Rick Rizzs talks Seafair grand marshal honor, Mariners accountability and the fan hit by Julio’s homer

Rick Rizzs has spent 41 years calling Seattle Mariners baseball. On Saturday night, the legendary broadcaster will trade the microphone for a motorcade as grand marshal of the Seafair Torchlight Parade.

“I couldn’t believe it when they asked me a few months ago,” Rizzs said Friday during his weekly appearance on KIRO Newsradio’s “Seattle’s Morning News“. “I said, ‘Yes, I would love to be the grand marshal for the Torchlight Parade for Seafair.’ It’s going to be wonderful.”

The honor carries special significance. Rizzs is retiring at the end of the Mariners’ 50th anniversary season, and Saturday’s parade along the Seattle waterfront will be one of his final public celebrations in the city he has called home since the 1980s. The late Dave Niehaus, the Mariners’ original voice, served as grand marshal in 2007, the year before his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Come on by the Torchlight Parade and come on by and wave and say hello,” Rizzs said. “I want to thank everybody for supporting me the last 41 years here in Seattle and supporting this Mariners ball club for so many years.”

As Rizzs celebrates, the Mariners face a pivotal stretch

The parade, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at Alaskan Way and Broad Street, will stretch about a mile south along the waterfront to Yesler Way.

But while Rizzs prepares for the celebration, the team he loves faces a critical stretch. The Mariners open a four-game series Friday night in Arlington, Texas, sitting just a half-game back in the American League West standings. A trip to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers follows.

“Every game is so huge against the team in front of you, because if you win, it’s like a two-game swing in the standings,” Rizzs said. “If you lose, you’re like two games lost. So tonight is a huge game.”

The Mariners’ offense has been the central frustration of the 2026 season. Seattle carries the worst team batting average in the major leagues at .228, a struggle that led to the firing Thursday of assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes.

“Everybody loved Bobby,” Rizzs said. “But I think if you’re a player on that team right now and any coach gets let go, you’ve got to take a look around and go, ‘Hey, we’re the ones accountable. We’re not hitting. We’ve got the worst batting average in the big leagues. We’re much, much better than that, and we just cost this guy his job.'”

Rizzs pointed to second baseman Cole Young as one of the few bright spots, calling his season “all-star” caliber.

Rizzs shared what the Mariners are hunting for before the deadline

With the trade deadline just over a week away, Rizzs said the Mariners are looking for a right-handed bat who can drive in runs and a power arm for the bullpen. But the biggest addition may already be on the roster: injured infielder Brendan Donovan.

“He would just change the whole dynamics on the ball club,” Rizzs said. “He’s been an all-star and a Gold Glover. He puts the ball in play, gets his base hits all over the place. Once Donovan comes back, I think that’s going to take care of a lot of issues.”

Rizzs also shared a lighter moment from the week, recounting how reliever Andres Munoz personally called a fan who was hit in the face by a Julio Rodriguez home run ball.

“He was so concerned that he called the hospital to find out if she was all right,” Rizzs said. “That’s the kind of guy Andres Munoz is. He’s the nicest guy in the world. You put him on the mound facing a tough hitter, he’s Señor Smoke. But away from the ballpark, he’s one of the nicest guys in baseball.”

The Mariners and Rangers begin their series Friday at 5:05 p.m.

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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