You ready, Mariners fans? All Star Week is Coming to Town

It's been 22 years since the All-Star game last found itself in Seattle and the fanfare has only grown since then. If you find that you don't want to pay the crazy high prices to either the All-Star game or that of the Home Run Derby but still want to be involved in the festivities then don't fret, there is still plenty for everyone during this long weekend. Let's take a look at everything that will be going on as there is sure to be something for everyone.

The events get started on Friday, July 7th with the first ever HBCU Swingman Classic. The Swingman Classic will be played at T-Mobile park and will showcase 50 players from Division 1 Historically Black Colleges, and aims to give more attention to players who otherwise wouldn't be in the national spotlight. I also believe that Seattle Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. is to be involved with the team selections for this event as well. So if you are looking for a cheaper alternative while also supporting a group of talented young players, this is the event for you.

Next up is the Play Ball Park fan area. This starts on Saturday, July 8th, and runs throughout the duration of All-Star Weekend ending on July 11th. The Play Ball Park is to take place across the street from T-Mobile at Lumen Field. There are sure to be events for every member of the family with things that include VR opportunities as well as chances to get pictures and autographs from former Mariner greats like Edgar Martinez, Bret Boone, and Mike Cameron. This is a great affordable option for the whole family to keep you in the action, let's just hope the weather will cooperate.

Continuing on with Saturday's festivities comes more great family fun events. One of the goofier sides of the weekend is the Celebrity Softball Game. While this isn't my cup of tea, lots of other people enjoy seeing some of their favorite actors, actresses, and singers, lace up the cleats and step behind the plate. Some past participants include celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pratt, and JoJo Siwa.

Saturday is a busy day for the All-Star Weekend as we still have the All-Star Futures Game. This game will showcase some of the top prospects in the game and give fans a glimpse at the future to come. Current Mariners stars Julio Rodríguez and Jarred Kelenic were participants of the game in the past and top prospect Emerson Hancock played in it last year. It is likely that the Mariners will have a few more prospects taking the field for this upcoming game as well. It was also just recently announced that the managers for the two teams would be Ex-Mariners Harold Reynolds and Raul Ibañez. If seeing the star players of the future sounds like a good time to you, I highly recommend checking this out.

Sunday is a break in the action but the Play Ball Park will still be open, main events resume on Monday, July 10th with the Workout Day, as far as I know this is a chance for fans to see their favorite players get some batting practice in before the main game on Tuesday. The Workout is also the precursor to the Home Run Derby later that night. It will be interesting to see if Julio decides to participate again this year and if so, try to win it all after narrowly losing out to Juan Soto in 2022.

I don't really need to go into detail about the All-Star Game, I think that one is fairly self-explanatory. I believe the Mariners will have a few players selected this year but we will just have to wait and see what happens in these next few weeks. All in all, there is something for everyone this weekend and I'm sure there will also be lots of things to choose from throughout the city as well. It is also worth noting that the MLB Draft is also taking place in Seattle during this time, starting Sunday and going until Tuesday. I'm not really sure how the MLB conducts their draft but this may be another event to keep an eye on as we get closer. As always go M's and I hope everyone has fun.