.

The Mariners' choice? The theme song to Teletubbies.

I don't think there was a face around the ballpark that didn't crack up and smile when that came across the speakers.

At the epicenter of this motley crew is the seniors, the ones who are reaching the twilight of their Legion baseball careers.

"It was all worth it," said Xavier Morigeau.

There are eight seniors who aren't eligible to play next year due to age requirements.

Kaileb Gillingham, Hardy, Alfiero, Jay Sorrell, Wallace, Morigeau, Justin Evans, Tyler Linse, Tim Rausch, Bagnell and Matt Detwiler may also be the most animated of the bunch.

"It's definitely going to be weird not seeing the same guys next year," Rausch said.

Many of them told me the team's secret to their winning ways, none of which are reprintable here.

"I'm going to miss it a lot more than I miss any other sport," Gillingham said.

The seniors' favorite memory of pitcher Josh Rostad doing the YMCA while standing in a river with nothing but his boxers on for some doughnuts.

It's those kind of hijinks that probably makes this team pretty unforgettable.

"Every one of them will have a place on the team that you'll never forget," Hanson said. "And they'll never lose that spot on the team."

The Mariners' season came to an end at the state tournament two weeks ago, and after their second loss eliminated them from competition, reality started to set in.

"It probably sank in for a couple kids, but I'm not sure it's sunk in for everyone," Gillingham said.