His allegiance started in the mid-90s during his 26 years of active duty service, viewing games in the cavernous Kingdome, watching the likes of Junior, A-Rod and Randy Johnson.

After the Mariners made the playoffs in 2001, they fell into baseball purgatory, blanked from qualifying for postseason play over the next two decades, an ignominious length which qualified the team with the longest playoff drought in the major sports of baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

Still, Calantas was there, albeit long-suffering, along with the rest of Pacific Northwest baseball fans.

He chose not to wear a supportive heart on his sleeve during those lean years. His actual style is more chapeau in nature, as well as appearance.

For the past 14 years Calantas, retired senior chief dental technician, has worn a Mariners ball cap to his crucial position managing hazardous materials and hazardous waste.

“I like baseball because it is a sport that combines brains, strength, speed, and coordination. The ball is controlled by the defense and challenges the offense to hit the ball. A 30 percent success rate hitting the ball in play makes you an outstanding ball player compared to other sports. It’s a mental game more than anything,” said Calantas, a Silverdale, Washington resident and Brandman University 2015 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership.

It was fascination at first pitch after his initial introduction to the major leagues watching the San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. After transferring up the West Coast from Southern California to Puget Sound, his appreciation grew for the sport known as the ‘national pastime’ for generations.

“Junior’s sweet swing got me hooked,” explained Calantas, in reference to Ken Griffey, the Mariner’s star outfielder. “Took my family to the last game at the Kingdome and the first game in Safeco field [both during the 1999 season, with the Mariners finishing with 79 wins and 83 losses, third place in the American League West division].

Although still a Padre fan, it’s the Mariners who are Calantas’ top team.

“The Padres are my second team. I went to many games while stationed at [Naval Air Station] North Island. My commanding officer then was a diehard Yankee fan and the executive officer was a diehard Phillies fan. Our senior leadership meetings always started and ended with baseball talk,” reminisced Calantas, who has four Padre ball caps, and a dozen Mariner hats.

With the Mariners back in the playoffs this season, stunning the Toronto Blue Jays to sweep the wild card series, they now face the overwhelming favorites, Houston Astros in a best of five series. Calantas is no mad-hatter, and despite the odds, conveys confidence in his team.

“The Astros are good but I like the Mariners’ chances. The players are younger, hungry, no high prized superstars, and believe that they can win it all. This year, it’s back to “Refuse to Lose,”” stated Calantas, mentioning the Mariners’ 1995 campaign and their epic effort to rally late in the season to claim first place in the division.

This season has already provided more than expected thrills and chills, culminating with the Mariners storming back over the past weekend after being down to Toronto, 8-1, and taking the game 10-9 in front of a stunned home crowd.

“I was also at the game on September 30, when the catcher, Cal Raleigh, pinch hit a walk off home run to win the game and got the Mariners to the playoffs. My son, new daughter in law, their friends and I were in row 109. The ball was hit to row 107. I only recorded one video during that game. I said to myself, “full count, two outs, bottom of the ninth, score tied at 1, then pinch hitter called in. It is what kids playing baseball dream about.” So I recorded the hit and the direction to where the ball landed, two rows to our left. Saved the video in my phone,” related Calantas.

In his professional capacity, Calantas’ has 40 years of service – and counting – in Navy Medicine. His first duty station was Branch Dental Clinic Pascagoula, Mississippi, with NHB his last. There were three ship tours in between, which included visits to such far-flung locales as the island nations of Seychelles and Madagascar, not normally frequented by U.S. Navy ships.

Calantas has been instrumental with ensuring NHB’s high standard of environmental stewardship, with conducting such ongoing programs as waste reduction to energy saving to recycling to even special projects like planting over 1,000 saplings to prevent erosion and restore the habitat on the hospital’s 40 acres.

“I believe that helping NHB staff understand that what we do in Navy Medicine matters in maintaining or improving the health of our environment wherever we may be assigned,” explained Calantas.

“Environmental stewardship is not about following a program, it is a way of life,” Calantas continued. “What we do at work we should practice at home. Its forward thinking; preventive health. The small things we do make a difference. Instead of helping a human patient, we’re helping the planet patient.”

When asked to sum up his experience with Navy Medicine in one sentence, Calantas replied, “Service to the nation and the American people had been very rewarding.”

How about a playoff prediction versus Houston?

“Mariners in five,” Calantas proclaimed.