SEATTLE — On a scale of 1 to Rick Rizzs, how much joy did you feel Friday when Cal Raleigh clinched a playoff berth for the Mariners?
Was your emotion on par with that of the M's play-by-play man who's been in the team's broadcast booth for 37 seasons? Is that even possible, or is his enthusiasm as unmatchable as Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak?
Rizzs has been behind the mic for a slew of magical Mariners moments. His "Everybody Scores!" call of Luis Sojo's base-clearing double in 1995 may be his most memorable of all. But the passion in his voice Friday when Raleigh ripped a solo home run over the right-field wall with two outs in the bottom of the ninth was distinct. Given that it sent the Mariners to the postseason for the first time since 2001, it was equal parts exhalation and exhilaration.
