Seattle, WA

Trailblazing Women: Brenda Leaks

Published

3 months ago

June 24, 2024

We think of persistent people as heroic individuals achieving great things in the face of adversity. But the untold story is: People don’t persist alone. They have families, friends, and whole communities fueling their determination.

I’ve been persisting — with the help of others — since childhood. I was born into a large family in Philadelphia. My dad realized I needed a different environment to thrive, so he unselfishly sent 10-year-old me to live with my aunt and uncle in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. My aunt was a housekeeper but was determined to do more with her intellect and empathy. Though I was first in my family to graduate from college, she modeled persistence by graduating from college at age 53 to become a family therapist.

I excelled at school but life was challenging. Navigating the two worlds I lived in — Black city life with my family in Philadelphia and the almost entirely white world of the Poconos — required code switching to the point of exhaustion. I was also 6 feet tall, so I stuck out even more. I was tempted to draw inward but my drama teacher urged me: “Brenda, take up all of your space!”

My support structures grew through college, a career in teaching, and graduate school. But even as an accomplished educator, I needed community to persist. When I learned about the opportunity to lead Seattle Girls’ School, my excitement was eclipsed by self-doubt. Thankfully, I was mentored by the only Black, female head of school in Seattle at the time. She encouraged me to pursue my dream job.

Persistence is difficult and leadership can be isolating. In Seattle, finding a community of other Black female leaders has not been easy. This led me to proactively seek out and build my own network to fuel my leadership. In my efforts to find “my people,” I discovered that Seattleites are collaborative and welcoming of new people and ideas even if they need a little encouragement to say “hello” to a stranger.

At Seattle Girls’ School, we’ve created a community that nurtures persistence. It’s thrilling to see young people discovering their strengths and exploring different ways to lead. When I think about how Seattleites could better nurture persistence, I reflect on two important lessons we teach. First, practice radical acceptance of yourself and others. Teaching middle schoolers to accept themselves during adolescence sets the groundwork for acceptance at all stages of life — of ourselves and others. This radical acceptance is critical for women as our roles, lives, and bodies change as we age. Go ahead, take up your space! Second, borrow confidence from your community when you don’t have enough of your own. Watching kids vulnerably and courageously support each other in times of struggle and doubt can inspire all of us to do the same for the people in our lives. I believe persistence and progress are possible for anyone surrounded by a strong community. And if you can’t find the community you need, create it. Seattle is certainly a place where you can do just that.

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Seattle, WA

Raleigh, Garver homer as Seattle Mariners beat Athletics 2-0

Published

7 hours ago

September 28, 2024

Press Room

Raleigh, Garver homer as Seattle Mariners beat Athletics 2-0

SEATTLE (AP) — Cal Raleigh hit his 32nd homer, Bryan Woo struck out eight in five innings and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 2-0 on Friday night.

Seattle Mariners 2, Oakland Athletics 0: Box score

Mitch Garver also homered for the Mariners, a day after Seattle was eliminated from postseason contention. Oakland also was coming off an emotional day after playing its final scheduled home game at the Coliseum, a 3-2 victory over Texas.

Woo (9-3) allowed just three hits and a walk.

“It was kind of a weird 24 hours,” Woo said. “Knowing you’re out of it, but you still want to finish strong. For yourself, for the team, for the fans, for everybody. Everybody else deserves that out of you and so you’ve got to find it in yourself to give it everything you have.”

He has 101 strikeouts in 121 1/3 innings this season. This was the seventh time in his 22 starts he did not allow a run.

“He had five really strong today,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “What an incredible season for another one of our young starters. I thought he had a great year, and threw the ball well tonight.”

Oakland starter JP Sears (11-13) allowed two runs on four hits over six innings.

The Mariners opened the final three-game series of the season after seeing their playoff hopes officially end on an off day, watching as the Royals and Tigers both won to knock out Seattle from wild-card contention.

The Mariners led the AL West by 10 games in June before hitting a skid and seeing the division lead evaporate over a month. A late surge gave Seattle some slight postseason hope that was finally extinguished Thursday.

Despite that, the crowd of 41,429 was relatively upbeat, especially when Garver gave Seattle a 1-0 lead with his 15th homer to lead off the second inning.

Raleigh added another run with his home run to center field in the third inning. Raleigh leads major league catchers with the 32 homers.

“Garv really crushed it, Cal crushed it,” Wilson said. “Those were big knocks and gave us what we needed tonight. Our pitching was really, really strong.”

Mariners relievers Gabe Speier, Gregory Santos, Tayler Saucedo and Troy Taylor each pitched an inning in Seattle’s 15th shutout of the season, with Taylor getting his first career save.

“That’s a big deal for him,” Wilson said. “He’s been given some higher leverage situations, and he’s been able to handle them. You’ve got to love that from a young kid. He’s another guy that really wants the ball in those situations, and that’s a good sign.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

The A’s reinstated RHP Ross Stripling from the IL before the game. Stripling had been on the 15-day IL since Sept. 11 because of a lower back strain. Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said Stripling would pitch out of the bullpen at some point in the series.

UP NEXT

Seattle will call up RHP Emerson Hancock (4-4, 4.72 ERA) from Triple-A to start Saturday against Oakland. Hancock has made 11 starts for Seattle this season, most recently on September 21 against Texas. The Athletics were set to start RHP Joey Estes (7-9, 4.99 ERA).

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Video: What led to the Mariners missing the playoffs again
• The Mariners have been eliminated from postseason contention
• Requiem for a Mariners Season: The questions that await
• Bryce Miller’s big leap has been ‘awesome to watch,’ says MLB insider
• Seattle Mariners are scoring now, with 4 names playing big roles

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Seattle, WA

Former Seattle Mariners Pitcher Deals AL West Rivals History-Making Loss

Published

16 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

Former Seattle Mariners Pitcher Deals AL West Rivals History-Making Loss

The Seattle Mariners will begin Game 1 of their last series of the season against the Oakland Athletics at 7:10 p.m. PT on Friday.

The Mariners were eliminated on their off day on Thursday after the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals both won.

But as the saying goes, “misery loves company.” And although Seattle will miss the playoffs for a the 22nd time in 23 years, it got to sit back and enjoy an American League West rival suffer its own disappointing loss.

The Los Angeles Angels fell 4-3 to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. The loss was the Angels’ 96th of the season — a franchise record.

The irony was that the a former Seattle starter helped deal the loss.

Chris Flexen, who pitched for the Mariners from 2021-23, threw 6.1 scoreless innings and struck out seven batters. It was his first win since May 8. His wallet also got a little bigger due to him earning $250,000 for pitching 160 innings during the season.

Chris Flexen today:
– 6.1 shutout innings
– First W since May 8
– Cashed a $250K bonus for 160 IP
– Dealt the Angels their franchise record 96th loss of the season
Comrade Chris 🫡 https://t.co/Vv3hkW9OXH
— Mariner Muse (@MarinerMuse) September 27, 2024
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Flexen has a 4.95 ERA this season in 33 appearances (30 starts) with 123 strikeouts in 160.1 innings pitched.

During Flexen’s time with Seattle, he pitched 81 games (57 starts) and posted a 4.13 ERA with 249 strikeouts in 359.1 innings pitched.

Flexen has pitched well against Los Angeles dating back to his time with Seattle. In his career, he’s made 11 appearances against the Angels (nine starts) and has posted a 3.15 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched.

Los Angeles’ loss won’t alleviate the disappointment within the Mariners organization and fanbase over not making the playoffs.

But it’s good to see a former Seattle pitcher continue to be successful against a division rival.

ADAMES JOINS A-ROD IN HISTORY: Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames joined former Seattle Mariners legend Alex Rodriguez as one of just two players in history to accomplish an extremely impressive feat. CLICK HERE

MARINERS ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION: The Seattle Mariners saw their postseason dreams came to an end with come-from-behind wins by the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers on Thursday. CLICK HERE

MARINERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HOUSTON’S DEFENSIVE MISCUES: The Seattle Mariners kept their season and playoff chances afloat and took the series with an 8-1 win against the Houston Astros on Wednesday. CLICK HERE

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady

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