We did it for the ‘gram.
This is the beginning of a weekly Saturday series where we bring you highlights from the Instagram feeds and stories of your favorite players, national accounts, and maybe a fan or two (or five). Follow us on Instagram here.
It was over a century ago when Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen, uttered a phrase that would eventually find its way to RedBubble stickers, HomeGoods wall art, and I’m sure at least one million senior quote pages. That phrase being, “A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a single deed.” The para-phrase being, “a picture’s worth a thousand words.”
Ibsen’s phrase was alphabet soup-ed several times over before it finally landed on what we know today as a clichéd, yet solid, statement. Clichéd because every Lisa Frank journal known to white suburbia has it written down by at least page 22, but solid because it’s true.
The men that make up the 40-man squad for our Seattle Mariners are typically seen as one-dimensional characters when we see them on our television screens or with our eyes at the ballpark, only known to us for who they are when they catch, throw, hit, and run. Behind the athlete, however, is a person with a story richer than what you see on the field. Richer than what you can get in a 280-character tweet.
Enter Instagram.
While Twitter is generally more popular for fan-to-player interactions, the photo-sharing app that is run by the Dark Zuckerlord offers more when it comes to the “show” rather than the “tell.”
Yes, Instagram is curated greater than a British museum full of stolen artifacts, but even just examining those images can tell you a whole lot more than a short tweet.
With that, I invite you to check out each and every one of the following Mariners on Instagram and see what their lives are like beyond the corner of Edgar and Dave.
Follow the hyperlink to go to visit the profiles, scroll through the photos to get a taste of what each feed is like.
40-Man
Pitchers
Matt Brash, who wanted to get all of his and his teammates’ best angles.
Diego Castillo, who is giving me some serious patio-envy.
Matt Festa, who I hope at least got some green jello during his hospital stay.
Joey Gerber, who, if he plays his cards right, can reincarnate as a cactus.
Logan Gilbert, who’s 1,000% making me cry in the club right now.
Marco Gonzales, who has a daughter that in time will grow to have legendarily suave hair like her father.
Wyatt Mills, who is treating us all to a throwback of the Spokane Hoopfest.
Andrés Muñoz, who lived my childhood dream of getting a cast on my arm (listen, when you’re a twin you have to find creative ways to get attention)
Penn Murfee, who is taking this ice bath like a CHAMP, HOLY SHIT.
Riley O’Brien, who is not afraid to tell you who roots for during the Apple Cup (also, hi Blake Snell)
Yohan Ramirez, who not only has the confidence to wear jorts, but has the confidence to wear acid-washed jorts.
Robbie Ray, who posted this absolute throwback of a gem as his first IG post.
Sergio Romo, who’s a bonafide gamer.
Casey Sadler, who, on the bright side, still has an arm!
Paul Sewald, baris-dad at your service.
Justus Sheffield, who loves his momma.
Erik Swanson, who truly believes the family that drinks Busch Light together stays together.
Catchers and Infielders
Cal Raleigh, who just created an Instagram profile and is ready for you to get his follower count up.
J.P. Crawford, who probably signed that contract extension so he could buy the necessary amount of lint rollers to get that husky hair off the couch.
Ty France, who is not above posting a pic collage.
Adam Frazier, who is actually a cowboy.
Dylan Moore, who has his own Red Bull fridge??
Eugenio Suárez, who won his wife’s heart. And my heart.
Abraham Toro, who wants to take the Mariners to this many World Series.
Donovan Walton, who actually was a cowboy.
Evan White, (whose profile is technically all baseball throwbacks right now,) with this baseball throwback.
Outfielders
Stuart Fairchild, whose so new to this M’s thing that this is his most recent photo.
Mitch Haniger, who’s so cool he’s ~i c e c o l d~
Jarred Kelenic, who has a senior pic I can’t help but share.
Kyle Lewis, who is imagining everyone in their underpants.
Julio Rodríguez, who wears his country’s flag with the utmost pride.
Alberto Rodriguez, who’s giving off “fine mom but take it quick” First Day of School vibez.
Taylor Trammell, who, along with his now-wife, are the biggest cutie pies on earth.
Jesse Winker, who is making my uterus screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeam.
But what about…
Looking for Ken Giles, Juan Then, Tom Murphy, or new guy Danny Young? Tough titties, kitties.
And by that I mean I couldn’t find those accounts i’msosorry.
As for Chris Flexen, Anthony Misiewicz, Drew Steckenrider, and Luis Torrens, they have accounts, they’re just private or have literally nothing to see, boooooo (but we totally get it just because they’re public figures doesn’t mean their entire lives should be on display and we need to respect that).
In a thousand words or more
As clichéd into oblivion at the top, a picture can tell us more than a tweet and the photo-sharing app, Instagram, is ripe for giving us a National Library’s-worth of stories. Do yourself a favor, as a Mariners fan, and check out all the stories our squad has to offer.