In the digest: one-third of Seattle offices sit empty amid a collapse in the job market; the Dodgers won 22 of 25 games against the Mariners, and Max Muncy matched the club record for home runs at the home ballpark.
A Third of Downtown Seattle Is Empty: The Story of How a Former American Tech Paradise Became One of America’s Toughest Places to Find Work
Just ten years ago, Seattle was a symbol of America’s tech boom. Amazon and Microsoft turned an average Pacific Northwest city into a magnet for engineers, executives, and investment. According to the Puget Sound Regional Council, at the height of the boom as many as 40,000 jobs were created annually. Today the picture is fundamentally different: more than a third of downtown office space lies vacant, the number of openings has fallen faster than in almost any other major U.S. metro area, and even Starbucks—the coffee giant founded here in 1971—has been moving its headquarters to Nashville, investing $100 million to create 2,000 jobs in “Music City.” The story of Seattle’s decline is made up of three intertwined storylines: a collapse in the office real-estate market, the job market’s shift from boom to depression, and tighter policies that made it nearly impossible for small businesses to survive.
The first storyline is “zombie towers.” The vacancy rate for offices in downtown Seattle reached 35.6% in Q4 2025—significantly higher than 32.3% a year earlier, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This is a striking reversal from the pre-pandemic era: as early as early 2025, CoStar’s availability and vacancy metrics—covering the period since 1982—were already setting historic records. Some brokers report even grimmer numbers: Colliers says vacancy stood at 39.1% at the end of 2024, a result of remote work, mass layoffs in the tech sector, and extremely cautious leasing decisions. Office-building values in the business district have fallen sharply as landlords scramble to fill space abandoned by major tenants.
The second storyline is the collapse of the job market. The office crisis is inseparable from the broader collapse in hiring. The number of job openings in the Seattle metro area dropped by 35% from February 2020 to October 2025— the second-largest decline among major U.S. metro areas after San Francisco, where the fall was 37%, according to an analysis by Indeed conducted for Axios. Tech companies in the region—first and foremost Microsoft, Amazon, and Blue Origin—have announced tens of thousands of layoffs since 2023. By the end of 2025, the region recorded a net loss of 13,000 jobs—the first year-over-year decline since the start of the pandemic, a stark contrast to the annual growth of 40,000 positions during the boom years.
The third storyline is political pressure. During this squeeze on the economy, a minimum wage policy with no exceptions took center stage. Since January 2025, Seattle has set a rate of $20.76 per hour, uniform for all employers regardless of company size. This has intensified pressure on small businesses, already struggling to survive amid the massive exodus from downtown. In an article on Yahoo Finance, the authors break down in detail how the combination of these three factors—empty skyscrapers, a tightening job market, and harsh policy—turned the former tech haven into one of the hardest places in America to find work. The article’s conclusion is unambiguous: without a major renovation of office space and changes to how taxes and regulation are handled, Seattle risks becoming a “city of phantom towers,” an example of how even the most dynamic growth can turn into a prolonged downturn.
A Mariners Storm: The Dodgers Keep Dominating the Matchup
Modern baseball isn’t just a game of statistics—it’s also a story of unyielding rivalries, where some teams become real stumbling blocks for others. When the Seattle Mariners visit the Los Angeles Dodgers, past results set up a fairly one-sided scenario. According to pregame data for July 28, 2026, published on MLB.com, the Dodgers have won 22 of their last 25 meetings with the Mariners. The stretch includes 12 straight victories, during which the Californians outscored their opponents 63–24 overall. That 39-run differential across a dozen games isn’t just luck—it reflects systematic superiority.
The numbers behind this streak say a lot. The Dodgers’ average scoring output in those 12 games was 5.25 runs per game, while the Mariners managed just 2.0. For the uninitiated: runs in baseball are essentially the equivalent of a point awarded when a player touches all four bases and crosses home plate. A 63–24 score means that for every two runs Seattle scored, the opponent allowed more than five—signaling massive problems on both offense and defense. Such statistics can’t be accidental: they reflect the Dodgers’ roster depth, their ability to press on an opponent’s weak spots, and the Mariners’ inability to adapt to the style of the Californians.
What does this mean for the upcoming game? First of all, it creates a psychological barrier. Even if the Mariners’ roster has undergone qualitative changes since the previous meetings, the weight of the negative streak can influence decision-making at key moments. The Dodgers, by contrast, treat the streak as momentum and confidence. It’s worth remembering that the 63–24 gap isn’t only about the Mariners’ pitchers having a bad run—it also reflects the Dodgers’ bullpen effectiveness in protecting the advantage. Any analyst will tell you that to break out of this cycle, the visiting team needs more than just to play better—they need to completely change the approach on the first pitch and control the game score already in the early innings. If Los Angeles strikes first again, the psychological pressure could break Seattle long before the ninth inning.
Max Muncy Ties a Historic Dodgers Record at the Home Ballpark
During the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers played on July 28, 2026, a landmark event took place for the club and its fans. As reported in the official recap on MLB.com, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy matched legendary player Eric Karros in the number of home runs hit at Dodger Stadium. Both players now have 130 such shots to their credit, the best total in the history of the franchise’s home ballpark.
This achievement is not just dry statistics, but an important milestone in Muncy’s career—one that has long made him a symbol of the modern Los Angeles Dodgers’ attacking power. To understand the scale: the record set by Eric Karros stood for more than twenty years. Karros, who played for the Dodgers from 1991 to 2002, hit 270 home runs in a Dodgers uniform over his career, but he was especially successful at his home stadium. Muncy, joining the club in 2016, steadily closed in on that mark, and now he shares first place with Karros for home runs at Dodger Stadium. Notably, this success came in a home game against the Mariners, adding an extra emotional layer to the moment.
From an analytics perspective, this record highlights not only Muncy’s individual talent, but also the Dodgers’ long-term stability as an organization capable of developing its stars. It’s also worth noting that Dodger Stadium is one of the oldest and most famous ballparks in the league, and 130 home runs there is an extraordinary number. For comparison, many legendary players—such as Duke Snider or Sandy Koufax—did not come close to that figure specifically on the home field, due to an era when balls flew differently or because of their particular roles. Muncy, however, plays in the “live-ball” era and has turned his power into his signature calling card.
Muncy’s immediate future now centers on sole leadership: he needs just one more home run to pass Karros and become the all-time record holder at Dodger Stadium. Given his form in the 2026 season, that moment could arrive in his next home games. For Dodgers fans, this isn’t just a statistical quirk—it’s part of the club’s living history that they can watch unfold in real time.
