The Seattle Mariners found themselves in some hot water with their fanbase and some of their players this week when it was revealed that they were selling Toronto Blue Jays merchandise in their team store.
The timing of the revelation, a few days before the Blue Jays visit Seattle for a weekend series, had many assuming that the team was attempting to cash in on the impending arrival of their AL rivals. That included some current Mariners players, who did not appreciate the cash grab.
“What the hell is this @MarinersStore,” Seattle reliever Paul Sewald tweeted.
What the hell is this @MarinersStore 🤬 https://t.co/xtTre6lQ2g
— Paul Sewald (@ItsPaulSewald) July 18, 2023
“Damn smh,” Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford wrote, adding a facepalm emoji.
Damn smh 🤦🏽♂️ https://t.co/JBLOM8I1Sa
— jp crawford (@jp_crawford) July 18, 2023
According to the Mariners, the whole thing is just a big misunderstanding.
“Following the All-Star Game we had a limited amount of leftover merchandise from different (mostly AL) teams,” a team spokesperson said in a statement to The New York Post. “The Blue Jays merchandise in question has now been removed from the Team Store.”
While conspiracy theorists might scoff at the timing of the merch sale, it does make sense that the team would be looking to off-load the remaining shirts and jerseys from the All-Star Game, in which Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette participated.
Of course, that’s not really going to make Mariners fans too happy either way, especially given the heated recent history between the two franchises. Seattle swept Toronto in the American League wild-card series last season.
[NY Post]
