Ryan Raburn of Detroit Tigers becomes first to hit retractable roof of Safeco Field

Welcome to Hatch Game ‘11! (cue Kaempfert’s “Swingin’ Safari”)

They’ve been playing baseball at Safeco Field since July 15, 1999, and Ryan Raburn of the Detroit Tigers did something in the first inning Monday night that had never been done before. He fouled a pitch from Seattle Mariners starter Jason Vargas off a roof truss just to the left of home plate.

Catcher Miguel Olivo was drifting toward the Detroit dugout in pursuit of the ball, but sprinted back toward the field once its descent was re-directed. He couldn’t reach it before it hit the ground foul, and neither could Mariners third baseman Chone Figgins.

And so a ground rule that has been in the books nearly 12 years finally got to be applied.

...The Mariners estimated that the ball hit the girder on the truss, which supports the retractable roof, at about 175 feet above the field.