Former Mariners' All-Star set to throw out the first pitch on opening day

News came out that the Mariners have brought back a former All-Star to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day in 2024. It's not just a former All-Star, either, but a fan favorite, someone that nearly everyone loved watching play, even though he wasn't here for all that long.

Boomstick, Baby!

That's right. Nelson Cruz is going to be throwing out the first pitch for the Mariners this season on Opening Day when the Mariners take on the Boston Red Sox on March 28th.

Nelson Cruz is back to throw out the Opening Day first pitch!

Nelly was only here for 4 years, but he definitely made them count. He hit .284/.362/.546 with a 148 OPS+ while he was with the Mariners, belting an impressive 163 home runs. That's actually good for 6th all-time for the M's, trailing Griffey, Buhner, Edgar, Seager, and A-Rod. He had an equally impressive 17.1 fWAR over that time, even more astonishing when you realize he had a -5.7 dWAR while manning DH and RF.

It's awesome to see the Mariners go the former player route, getting someone who just got out of baseball and is still relevant. Not that the choices in the past have been bad, but this makes for a fun opening day event seeing Boomstick back in Seattle. Many a fan wanted him back at the end of his career to DH for the Mariners, and even at 41, he probably would've been better than what the Mariners were putting out there.

Opening Day is already going to be amazing, and the atmosphere in Seattle is always electric. Throw in all the new faces, La Piedra likely on the mound, and Julio manning center, and it's going to be incredible. Adding Nelson Cruz on top of that is going to make a great start to a hopefully even better season for the Seattle Mariners. #TridentsUp