Rick Rizzs on why the World Cup in Seattle will feel like October baseball

With multiple 2026 FIFA World Cup games occurring at Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field), Seattle Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs compared the energy to October baseball, drawing on his experience calling every Mariners playoff game.

“From what I’ve seen, it’s just like a playoff situation, a World Series situation,” Rizzs said. “Every game is like that, because if you win, you keep going, if you lose, you go home. At a certain point, everything is do or die, and that’s a lot of pressure, that’s a lot of excitement. It ramps up the excitement.”

Rizzs said the do-or-die format mirrors the intensity that builds across a long baseball season.

“You play 162 games leading up to the playoffs, and then you have the playoffs, and that’s where everybody’s going crazy, because you’ve got to win in a five-game series, you’ve got to win in a seven-game series,” he said. “It’s the same thing in soccer right now, with the entire world watching.”

That global spotlight, he said, is what sets the World Cup apart.

“You’ve got that on top of you with sold-out stadiums, and you know you have to win, otherwise you go home, and you don’t want to go home,” Rizzs said.

For fans who have never experienced that kind of atmosphere, Rizzs offered a simple comparison.

“It’s really sports times 10 or 20 or 100, whatever you want to say, but it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “And I really hope Team USA does well in the World Cup.”

Mariners in midst of grueling 10-game road trip

The Seattle Mariners are grinding through a punishing 10-game road trip, and Rizzs says the conditions alone can wear a team down.

“It really saps you if you’re not used to it,” Rizzs said. “We’re used to the pristine skies and cool weather here in Seattle. It’s not humid like it is in Baltimore, where it’s hot, and you have the humidity. It just drains you.”

Rizzs, the voice of the Mariners, recalled his own minor league days playing in places like Alexandria, Louisiana, where the heat and humidity made the game a struggle.

“It’s not easy to play in those kinds of conditions, but it is what it is,” he told “Seattle’s Morning News.”

The Mariners currently sit at 3-4 on the trip, hovering near .500, and Rizzs said the routine for everyday players like Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena does not change much, even if the surroundings do.

“The preparation is about the same. The difference is where you prepare,” Rizzs said. “It’s obviously much better when you’re at home, and that’s why you always see better home records, because you’re familiar as hitters with the batter’s eye. But if you’re a good ball club, you’re going to win at home or on the road.”

The biggest boost may come when catcher Cal Raleigh rejoins the lineup. Raleigh has been rehabbing at Triple-A Tacoma, where he homered Wednesday in a 9-5 win over Albuquerque.

“It sounds like they’re going to get the Big Dumper back here real soon,” Rizzs said, noting Raleigh has three home runs and nine RBIs over two games. “When you miss all that time with the strained oblique, it’s like you’re starting all over again at spring training. You need those at-bats to get your timing back.”

Rizzs said the plan is for Raleigh to return when the Mariners come home Tuesday to face the Baltimore Orioles.

The road trip has tested Seattle’s six-man rotation, including right-hander Bryan Woo, who struggled in his latest outing and told The Seattle Times he was “just tired of sucking.”

“When you’ve had a lot of success like he did last year, it is frustrating, and you’re searching for answers,” Rizzs said. “It happens to everybody. Even Paul Skenes is having a rough time. He’ll figure it out. He’s just making too many mistakes out over the plate.”

Rizzs praised young infielders Cole Young and Colt Emerson for stepping in amid injuries to J.P. Crawford and Brendan Donovan, crediting infield coach Perry Hill and Crawford’s leadership.

“Perry Hill is the best infield coach, I think, in the history of Major League Baseball,” Rizzs said. “And you’ve got to have that veteran guy on the field. All Colt Emerson has to do is look over at J.P.”

Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here. 

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