Mariners' Catie Griggs says this is Seattle's year — and she wants everyone to catch the action

Baseball is coming back to T-Mobile Park Friday — along with all the nostalgia and sometimes the cost that accompanies the game.

A new face is leading the Mariners' business operations: Catie Griggs is the first woman to hold the role in the team's history and is currently the highest ranking woman in all of Major League Baseball.

She was also named to this year’s Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 list.

Whatever her title, whatever firsts she’s accomplished, she’s a fan above all.

And she wants to make way for fans of all sorts this season.

That's a tough order, though, for the only team in MLB team that hasn't made it to the World Series and for a squad that hasn't made the playoffs in 21 years.

But it's all about a new start, a new season and renewed hope for the home team.

The Mariners have their home-opener against the Houston Astros Friday at 6 p.m.

While the team warms up, Griggs joins KUOW's Angela King to talk all things business and baseball.

This interview with Catie Griggs has been edited for clarity.

Angela King: You have quite the impressive resume, shall we say. You graduated from high school at 14, transferred to Dartmouth, where you got your MBA, by 17. So, how does Major League Baseball come into the picture?

Catie Griggs: You know, it's a series of coincidences. I've been willing to take some chances, and I couldn't be happier that this is where it's led me.

Okay, so it may not have been your plan or intention to get into sports business. But you and baseball go way back. Your dad took you to see the Durham Bulls, a Minor League team, when you were growing up.

Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the old Durham Athletic Park — you know, for me baseball was always a part of my life. I played growing up, but it was really going to games with my dad and my brother and my sister and my mom, where it was a really small park, at that point in time, and a relatively small town. Even as a 6-year-old, my dad would give me a few dollars and I could run to the concession stand, get some peanuts, and I felt like a big kid.

Baseball has always been something that's meant family. It's meant community. And, frankly, it's meant freedom. It's been a part of my life as long as I can remember.

What's your favorite baseball memory?

Just sort of the vague memories of going to a whole bunch of games with my dad. At the old Durham Athletic Park, you actually had cars parked alongside, and you could actually hear a foul ball shatter a windshield.

My husband and I, one of our first dates was at Fenway Park watching a Red Sox-Yankees game with Roger Clemens versus Pedro Martinez on the mound.

There are just so many different moments where baseball played a role in my life, both in stadiums as well as watching at home or spending time talking about it with family or friends, or frankly, even just going to goodness knows how many of my brother's Little League games. There's something special about the game.

Well, a few dollars went a long way back then. But it's hard to say the same of the Major League Baseball experience nowadays. A few dollars won't go as far today.

It's interesting you say that. You're right. One of the opportunities that we've seen, and I've taken some actions on already, is we do want baseball to be accessible. I think we have an opportunity as a sport to be that family and inclusive space for people to go and have similar experiences to what I had. But you're right; it hasn't always been affordable.

So, one of the changes that fans will notice when they come into the ballpark is we've created a new value menu where for $3, you can get a hot dog, popcorn, peanuts, Red Vines, nachos or a refillable soda. On our value nights — and just in this first home series, we actually have four value nights — you can get a ticket, a soda, a hot dog and peanuts for less than $20. So, we are focused on ensuring we create an experience where there's something for everyone.

We talk all the time inside our organization about the idea of accessibility but also making sure that this is an environment where any human who comes inside our ballpark — regardless of who he, she or they is — feels safe, feels welcome and has an incredible time.

I probably sat in 20 or 30 different spots around the ballpark doing my Undercover Boss thing and just getting to know it and getting to see our ballpark and see our sport through the lens of our fans and hearing what they had to say. And I really can say there is a different experience here for everyone. We worked on our concourse design, particularly, to add more points-of-sale, knowing that lines have been a challenge. So, hopefully our fans can get what they want and get back to their seats more quickly. We've also cleared out a lot of what was on the concourse. So, you've got a clear view from anywhere to the field of play. We're really excited about it. But I love to hear from fans. So, if there's something we're not aware of, there's something we're not thinking of, there's something fans want, we want to hear it.

What was the thing you knew you wanted to fix when you walked in the door?

You know, it really is ensuring that we're at the top of our game. We have a tremendous opportunity next year, with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game coming to Seattle, to shine a spotlight on our sport, to shine a spotlight on our community. The reality is because of the way baseball is structured, because of the cadence of the game, you have an opportunity to truly have a shared experience with someone else. Coming out of Covid-19, we truly believe there's an opportunity for us to bring people back together. And I know that's something that my family and I have been very much missing.

While you were speaking, we could hear a bunch of sirens going off in the background. And that's a reminder that a lot has changed since the pandemic, of course. We've seen this increase in crime, concerns about people's public safety and open spaces. Are you worried about that experience when it comes to inviting people down to the ballpark?

We are incredibly sensitive to that, because obviously, we want everyone to feel that they can come to the ballpark and not have to worry about anything. With that being said, we've been working all offseason with the city and neighborhood groups to ensure reasonable safety and security. We pay for the police presence around the ballpark, as well as inside the ballpark before, during and after games. We also have been making investments in our community.

We truly believe that the more successful we are in creating more activities for people, more reasons for people to come down here. It really is something that ultimately will raise all boats and help create that safer environment. But we are very sensitive to it and are working diligently with our city and neighborhood groups to do everything possible within our power.

We know you're on the business side of the game, but what's going to be different this year, will this be the year?

Gosh, I hope so. It's important for me to be working with, for and around people who candidly play to win. You know, you're not here to just do things the same; you're doing things constantly striving to get better. In some of the photos you might have seen from spring training, our players were wearing a T-shirt that just said DMGB —doesn't matter, get better. If you have a good day, doesn't matter. Next day, figure out how to get better. If you have a bad day, alright. Shake that off. It doesn't matter. We can always get better.

I think that is the mindset. It's coming. You know, Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger put out a piece after the end of last season and said that this is a group that's going to the playoffs. "It's not an if — it's a when." I believe that or I would not be here.

We have a bit of MLB news that broke during this interview. The Washington Post is reporting that Alyssa Nakken has been named the first woman to ever coach on an MLB field. She is taking over as first base coach for the San Francisco Giants. As we mentioned, you're the first woman to hold your position with the Mariners, and you're the highest-ranking woman in the MLB right now. Are we starting to see a change here, where women in this sport are taken more seriously and invited in more often?

I hope so. Things are moving in the right direction, right? I think it was a year or two ago, Kim Ng stepped in as the first female GM down at the Miami Marlins. I think there's a greater openness and acceptance and understanding of the value of different people and different perspectives.

But the reality is, we need more people looking at the world through different lenses to help us continue to reach our markets effectively. And whether it's someone who's on the baseball side or the business side, representation matters. Seeing someone who looks like you, who came from a similar background as you, has similar values as you, you start to believe that you can do it, too.

And, you know, you'd asked me up at the top: What was my ambition? What was my path? You know, honestly, I don't think there was any point in time where it occurred to me to aspire to be the president of business operations for an MLB team, because I had never seen anyone who looked like me. And whether it's me or whether it's a woman on the field, I think it's fantastic to have different people of different backgrounds, shining a spotlight and creating those pathways for others.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.