Mariners’ Opening Day vibes rocketing expectations, Julio Rodriguez — and Marshawn Lynch

They came four hours early, in long lines. With palpable optimism.

And in Julio Rodriguez jerseys.

SO many Julio Rodriguez jerseys.

Those white, gray and blue 44s out-numbered the next closest jerseys represented, those of Mariners legends Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki, by about two to one.

The Mariners brought in Griffey, Seahawks icon Marshawn Lynch, SuperSonics legend Gary Payton, Storm star Jewell Loyd and Sounders all-timer Kasey Keller from Lacey for simultaneous, ceremonial first pitches packed with Seattle sports stars who have been All-Stars in their sports.

Even the surprise appearance of Lynch, for many the most popular Seahawk ever, and the Super Bowl-winning running back’s comical, short-hopped pitch after tossing the ball to himself didn’t generate the excitement Rodriguez did Thursday.

No Mariners moment before the first pitch of the new baseball season in Seattle produced a louder, longer roar more than when the 22-year-old All-Star center fielder and reigning American League rookie of the year was introduced about 20 minutes before game one began at packed, jacked T-Mobile Park.

Rodriguez didn’t jog or run, he bounded across the welcome carpet from deep right-center field to the infield upon his introduction. The irrepressible native of the Dominican Republic joyfully bounded across the grass. He smiled. He waved. He laughed.

He loved.

His teammates, his hugging manager Scott Servais, the 45,268 fans cheering and the entire Pacific Northwest, obviously love him back.

The Mariners’ Opening Day for the 2023 season and their 3-0 win over Cleveland Thursday was as much a celebration of Rodriguez’s ascension to MLB superstardom and Seattle reaching the playoffs last season for the first time in 21 years as for the belief — no, expectation — for what’s about to happen next.

Last year on Opening Day it was the belief the drought was finally about to end, that the Mariners were finally going to make the playoffs.

This year, for one day, day one, the consensus was this season is going to be for the Mariners’ first World Series.

“It’s optimism. Cautious optimism,” Steve Garka, a construction manager from Marysville, said three hours before the Mariners’ first pitch of the season against the defending American League Central Division-champion Guardians.

He was wearing — what else? — a Rodriguez 44 game jersey, the cream-colored version the Mariners wear for Sunday home games.

Julio Rodriguez Bobblehead Night Saturday at T-Mobile Park is another sold-out Mariners game.

“With Julio, with our pitching staff, I’m pretty confident,” Garka said of 2023, “if we stay healthy.”

Garka was an 8-year-old boy in October 1995 standing with his dad two rows behind the third-base dugout in the old Kingdome when Edgar Martinez doubled home Griffey with the run that beat the New York Yankees. That was the only playoff series win in Mariners history, until last October.

“That was the biggest, best sports moment of my life,” Garka, now 46, said Thursday.

He and his friend Jeremy Blanchard expect Rodriguez and the Mariners to surpass the moment of Edgar’s Double this season.

“All those years with expectations, and they were crap,” Blanchard said of past M’s teams the last two decades.

“Not now.”

New spot is bumpin’

Blanchard and Garka were standing on the outdoor patio of The Boxyard, the Mariners’ new brewhouse along 1st Avenue South across from T-Mobile Park. The indoor-outdoor spot with a new, long, wood-themed Victory Hall opened Thursday for the opener.

The Boxyard was filling up at 4 p.m, three-plus hours before first pitch. By 5, it was The Place, packed. A line to get in stretched up 1st Avenue to the corner with Royal Brougham Way. That was opposite the lines stretching north and south up of the other side of 1st Avenue, to get into the ballpark two hours before first pitch.

(Cynics that don’t think the Mariners improved enough since losing in October’s American League playoffs to the Houston Astros in three games call The Boxyard the M’s best offseason acquisition. Time will tell.)

The brewhouse is 21-and-over. A few kids were outside the chain-link fence playing catch. They wore Rodriguez 44 jerseys, of course. The Boxyard and Victory Hall have a beer-ticket system ($10 per pint) and cashless-only transactions. The effect is to disperse long beer lines. Fans waited no more than a minute or two for a ticket, then when to one of many taps servers presented the subs with no wait.

Patrons marveled at the packed place having little waits inside. The first Mariners victory of the new season, to be sure.

The Boxyard is on the site of the old Pyramid Brewery along 1st Ave. No, you can’t get a Hefeweizen here now.

Stefanie Moffat worked the beer garden the Mariners opened at T-Mobile Park’s The Pen for Seahawks home games this past winter. She watched The Boxyard get built across the street.

“This,” she said amid the din of Mariners fans on Thursday, “used to be just a brick wall.”

Cal Raleigh. And ‘Play Ball!’

Inside the park, the fans who showed up well before 5 for the 7:10 start were in their seats for the pregame festivities that began 30 minutes before first pitch with a video of the 2022 season. The home run Cal “Big Dumper” Raleigh hit on a Friday night in late September to beat Oakland and clinch that elusive Mariners playoff berth was the highlight of those highlights.

They roared some more for that. Many that did will be back in the park April 14 when the Mariners have a Raleigh “The Clinch” Bobblehead night, for a Friday night game against the Colorado Rockies. That kicks off Seattle’s second homestand, after the team’s first road trip, at Cleveland and the Chicago Cubs.

Sixty Puget Sound-area Little Leaguers in uniform then raced onto the field from the outfield like they’d just been let out of school — for the year. They all screamed, in unison, “Play Ball!”

More roars.

The fans kept cheering when Martinez and fellow Mariners 1990s hero Dan Wilson climbed half of the four-story steps up to the top of the right-field stands to unveil the banner that will count down the days to the 2023 All-Star Game. Seattle is hosting that in July, adding to the air of anticipation to this season.

Seattle singer, songwriter and music educator Shaina Shepherd sang the national anthem. At the end of it, four Apache AH-64 attack helicopters from Joint Base Lewis McChord flew over the ballpark. Those were the only roars of the night made by machine, not man, woman and kid.

Martinez and Ichiro presented Rodriguez with his 2022 Silver Slugger and rookie of the year awards at home plate.

Then the Mariners took the field, to more noise from the sold-out crowd. Ace Luis Castillo fired the first pitch to Cleveland’s Steven Kwan before getting a foul out to begin his six scoreless, one-hit innings. His only base runner was the result of a come-backer hit off his glove near his head.

Ty France hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to break the scoreless tie.

Andres Munoz got big Josh Bell to ground out with two on to end his save in Seattle’s 3-0 win.

And the Mariners’ 2023 season of meteoric belief was on.

After the opener, France called it a playoff-like atmosphere.

Now he and his Mariners mates know what that is.

“Expectations are high this year,” Servais said before this good-vibes-only opening day.

“And they should be.”