Cal And The Etsy Witch

 

If the Seattle Mariners win the World Series in 2025, some of the credit could go to a longtime Mariner follower, Steven Blackburn of Lake Stevens.. KOMO-TV identified Blackburn as the fan who recently paid an Etsy witch to put a spell on the Seattle Mariners.

On Sept. 5, the Mariners had dropped four consecutive games and their playoff hopes – and certainly any chance of winning the American League West Division- were taking a slide. Blackburn, whose handle is Absolute Unit on Twitter, posted that day, `I HAVE PAID AN ETSY WITCH TO UNFUCK THE MARIERS. HELP ME MANIFEST.’

The next day, Absolute Unit posted `I am doing this for the greater good (my own mental health).” Blackburn also received a response that day from Spell By Luna, an actual Etsy Witch (apparently Agnes Moorehead from the old Bewitched TV show was unavailable) saying the spell had been cast and she was manifesting (having good thoughts).

The spell was listed at $19.99 on the Etsy website (even witches use the Internet), but Blackburn received a four-dollar discount. Some fans on his Twitter feed worried that the discount might weaken the spell but those worries proved unfounded.

In their two games after the spell, the M’s defeated the Atlanta Braves, 10-2, 18-2, adding up to a 28-4 deficit. The Mariners returned home and won two unlikely extra-inning tilts against the St. Louis Cardinals in 12 and 13 innings. Minor-league callup Leo Rivas ended one M’s game with a home run and another rookie Harry Ford drove in the game-winner with a sacrifice fly. Amazingly, Ford hadn’t recorded a hit in the major leagues.

The M’s swept the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend- going from a tenuous grasp on the final wild spot and finally surpassing their arch-rivals, the Houston Astros, for first place in the division. Seattle finished its second to last homestand of the season with a perfect 7-0 slate.

Last night the Mariners started another road trip, recording their tenth-straight win and sticking a dagger into the Kansas City Royals’ faint playoff hopes with a 12-5 victory. MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, whose had more to do with the Mariners success this season than witches and spells, belted two home runs on two consecutive swings and Dominic Canzone became the 12^th Mariner in team history to whack three homers in a game.

After being hit in the throat with an errant pitch in the bottom of the second, Raleigh homered about five minutes later, his 55^th of the season, surpassing Mickey Mantle for the most home runs by a switch hitter. In his next trip to the plate, Raleigh parked one in the bleachers tying Ken Griffey for the most home runs by a Mariner in a season.

Raleigh had already set the HR record for a player whose primary position was catcher. He also has 43 homers while actually catching, tying him with Javy Lopez on that all-time list.

The Etsy witches were kicked off EBay back in 2012 but they have their own on-line market place, Witch - Etsy. Visitors can purchase spells to help them do well in school or have a successful marriage along with arts, crafts and t-shirts. A man whose broken up with his girlfriend can purchase a spell to win her back for $17.

Some grateful M’s fans have offered Blackburn reimbursement for the money spent on the spell. In lieu of that he asks that Mariner fans contribute to The Trevor Project, which provides suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ community. Donate to The Trevor Project