The Vedder Cup is alive and well for the 2025 season | Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images
A trophy will be awarded to the winner of the Padres and Mariners season series
If you ever attended a Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres game at Petco Park, the chant of Vedder Cup can be heard throughout Gallagher Square moments before first pitch. Remember, there was no physical trophy awarded to the victor until now.
The Vedder Cup is an official event. The winner of
the 2025 season series will receive a trophy designed by its namesake Eddie Vedder.
Padres vs. Mariners: Unnatural Rivals
In 1997, Major League Baseball
introduced interleague play between the National League and the American League in the regular season. Every franchise was assigned a natural rival that they would play each season. For example, you have the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the Los Angeles Angels, the San Francisco Giants vs. the Athletics, the Chicago Cubs vs. the Chicago White Sox, the New York Mets vs. New York Yankees…the Padres vs. Mariners?
The pairing had the feel of a 4:59 p.m. decision on a Friday before a long weekend.
“Who do we have left?”
“The Padres and Mariners”
“Let’s put them together and call it a day.”
What a disastrous decision. San Diego and Seattle are 1,256 miles apart. The distance is not ideal for either fan base to invade the other’s home ballpark. The franchises will never be natural rivals, despite what league officials have thought.
Thankfully, the Friar Faithful and the Tridents understood a good sports rivalry needs something to fight for. Thus, the right to call Eddie Vedder one of their own became the battle cry for each fan base.
The Vedder Cup was born.
Eddie Vedder’s connection to San Diego and Seattle
Eddie Vedder is famously known as the lead singer of Pearl Jam, one of the top bands of the 90’s Seattle grunge music scene. But
he did live extensively in both cities. After being born in Chicago, Vedder spent his adolescent years in San Diego. Living near the Encinitas beach community is where Vedder developed a deep connection with music and surfing.
He failed to get any recognition as a performer in the San Diego club scene. Vedder decided to move to Seattle after being invited to become the lead singer of Pearl Jam. Shortly thereafter, he became one of the leading voices in a new genre of music.
But let’s add a plot twist to the story. Vedder is a diehard fan of his hometown baseball team, the Cubs. He has performed the national anthem, thrown out the first pitch, and held concerts with Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field.
When push comes to shove, which ball cap will Vedder wear in 2025?
Vedder Cup will have unique tiebreaker rules
It should not come as a surprise the Vedder Cup has
two unique tiebreakers if the season series ends in a tie. The first tiebreaker is that the team with the higher run differential is awarded the trophy. If a tie still exists, the second tiebreaker is the team with the highest exit velocity on a fair batted ball receives the Vedder Cup.
Seattle leads the all-time series 68-63.
The Mariners should be applauded for bringing the Vedder Cup to life. The ownership group has provided something to play for when the Mariners come to Petco Park from May 16-18 and the Friars travel to the Great Northwest from August 25-27.
Both teams will partner to support the EB Research Partnership, a charity co-founded by Eddie and Jill Vedder. They have funded a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).
Remarkably, an unnatural rivalry could turn into baseball’s most feel-good story of 2025.
