Last November, the Seattle Mariners lost their voice. Today they lost their smile.
The death of Rick the "Peanut Man" is yet another crushing blow to a franchise that seems to absorb more hard hits than Evander Holyfield.
Rick was a much a part of Mariners baseball games, as the Safeco Field grass (formerly Kingdome AstroTurf). Equipped with a pair of bright fluorescent wrist bands, Rick could launch a piping hot bag of salted peanuts across a section, seamlessly weaving it between spectators, and into the waiting hands of the intended target.
I've been going to Mariners games for over 20 years. Never once did I see Rick accidentally blast someone in the side of the head with an errant behind the back peanut bag toss. He always had a smile on his face and was quick to converse with anyone around him. More importantly, he always seemed to be enjoying the work. The latter is something to marvel about considering that Rick worked Mariners home games since their inception in 1977 and suffered through many more bad baseball games than good ones.
Rick became so steeped in Mariners culture that if you saw someone buying peanuts from another vendor, then it was a sure sign that the person was either from out of town, or had never been to a Mariners game.
Dave Niehaus left a permanent void for fans listening on the radio or watching on TV. Rick has left a permanent void for everyone at the park.
