Why Mariners' Humpy the Salmon has become Seattle's MLB playoffs sensation

Move over Big Dumper. There's a new hero in town.

The Seattle Mariners have become the lovable Cinderella darlings of the MLB playoffs, and a loveable loser has turned into an overnight sensation. Humpy.

Oct. 13, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) 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 Images

Huh?

Humpy won his first salmon run and I’m so happy I had to draw him 😭💙. Let’s go Mariners!!! #seizethemoment pic.twitter.com/ZKuEx1SM0d
— Jess Feldman (@JFeldmanArt) October 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 single Mariners Salmon race, officially named The Salmon Run, in an iteration of the original Famous Racing Sausages at Milwaukee Brewers games.

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.

The loudest cheer of the last few innnings:
HUMPY WON HIS FIRST CAREER SALMON RUN!! pic.twitter.com/AvjVh0IxKz
— Niko Tamurian (@NikoTamurian) October 11, 2025

Perfect time to end the 165-game losing streak

Humpy, by far the most popular of the Salmon in the Salmon race, had gone 0-165 before finally pulling of his (or her) 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.

The Mariners do a Salmon Run at every game and one fish, Humpy, has never won

Last night Humpy finally pulled it off in the 15th inning and the Mariners promptly walked it off

pic.twitter.com/GdLxeKz4Od
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 11, 2025

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.

The originator of The Salmon Run, Tyler Thompson, director of game entertainment and experiential marketing, told Yahoo! Sports it truly blew his mind too.

“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.’”

What do the Mariners do now?

It's a hotly debated topic amongst Mariners fans as the club returns home only two wins away from their first ever World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS.

Super serious #Mariners tweet ahead:

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…
— Raise The Trident - y (@RaiseTheTrident) October 14, 2025

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, maybe all the way to an unimaginable World Series title.

If Humpy can do it, then why not the Mariners?

From left, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29), shortstop J.P. Crawford (3) and first baseman Josh Naylor (12) celebrate 3-2 win over Detroit Tigers after 15 innings at ALDS Game 5 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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