Mariners Analysis: Miles Gwilym and Why Safeco Field is Great

Safeco Field attendant Miles Gwilym has given away nearly 1,000,000 baseball cards to kids since being hired by the Seattle Mariners a decade ago.

The Seattle Mariners have not always been the most entertaining team to watch on the field, but fans continue to pour into Safeco Field year after year to watch them play. Miles Gwilym and the other folks who work at Safeco are a big reason why fans keep coming back to support the M’s.

Eric Mandel of 710 ESPN posted an article on Monday profiling Gwilym, who is essentially the baseball world’s version of Santa Claus. The man that goes by Mick has been working in guest services for the M’s for 10 years, and he has handed out over 900,000 free baseball cards to children. All of the cards Gwilym gives away are from his own personal collection.

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You might be wondering why the 78-year-old retired teacher is so generous with his own personal collection. Gwilym told Mandel that “I just love to see the kids say, ‘Oh, I get more than one? I say, ‘If you go to the candy store and you get one M&M would you be satisfied? So if I give you one card would you be satisfied?’ I give them six or seven.”

A collector since 1952, Gwilym was hard at work this past weekend at Mariners FanFest. The former owner of Micks Dugout Collectables in Bothell gave away 9,000 cards to M’s fans. He hands out 800 cards per game during a typical game at Safeco Field from his regular spot by the escalators behind home plate.

Make sure you head over to MyNorthwest.com and take a look at Eric Mandel’s article. It’s a great read.

Safeco Field is a magical place for Mariners’ fans, and Miles Gwilym is a big reason why. However, he is not the only guest services attendant who goes above and beyond at the park. That is what makes Safeco such a special place to watch a game.

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I was fortunate enough to to cover the M’s from the Safeco Field press box during a game last August. I met many friendly writers and executives, but the nicest people I met were working in various guest services roles for the Mariners.

The best of the bunch was an older gentleman with white hair, a white moustache and specs. I did not catch his name, but he was the attendant assigned to host the lucky fans watching the game from the Press Box Suite. I spoke with him before the game, and he made a very nervous 24-year-old feel at home in the press box. He was also kind enough to check up on me throughout the game to make sure I was having a great day. It was a dream come true to sit with the “real” journalists in the press box, but the efforts of this attendant is what means most to me.

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There are hundreds of people employed by Safeco Field and the Seattle Mariners. From hot dog vendors to tour guides to team store associates, I have never had a bad experience at the corner of Edgar & Dave. These people work hard to make fans’ lives easier, and I am thankful for all that they do.