The Mariners now have the privilege of winning one for Rick Rizzs in 2026

This April 5 will mark 43 years since the Seattle Mariners opened their 1983 season. It proved to be one of only 60 bright spots in a 102-loss season, as they notched a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees in front of 37,000 fans at the Kingdome.

For anyone who tuned into the action on the radio that day, they would have been lucky enough to hear Rick Rizzs call a Mariners game for the very first time.

While we don't know exactly when Rizzs will call a Mariners game for the very last time, the big news on Tuesday clarified that it will be sometime in 2026. This will be the 72-year-old's final year as the club's lead radio voice, which brings to mind two words first and foremost: Holy smokes.

Rick Rizzs has only one thing left to see in final season as Mariners' radio voice

In his 40 years calling Mariners games, Rizzs has pretty much seen it all.

He was there for Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martínez and Ichiro Suzuki, and he's still here for Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh. He's seen a 116-win season. He's seen a 262-hit season. He's seen a 60-homer season. He's seen a no-hitter by Randy Johnson and a perfect game by Félix Hernández. And in 2025, he saw the Mariners come closer than ever to reaching the World Series.

The one thing Rizzs hasn't seen, of course, is the Mariners actually in the World Series. And in speaking to Wyman and Bob on Seattle Sports on Tuesday, he wasn't subtle about how he hopes his final year will coincide with the Mariners finally getting there.

"It's been an incredible journey, and I've got so many wonderful moments to look back on," Rizzs said, "And a lot to look forward to this year. I think this is a ballclub that can go to the World Series and win it."

If this is pressure on the Mariners, it's a good kind of pressure.

Making it to and winning the World Series in 2026 carries the promise of being a lot of things all at once, including revenge for 2025 and, of course, the end of a half-century of suffering for a fanbase that has never experienced a Fall Classic. And now, it also has the chance to be the ultimate celebration.

It's never not an amazing story whenever a franchise icon gets to go out on top. And for the Mariners, sending Rizzs out with a World Series championship would rival — heck, maybe even surpass — anything having to do with John Elway, Peyton Manning or Clayton Kershaw. It's one thing to have been there for a team during an era, but Rizzs' Mariners story is a step above that. He's been around for almost the entire history of the franchise.

Not that Mariners fans needed another reason to daydream about winning it all, of course. This is always the time of year when that daydream hits especially hard. The only question from year-to-year is how realistic the dream is.

To this end, Rizzs is right that the 2026 Mariners have legitimate World Series potential. And if they do go out there and play like they want to win one for him, well, how can they lose?