Give them a microphone, but don't let them sing
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 | 7:36 pm
You’ve heard of Il Divo, the four opera singers who’ve performed around the world since they formed in 2004.
Now, there’s a new group called “L. Ben Show” right here with the Seattle Mariners. They get together every night before the Mariners play, although nobody has ever heard a note. Probably for good reason.
The brainchild of Mariners DH Mike Sweeney, L. Ben Show consists of the non-starting position players each day. As the National Anthem performers step to the microphone behind home plate and the Mariners line up in front of the dugout, the non-starters form their own lineup as close as possible behind the Anthem performers.
“We get behind them and sing backup,” Sweeney said.
Well, not really. But it is another quirky form of togetherness that’s become a mark of this year’s team. The way Sweeney figures it, the bench guys won't get any closer to the field than that.
The pregame suspense tonight centered on whether Ichiro Suzuki, sidelined with a sore calf, would join his new bench brethren. He was the first one out of the dugout, followed by Ryan Langerhans, Rob Johnson and Josh Wilson. Ken Griffey Jr. wasn't with them, though.
Why L. Ben Show?
It couldn’t be as simple as calling themselves “The Bench.” So Sweeney came up with “el banco” and tweaked it to the Spanglish “el bencho,” then twisted it some more to “L. Ben Show.”
And yes, Sweeney had t-shirts made up for his boys.
Now, there’s a new group called “L. Ben Show” right here with the Seattle Mariners. They get together every night before the Mariners play, although nobody has ever heard a note. Probably for good reason.
The brainchild of Mariners DH Mike Sweeney, L. Ben Show consists of the non-starting position players each day. As the National Anthem performers step to the microphone behind home plate and the Mariners line up in front of the dugout, the non-starters form their own lineup as close as possible behind the Anthem performers.
“We get behind them and sing backup,” Sweeney said.
Well, not really. But it is another quirky form of togetherness that’s become a mark of this year’s team. The way Sweeney figures it, the bench guys won't get any closer to the field than that.
The pregame suspense tonight centered on whether Ichiro Suzuki, sidelined with a sore calf, would join his new bench brethren. He was the first one out of the dugout, followed by Ryan Langerhans, Rob Johnson and Josh Wilson. Ken Griffey Jr. wasn't with them, though.
Why L. Ben Show?
It couldn’t be as simple as calling themselves “The Bench.” So Sweeney came up with “el banco” and tweaked it to the Spanglish “el bencho,” then twisted it some more to “L. Ben Show.”
And yes, Sweeney had t-shirts made up for his boys.
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