The Stars Aligned | Visit Seattle

Julio Rodriguez playing for the Seattle Mariners Shutterstock/Conor P. Fitzgerald

Baseball’s Midsummer Classic is coming to town.

By Andrew Collins

A baseball play wearing a navy shirt and grey pants swings a bat at home plate on a baseball field while another player in all white squats behind them with their glove stretched out.

Julio Rodriguez playing for the Seattle Mariners Shutterstock/Conor P. Fitzgerald

For baseball fans, Seattle will be the place to visit in July, when beautiful T-Mobile Park (1250 First Ave S) hosts Major League Baseball’s most prestigious showcase, the All-Star Game. This iconic battle between top players in the American and National leagues is the highlight of an exciting week that includes the All-Star Futures Game (featuring the game’s rising minor league stars), the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, the MLB Draft, and the perennial fan favorite, the Home Run Derby. Not to toot our own horn, but Seattle’s legendary centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr. is the derby’s only three-time winner. And in 2022, Mariners rookie sensation J-Rod (Julio Rodríguez) finished second.

Whether in town for the All-Star Game or during the regular season, attending a Mariners game at T-Mobile Park is always a thrill, especially during sold-out games, when the roar of more than 46,000 fellow fans is electrifying. There are no bad seats at this stunning stadium with a state-of-the-art retractable roof, baseball-themed art installations, and fantastic food concessions.

In the main concourse, explore a trove of vintage photos, uniforms, and other memorabilia at the Baseball Museum of the Pacific Northwest. And most days from April through September, you can take a one-hour stadium tour, which offers the chance to walk through the Press Box and Visitors’ Clubhouse, and even step right onto the field. If you’re attending a game, there’s another great way to get an up-close look at the field—and even some Mariners pitchers. Walk to the standing area behind centerfield, and you can look directly into the bullpen. It’s so close you can see the seams spinning on even the sharpest curveballs!

Game on!

The 93rd installment of the MLB All-Star Game will take place at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. The always thrilling Home Run Derby takes place on Monday, the day before.

Five people sit at a bar top with three servers behind the bar. Four large screen TVs fill the background with sporting games playing.

Fans and patrons sit at the Hatback Bar & Grille. Zac Zeman

Beyond Centerfield

The neighborhoods around the stadium—Pioneer Square to the north and SoDo to the south—abound with fun things to see and do, not to mention a bounty of sports bars airing games on mega-screen TVs. In August 2022, the Mariners opened the city’s premier hotspot both for watching games and socializing before and after: Hatback Bar & Grille (1201 First Ave S) is across the street from T-Mobile Park in the historic former Pyramid Brewery building and serves classic American comfort fare. This bustling space with ample indoor and outdoor seating features baseball paraphernalia from the Steelheads, Rainiers, Pilots, and Mariners, and an on-site brewpub, Steelheads Alley. Here you can sample crisp ales from acclaimed Métier Brewing (1201 First Ave S). Just up the street, stop inside Sluggers (538 First Ave S), an old-school pub with a colorful collection of baseball bobblehead dolls. It’s across the street from Gameday Sports Shop (540 Occidental Ave S), the perfect place to score Mariners caps, jerseys, and beer koozies.