Seattle Mariners rookie's savvy play gets national attention

For a rookie, Ben Williamson sure is making an impact on the field for the Seattle Mariners.

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The 24-year-old third baseman debuted in the big leagues just over a month ago, and he’s acquitted himself well with a few big moments at the plate as well as some impressive plays in the field.

That last part was expected, as the 2023 second-round MLB Draft pick out of the College of William and Mary arrived attached with hype of Gold Glove-level defense. But on Friday, he showed an understated aspect of his ability in the field.

And even though it’s an understated thing he did, it got noticed on national TV.

In Friday’s 6-1 Mariners win over the Padres, San Diego’s Luis Arraez dropped a bloop single into shallow left field with Fernando Tatís Jr. on first base. Tatís has good speed and may or may not have been able to advance to third base on the hit, but he didn’t have the chance.

The reason: Williamson fooled him with a savvy deke, making it seem like he had a play on the ball.

That was enough to make Tatís halt his momentum just before getting to second base, and ultimately prevent him from considering going for third.

The move earned some praise from veteran Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford, who according to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times noted Williamson’s baseball IQ and said Williamson’s play “kind of got me a little bit too.”

On Monday, the play was put in the spotlight on MLB Network, with MLB Now breaking it down during a segment they call “Basebally Plays” (see it 33 seconds into the video below).

Every. Base. Counts.

Ben Williamson’s deke headlines our #BaseballyPlays. pic.twitter.com/HUYbJxlQaG

— MLB Now (@MLBNow) May 19, 2025

As the MLB Now crew discussed after watching Williamson’s play, it’s what happens after that stopping a player from taking an extra base that’s really important. And that’s certainly true in this case, as M’s pitcher Logan Evans induced a double play and then made a strikeout to end the inning. If Tatís had made it to third on the Arraez hit, he would have scored in the inning, tying the game 1-1. Instead, the Padres came up empty in the eventual Mariners win.

Though Williamson has cooled off at the plate in recent weeks, if he can keep making an impact with his glove and baseball smarts, he can continue to be a contributor for the first-place Mariners.

The Mariners open a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox at 4:40 p.m. Monday, with radio coverage on Seattle Sports beginning at 3:30 with the pregame show.

Seattle Mariners rookie’s savvy play gets national attention

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