Eugenio Suárez’s catchphrase “Good Vibes Only” is so well-known, it’s on the wall of the clubhouse. It’s easy to focus on the positive, inspirational throw-pillow aspects of the slogan: good vibes! It’s easy to say,
and very hard to do, especially in baseball, a game that seems to delight in humbling people. A game that is so beloved, and yet very rarely loves people back. (Not you, Shohei.) Any ballplayer will talk about the importance of not getting too high or too low, trying to be the same person every day at the park, staying consistent, etc. Few players live that ethos like Eugenio Suárez, who understands that “Good Vibes Only” isn’t a noun, it’s a verb. Sometimes life will give you a three-homer night while you also pitch six shutout innings, but more often, the good vibes have to be fought for in a game of failure. It’s a battle cry, a full-throated rejection of negativity, an unwavering faith that even if things seem dark right now, there’s a light just around the corner.
Tonight Geno walked into his light.
Suárez has scuffled since being traded back to the Mariners at the deadline. At the time of the trade, he was excited to rejoin his old team for a potential post-season push, but he also expressed some regret at leaving a place where he was in the midst of a strong season. “I felt really good in Arizona,” he said shortly after the trade. “I had a really good time there. And when you feel good someplace, you don’t want to leave.”
For whatever reason, Suárez’s bat went cold as soon as he put on the Mariners uniform again. Despite a warm embrace from the fans and friendly faces of previous coaches and teammates in a familiar environment, Suárez struggled offensively. His strikeout rate, never the trimmest figure, jumped nearly 10 points, while his offensive stats took a nosedive. The good vibes would have to be fought for, not freely given.
“It’s very hard,” he said. “Obviously, you want to do something. You want to be part — do something for the team, for the fans. Me especially, I just handle it in a good way. I know this game is so beautiful, and it’s going to give you an opportunity like today.”
“Even when you’re struggling, you’ve got to keep your good vibes because it’s a gift.”
As the Mariners’ march to the playoffs wore on, Suárez watched his teammates take turns buying up all the stock at the Good Vibes store. Cal Raleigh continued to make history. Julio Rodríguez returned from the All-Star Break rejuvenated with a clearer mindset and caught fire at the plate. Jorge Polanco rebounded to his April form. And his former teammate in Arizona, Josh Naylor, blossomed into a new fan favorite, complete with cheering section.
But even in the offensive doldrums, Suárez maintained his positive mindset. He cheered every teammates’ accomplishment. He offered leadership in the clubhouse. He went through the same routine he had all season, the same routine he’d gone through the last time he was with the team, starting every day with ground balls with Perry Hill. When the game wouldn’t give him the good vibes, he forged them himself, Hephaestus cast out of the heavens with a baseball bat and glove as his tools. He found a way to contribute something every day, even if that was just a steady hand at third base.
But how could he not want more? For the city that embraced him one, and then once again— “I got ovations,” he bragged on his return to the organization, “MULTIPLE times!”—for a city he knows wants to see a deep playoff run maybe more than anywhere else. It’s something that can’t not weigh on the players, who know the history of this organization and how often they’ve fallen short, despite a supportive fanbase. It’s something you see sometimes in their swings or when they get out of their approaches: pressing, the players call it. Grasping, it might look like. There are so many people who want this so much.
On Friday night, Suárez was rewarded for all the times he stayed positive in the face of disappointment, the bank of good vibes he’s been paying into for months without seeing a return. He was able to give himself, and the fans, a moment that will live in Mariners history forever.
“I’ve been waiting for games like this my whole career,” said an emotional Suárez postgame. “Today, I had it. Today, I had it in front of our crowd, in front of my family, my two daughters, my wife, and the moment is very special right now…I feel so grateful. God give me the ability to do something good for this city.”
“I have a good amount of beautiful moments in my career, but today is something else. Hit that grand slam and help my team win games in the postseason, big game here in front of our fans. They have been waiting for a long time, and myself too. I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole career. God is good, and I got to glorify him because he gave me the opportunity to put everything on the field. I’m doing it for Him and doing it for me, for my family, and for our city. Seattle really deserved this.”
Suárez, his family, his team, his city. Seattle really deserved this. So did Geno.
