Off the Wall: Mariners honor Gonzaga Final Four run during home opener

The Seattle Mariners honored Gonzaga’s historic season with a message on their videoboard during Monday’s home opener against the Houston Astros.

The dedication read “Congrats Zags, 2017 Final Four” with a photo of Zags coach Mark Few cutting down the nets after the win over South Carolina that sent Gonzaga to its first-ever national championship game.

It was a classy tribute from an organization that put on a nice show for its fans for the home opener.

Other highlights included the traditional make-a-wish kid running the bases before the nation anthem, and four former Mariners – representing the four decades of MLB in the Pacific Northwest – throwing out first pitches: Willie Bloomquist, Mark McLemore, Harold Reynolds and Ruppert Jones. Catching the first pitches were the even more revered Alvin Davis, Edgar Martinez, Jamie Moyer and Dan Wilson.

All the pomp and circumstance was almost enough to forget the Mariners 1-6 start on the field thus far this season.