The loveable losing Humpback Salmon has become the Seattle Mariners' Cindarella rallying cry as they look to make their first-ever World Series.
Oct. 13, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez celebrates after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in game two of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre.
/ John E. Sokolowski-Imagn ImagesOctober 11, 2025 As if the out-of-nowhere home-run king Cal Raleigh, affectionately known as the Big Dumper, wasn't outrageous enough with his throwback physique and Paul Bunyan like look perfectly suited for the Pacific Northwest, along comes Humpy, who had never won a Mariners single salmon race, officially named The Salmon Run, in an iteration of the original Famous Racing Sausages at Milwaukee Brewers games. Oct. 12, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hits a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game one of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images But not only did Humpy finally win, the loveable loser has become the rallying cry for Seattle as their fanbase dares to dream the impossible of making their first-ever World Series.Humpy, by far the most popular of the Salmon in the Salmon race, had gone 0-165 before finally pulling of his first victory in the 15th inning of the Mariners do-or-die Game 5 in the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. No joke, much like the earth-shaking crowd noise of the 12th Man for Seattle Seahawks games, there was a mini seismic event when Humpy crossed the finish line first against the King Salmon, an ode to Mariners great Felix Hernandez, Sockeye Salmon, and Silver Salmon.Then, the Mariners' Mr. October Jorge Polanco hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the inning and 47,000 people lost their friggin' minds. “In my 31 years of life, I've never gotten more text messages than I did that night,” Thompson said. “From friends, family, from coworkers, from, you know, people that are just fans, that I'm acquainted with who I haven't heard from in a long time, reached out and were like, ‘The Humpy win — that was amazing! That recharged the stadium.’”It's a hotly debated topic amongst Mariners fans as the club returns home only two wins away from their first ever World Series. Since Humpy finally won a Salmon Race, he can’t lose a race due to idiocy again. Humpy has now shown they are smart enough to turn on the jets and win. To go back to a big losing streak, it’ll now need to be due to external factors. Humpy…That lone victory for Humpy turned an anxious crowd into an excited one, so now will it be back to loveable loser, or will the Humpback Salmon now have a winning streak until the Mariners lose at T-Mobile Park for the remainder of the playoffs? If Humpy and the Mariners win again for Game 3, it will almost certainly have to be a winning streak that continues.Matthew Graham has over 20 years of media experience and oversees The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. He has had previous leadership roles at NBC Sports, Yahoo, and USA TODAY, where he co-founded For The Win . He has also written for ESPN, Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, People, E! Online, and FHM, covering major sports and entertainment events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and winning the Yahoo Superstar Award for coverage of the Olympics.
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