Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s come out swinging on Twitter and trade jabs over new ads

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Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's
(Twitter Photo / @Mariners)

If Major League Baseball decides to put together an all-star team called the Internet Trolls, social media folks from the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics could land spots on the squad.

In a division rivalry that spilled onto Twitter, the two teams traded jabs with one another on Wednesday after the Mariners debuted their slate of commercials for 2017. It’s usually a joyful time in the Pacific Northwest, with the prospect of another “Light Bat”-style ad shining throughout the summer months.

But the A’s came out swinging in an attempt to rain out a “Happy Felix Day” Tweet from the M’s, which showed of a new ad celebrating ace pitcher Felix Hernandez.

The Mariners responded with a GIF from the ad showing an A’s player striking out and being handed a “K” balloon by the M’s catcher. The scoring symbol for a strikeout is also a popular sight on signs and T-shirts when Hernandez pitches at Safeco Field.

Things escalated quickly as they say on the internet, and the A’s responded with a picture of their four World Series trophies. The 40-year-old Seattle franchise has yet to win a world title. But they let the A’s know that it’s been a while since 1989, when Oakland won its last.

The Mariners ended things with the last laugh — from Hernandez — and we’ll all be looking forward to how the more meaningful contest turns out on the field in the American League West this season. As The Seattle Times pointed out, the Mariners are 270-334 all-time vs. the A’s. Last season, the M’s got the better of the A’s in 12 of 19 games.

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