First, a confession. Despite being a high school senior when it was released, I’ve never seen The Matrix. I didn’t actively avoid it when it came out, I was just busy with other things. Eventually, enough time passed that my knowledge of the movie was almost entirely rooted in the hype surrounding it. When anything becomes so universally beloved, and hyped to the point of absurdity, managing your expectations becomes extremely difficult. What if I think the movie is just good, rather than life-changing? How does that reflect on me: Am I not smart enough to get it? Was it overhyped? Is that even my fault? Separating my first viewing experience of the movie from expectations began to feel impossible. I wouldn’t be able to watch the movie, it would be an exercise in comparison, and my opinion would ultimately be a reflection not of what I thought of the movie, but what I thought of the hype. It’s been over 20 years, how do I clear my brain of expectations?

The weight of expectation is one of the heaviest burdens anyone can carry. It can sink an otherwise successful venture or color our view of what success really looks like. Dustin Ackley, poster child for the Mariners’ “failed” player development system of the Jack Z era, played five years in a Mariner uniform, compiling a .243/.306/.366 slash, good for a 6.9 fWAR, while learning new defensive positions, getting his own personal cheering section, and a garden gnome that still occupies a spot in my front yard. In his rookie season of 2011, he produced 3.0 fWAR in only 90 games (376 ABs), good for 19th best Mariner non-pitcher fWAR in a single season during the 2010s. If you extrapolate that out into a full season, that’s an fWAR of 5.4, which would place him third on that list, only behind Robinson Cano’s 2014 and 2016 seasons. While I’ve had some good moments in my life and been successful in ways I probably wouldn’t have dreamed of as a teenager, I’ve never been that successful. But rather than view Ackley as a success, we view him as a failure, purely because of the lofty, unfair expectations we put on him.

All of that is my way of saying that I’ve let go of any expectations this year, particularly of individual players. I’m not worried that one bad at-bat means Kelenic is the “new Ackley,” and I don’t think his performance this year determines whether or not the Mariners “won” the trade with the Mets that brought him here. I have no expectations of Julio — making the opening day roster at the age of 21 is an impressive feat on its own. Cal Raleigh could have a batting average below .200 the rest of his career; he’s still the owner of the greatest nickname in sports.

Nearly every projection system out there gave the M’s a less than 50% chance of making the playoffs in 2022. If they stumble, go 78-86, did they fail to meet expectations? The key question then, is whose expectations? These are the Seattle Mariners. What expectations should you have of them? Even if they do make the playoffs, what will that experience be like? Will we be disappointed if they get blown out in the playoffs, or will we just be glad they made it? Maybe it’s time to let go of expectations and clear my brain. Maybe it’s time, probably a Tuesday Night Against the A’s™, to finally watch The Matrix, free from expectations. Let’s just see what happens.

Go Mariners.