Seattle’s LGBTQ community members say they hope that this Friday’s World Cup “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is criminalized, can be an opportunity to change minds.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners' intriguing option if 3B defense is lacking
The Seattle Mariners had well documented offensive issues for much of the 2024 season, but one thing they could almost always count on was solid defense at an important position: third base.
That’s probably not going to be the case in 2025, at least at the start of the season.
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This offseason, Seattle did not tender a contract to Josh Rojas, who was the team’s primary third baseman in 2024. He was statistically one of the best players defensively at the position, but he isn’t much of an offensive threat. So instead, the Mariners are going into 2025 with Jorge Polanco penciled in at the hot corner.
Polanco has much more power and a higher ceiling at the plate than Rojas, but he’s not known for his defense. And in fact, he’s not really that familiar with third base. The 31-year-old switch-hitter came up as a shortstop with the Minnesota Twins and has primarily played second base since 2021. In his MLB career, he’s appeared at third in just 24 of his 917 games.
The Mariners recently brought Polanco back on a one-year contract for 2025, and it’s a move MLB Network insider Jon Morosi termed as “not a bad risk.” But Morosi isn’t sold on Polanco as a third baseman, especially since the Mariners are built around their elite starting pitching and put a high priority on suppressing runs.
Morosi: What the Mariners’ reunion with Polanco says about offense
“I’m just not sure how that looks in the end because he’s been a middle infielder for basically his entire career,” Morosi said Wednesday during his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “So now he’s going over to third base, he can probably handle it, but this is a pitching and defense team that needs third base to be played at an above-average level, I believe.
“Yes, (Seattle’s pitchers) miss plenty of bats, but that’s a really crucial defensive position to have someone at a relatively advanced baseball age – at least a mid-career player – move there and do it for the first time in the major leagues. So yeah, I heard (Polanco will be the Mariners’ third baseman) and raised an eyebrow a bit at at that.”
The Mariners may have a backup plan if Polanco’s defense isn’t up to par, though, and it’s one that’s pretty intriguing defensively even though it has gone under the radar at this point.
Keep your eye on Ben Williamson
The Mariners’ farm system is loaded with players ranked in the top 100 of all baseball prospects by various publications, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other prospects in the organization who could help the big league club.
Specifically in this case, there’s 24-year-old third baseman Ben Williamson, a second-round 2023 MLB Draft pick by Seattle out of the College of William & Mary.
Williamson spent the majority of 2024 with Double-A Arkansas, and his numbers at the plate were solid but not eye-popping (.273/.365/.374 slash, .749 OPS, three home runs in 95 Double-A games). It’s his glove that makes him interesting, though, and it’s easy to see a scenario this year where the Mariners want to keep Polanco’s bat in the lineup as the designated hitter while Williamson comes up to provide a defensive upgrade at third.
The MLB Pipeline profile of Williamson calls him “a plus defender at the hot corner who will prevent runs for whatever pitching staff he plays behind, and he can even move to shortstop when needed. His success is rooted in his body being in sync, having the instincts to read tough hops to go along with above-average arm strength.”
Mariners assistant general manager Andy McKay raved about Williamson to Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk just this week when he spotlighted some prospects to watch this spring.
“Recently he graded out in one of the industry sources … as arguably the best defensive infielder in Minor League Baseball. And whether he is or isn’t, he’s definitely in that conversation,” McKay said. “High baseball IQ, tremendous competitor. He was a part of that championship team in Arkansas last year and is just a true professional.”
McKay’s three under-the-radar Mariners prospects to watch this spring
Mariners general manager Justin Hollander also pointed at Williamson, who is one of the team’s non-roster invitees to MLB spring training, as an option at third when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy in studio Wednesday.
“(He’s) an awesome defender who advanced through Double-A last year, will likely start a Triple-A this year,” Hollander said, “and you’ll see a lot of Ben at third in spring.”
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SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy injured early Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood.
At about 12:48 a.m., dispatchers received multiple reports of rapid gunfire near Sylvan Way Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street.
Officers arrived and found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Medics transported the teen to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Before officers located the victim, they found a car that had crashed and become disabled near Sylvan Way Southwest and Delridge Way Southwest. Police said multiple suspects were seen running from the vehicle through a nearby Home Depot parking lot.
Officers cordoned off the area and searched for the suspects with assistance from the K-9 Unit, but were unable to locate them. Police recovered the vehicle and impounded it for processing.
During the incident, gunfire struck at least three vehicles and two buildings. No other injuries were reported.
Officers processed multiple nearby scenes and recovered evidence before clearing the area. Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit will lead the investigation.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
Seattle, WA
Iran and Egypt to play in Seattle ‘Pride Match’ despite earlier complaints | The Jerusalem Post
Seattle revels in its reputation as a welcoming place and Pride flags are visible all over the city, all year round. Its June Pride weekend is one of the biggest in the United States.
So, ahead of December’s World Cup draw, it was only natural that local organizers designated the June 26 match to be held in the city as a “Pride Match.”
Then the draw happened — and the two teams scheduled to play the game were Egypt and Iran.
Egypt’s Football Association urged global soccer governing body FIFA to prevent any Pride-related activities, arguing such events clashed with the Muslim-majority country’s cultural and religious values. The governing body in Iran, where same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, filed an objection with FIFA.
Some in Seattle have doubts over the teams in the ‘Pride Match’
But in Seattle, there is no question that the Pride Match will go ahead as planned.
“The World Cup is going to come and go in three weeks,” Hedda McLendon, from Seattle’s local World Cup organizing committee, told Reuters. “The Pride celebration … has happened on this weekend for 50-plus years.
“It is going to happen this weekend, it is going to happen long after the World Cup.”
Some in the city’s LGBTQ community had mixed feelings given the participants, said Jon Cairns, 49, manager of local LGBTQ+ club Kremwerk.
Cairns, however, said his own view was that it provided a platform to promote acceptance that only the world’s biggest sporting event could offer.
“My reaction is let’s have them,” he told Reuters. “International sports is one of the biggest brokers historically of social change and individual rights and freedoms worldwide, including in the U.S.”
He cited black U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised-fist protest in 1968 as moments where “only international sports could reach that big of an audience.”
“They’re not going to turn off the World Cup on state television in Iran or Egypt to block out a Pride flag in the audience,” Cairns said.
The Pride Match is “a host city initiative” and separate of FIFA, a spokesperson for soccer’s governing body told Reuters.
Seattle’s LGBTQ community sees an opportunity
Egypt and Iran’s involvement in the Pride Match is not the first time the World Cup has grappled with stark differences in attitudes between hosts and visitors.
In 2022 World Cup host Qatar, the emir said visitors should “respect our culture” when asked about gay people attending the tournament.
FIFA threatened yellow cards for captains wearing the “OneLove” armband, citing its rules against political slogans. Teams including England and the Netherlands that had been planning to wear the armbands to protest Qatar’s laws against same-sex relationships abandoned the plan.
For Ryan Webster, a 40-year-old lifestyle manager who was at Kremwerk the weekend before Pride, Seattle’s “Pride Match” was an opportunity to show solidarity with people in countries where their sexuality was outlawed.
“I’m choosing to believe that this is our moment to allow the members of the LGBTQ community that come from those countries to have the opportunity to celebrate themselves in totality that they might not have otherwise,” he said outside the club, which will host a watch party for Friday’s game.
Inside, ‘Venus Fengz’ lip-synced to Cher’s “Believe” before introducing fellow drag performers to the stage, clapped and cheered by a raucous crowd.
Fengz, who only wanted to provide their stage name, said Pride coinciding with the World Cup would bring increased visibility, anticipating perhaps some new audience members.
“I think it’s always great for us to be able to share space and share places with people who don’t have the same experiences as us,” they told Reuters.
“Sometimes you just have to be the bigger person and show grace where you can and know that everyone is a human learning (from) different experiences, but also it can get hard — because you’re on the shorter end of the stick, always trying to have to explain yourself around people who don’t grow up with the same worldview.”
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