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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Mariners appearance at Sacred Heart canceled amid flu concerns

The Mariner Moose waves to Gonzaga Alums during Mariners’ Gonzaga Night on Saturday, June 3, 2017, at Safeco Field in Seattle, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center canceled a scheduled appearance of three Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon due to concerns about spreading the flu.

Catcher Mike Marjama, utility player Taylor Motter and pitcher Marco Gonzales, a Gonzaga University alumnus, were scheduled to visit hospital patients from 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, team spokeswoman Rebecca Hale said.

The Mariner Moose, as well as broadcasters Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers, were also scheduled to appear.

But the hospital canceled the event Tuesday night, saying the number of flu patients at Sacred Heart had led them to suspend all tours, Hale said.

This year’s flu season is shaping up to be worse than those of the past several years, with higher numbers of deaths and hospitalizations in both Washington and Idaho.

A scheduled 4:15 p.m. appearance at the Warehouse Athletic Center, 800 N. Hamilton St., will go on as planned. Players will practice with members of the Boys and Girls Club and sign autographs.

The team is on the road as part of its annual Mariners Care event, where players travel around the Northwest to visit hospitals, sign autographs and practice with kids.

“We get a few of them who come home every year with the sniffles,” Hale said of the front office staff who come along.

But in the nearly 20 years she’s been with the Mariners, it’s the first time she can recall a hospital event being canceled because of flu season.

“It’s the right thing to do. We just hope that the flu passes quickly and everybody’s able to get back to their normal routines as soon as possible,” Hale said.