The Seattle Mariners announced a special theme night honoring a new Seattle star that has taken the internet by storm: Jimothy the raccoon.
“Jimothy Night,” sponsored by Farmers Insurance, will take place on Wednesday, August 5 at T-Mobile Park when the Mariners take on the Detroit Tigers.
Fans who purchase tickets through a special link will be able to redeem their tickets for a Mariners-and-Jimothy crossover t-shirt. Two dollars of every ticket purchased through the special offer will be donated to the Ballard Food Bank.
The first 20,000 fans in attendance will also get a Jimothy rookie card, with the chance of receiving 1 of 1 gold, 1 of 100 silver, 1 of 500 shiny blue, and 1 of 2,000 chase numbered cards, per Front Office Sports’ Ellyn Briggs.
Jimothy, a native of Ballard — a neighborhood in northwestern Seattle — skyrocketed to internet fame overnight after a five-second video of him skedaddling was posted on July 14. Another video was quickly shared, this time from old security footage, of Jimothy on a Seattle resident’s porch.
The furry trash panda has since popped up all over the place — including running across the page when searched on Google and being hidden in Roku City. He has a spine deformity, assumed to be short spine syndrome, that gives him a rounded and lovable shape with an abnormally short neck.
The Mariners, like most of the Seattle community and the entire internet, have quickly and happily accepted Jimothy as a beloved icon of the city.
“Jimothy Night” will not be the first time his likeness appears at T-Mobile Park, with the team also featuring Jimothy in scoreboard graphics and including him in a mascot race on July 18 (obviously he won).
The struggling Mariners team, who had gone 12 innings without a run, shockingly rattled off three straight wins after “Jimothy’s” race appearance, prompting the players to show off their Jimothy spirit.
Mariners players were spotted wearing Jimothy shirts before their games and during batting practice after Julio Rodriguez passed them out in the clubhouse.
The Rocket City Trash Pandas will also pay homage to the real-world mascot, hosting their own Jimothy Night just a day before the Mariners, on August 4, complete with a Raccoon Parade, trash can dishware, and children’s Jimothy masks.
The name may be giving Washington Capitals fans some déjà vu. In 2017, TJ Oshie’s name was edited on Wikipedia to “Timothy Jimothy” after much speculation about what the “J” stood for, and it remains a popular meme among Caps fans.
