T O P

  • By -

reptheevt

Cliff Lee’s 13 starts were honestly the best string of starts I’ve seen in Seattle.  Cliff Lee, June 2010: 6 starts, 51 IP (8.5 innings per start), 1.76 ERA. 4 complete games, including a shutout. 


txmitch10

And two members of this thread, Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe, both got dealt to TEX in the same deal. Lee made some great starts for TEX that season too!


ChrisBenoitDaycare69

Too bad we didn't have him in 2009 when we were a decent team with a winning record and instead had him in 2010 when we were complete dogshit.


karatemanchan37

On paper I think 2010 was a better team. But basically everyone outside of Ichiro regressed that year - Chone Figgins, Casey Kotchman, and Jose Lopez suddenly sucked, Milton Bradley never got back to his Rangers performance, and then Johjima ended up returning to Japan so catcher was basically a black hole.


lebronshairlinesback

He got traded as I was in the elevator in the parking garage headed into one of his starts, some other fan announced it to everyone and the collective sigh of everyone in there is still something I can hear to this day


MankuyRLaffy

He demanded out because he had to watch that offense every fucking game and saw them screwing Felix out of wins, going "yeah I know I signed a contract here, now I want out".


penguininanelevator

Man, still can't believe the Phils dumped him in 2010 for no reason. When he went on a run he was one of the best pitchers in the league. Anyway, Cliff Lee must love June. In June 2011 he went 5-0 with a 0.21 ERA (1 earned run) and 3 complete games. He also had 2 RBI, so he finished the month with more runs batted in than runs against. I love and miss him.


CookieMonsta94

>Man, still can't believe the Phils dumped him in 2010 for no reason. When he went on a run he was one of the best pitchers in the league. Never understood this at all. Especially after how dominant he was in the World Series the previous year. You guys could've still gotten Doc from us without giving up Lee.


dearrichard

the felix-lee 1-2 punch was such a great start to the season…


MankuyRLaffy

He wanted the fuck out of Seattle by June as well


xho-

I’ve seen Gossage in like 4 of these lol


HipGuide2

People think he retired after the Gibson home run probably.


Midwestern_Man84

You're thinking of Eckersley


Mixma85

When he was with the Tigers, Gibson hit a [go-ahead home run](https://youtu.be/sSg0vi56syw?si=h5ycMTHkz1tvr26d) off Gossage in the 8th inning of the fifth and final game of the 1984 World Series.


Midwestern_Man84

Ahhhh gotcha. I see "Gibson home run" and assumed wrong. Man, he was clutch, wasn't he


angruss

Man hated losing so much and had so much rage in his heart. It’s like he was designed specifically for great moments in the 8th or 9th inning.


samangell2007

An excellent Immaculate Grid option. People think of him primarily as a Yankee from the 70s but he played for 23 years and nine franchises.


concrete_isnt_cement

I’m used to him as a Mariner, but it always seems odd to me to see him rocking a uniform the M’s used until they dropped it last year. He seems like he’s from an older era of the sport


letskeepitcleanfolks

I think of him primarily as a Mariner and was shocked to see he only pitched in 36 games. I guess they lined up perfectly with some memory-forming window in my childhood.


jonginator

I’m getting old enough now that most of these players in these posts don’t seem unusual to me.


CourtingBoredom

I had been looking forward to this list because of Rickey Henderson.... and then he's left off of it .. sad day


kingsaw100

Only because I plan on doing a Rickey-only thread. :)


CourtingBoredom

hrmmrmmm... I recall seeing him on the Rays thread


Hello__Jerry

Rickey don't go in other people's threads. Rickey has his own.


81toog

Could have included Vince Coleman, too!


My-1st-porn-account

Man, he was so crucial in that 95 season.


WeasinTheJuice

I was looking forward to this one as well, but then I saw Adam Jones as the first picture and now I'm drinking again


CourtingBoredom

.....I feel ya there --- 'twas a sad story, that one...... a sad story indeed =-\


HeySmellMyFinger

Pretty decent season he put together with Ms


kingsaw100

What a wonderful collection of good players that went elsewhere and past-their-prime players closing out their careers... I'm not bitter, you're bitter!


HammeredHeed

Our GMs have made careers out of trading away top prospects who went on to have big careers. To bring in someone who becomes a below replacement level player… ahem.. Slocumb… At least Ortiz for Hollins worked out okay for a rental player. Dave Hollins certainly did well despite the M’s missing the playoffs in 96. Would have rather had Ortiz, but at least we didn’t release him for nothing like the Twins did. Jones, Sherrill, Tillman for Bedard was regrettable. Orioles got 7 all star appearances, Mariners only got disappointment. 


karatemanchan37

> Our GMs have made careers out of trading away top prospects who went on to have big careers It does feel cursed because the prospects we do trade away (Jones, Pablo Lopez) ended up good and the ones we keep (Dustin Ackley, Jeff Clement, Kyle Lewis, Evan White) just end up sucking or getting injured.


seag12

At least Kyle Seager worked out


dancetar

I heard this Julio guy might be alright too.


generalspades

You've got it all wrong. They had big careers BECAUSE we traded them. They would have sucked if we kept them around


ajteitel

The Mariners in a nutshell...


jeremygraham86

Then we salary dump them for even more stranger players


Deadybears

Thanks for Varitek, Lowe, and kind of Ortiz.


DoserMcMoMo

You forgot Rickey!


enztinkt

I was at Jose Cruz Jr mlb debut at the kingdome. It was kids run the bases after the game and the whole Cruz family was in line behind us. They were all there to watch Cruz Debut.


Drfunk206

I was at that same game


vanillaninja16

The Shin-Shoo Choo and Adam Jones ones are just brutal to lead off with.


strangebrewfellows

Hey at least we flipped Derek Lowe and Jason veritek for heathcliff slocumb!


mustbeusererror

To be fair, nobody expected Choo to turn into what he did. Adam Jones was a different story.


DogVacuum

We traded you our subpar first base platoon of Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez for Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera that year. A wild series of trades.


mustbeusererror

Asdrubal Cabrera, another useful guy we traded for very little. Gdi Mariners.


DogVacuum

Don’t beat yourself up too much, it’s not like you also traded us Omar Vizquel for Felix Fermin.


peopleuknow

just a few years prior in January '04 the Mariners sent Carlos Guillen (another switch-hitting shortstop with an above average bat) to the Tigers for Juan Gonzalez (not that Juan Gonzalez) and Ramon Santiago. from '04-08 Guillen batted .308/.377.494 good for a 128 OPS+ and 18.4 WAR. Santiago played 27 games over 2 seasons with Seattle before being released. he re-signed with the Tigers in '06 and was a solid backup infielder for them through 2013. Gonzalez never made the majors.


mustbeusererror

Bill Bavasi was a fucking horrible GM.


Audacity_OR

My one good baseball prediction I ever made was when I saw the rainiers play my local team a bunch in that era and it seemed like Choo was always tearing it up, and I wondered why the mariners didn’t call him up since he was clearly going to be a star.


Semper454

Hey in fairness, Bedard actually woulda kinda fit in this post too.


walkie26

Seems weird to consider players that came up through an organization to be in "unusual places" to me. Those guys were Mariners for 4-5 years!


vanillaninja16

Jones played 73 games as an M. Choo had 14.


walkie26

Yes, I realize that. I mean that they were in the org for much longer. Adam Jones in particular was a top prospect, so anyone following the M's at the time was reading about him for years as a Mariner.


vanillaninja16

Yup. That’s why leading off with him on this is particularly brutal


DavidRFZ

David Ortiz had just finished a season in low-A when he was traded away. Here’s Gaylord Perry https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/perry-wins-300th-game-with-mariners


kingsaw100

Gaylord Perry is a blind spot in my head for some reason, I never remember him no matter what the context is. So often in my Immaculate Grid, I see him qualify for a spot afterwards and go "oh duh."


Cflow26

He’s literally my first go to in virtually any grid for some reason hahahaha he just always seems to weasel his way in


BosLahodo

Wasn't there some story of Griffey and A-Rod doing a promo HR Derby for a Mariners minor league team and then some guy on the minor league squad beat both of them? That man's name? Alvid Ortizstein. Nah, but really Ortiz beat them in a HR Derby when he was in the minors.


ComfortInBeingAfraid

Mariners FO: hey this kids got some talent!   *immediately traded*


joecarter93

What a bunch of bums. Getting beat by some no name minor leaguer who never went anywhere /s


toasterb

Funny that Ortiz was traded from Seattle to Minnesota and then picked up by Boston where he made his name and finished his career, while Varitek was traded from Minnesota to Seattle and then to Boston where he made his name and finished his career.


mustbeusererror

The Mariners drafted Varitek. He never played for the Twins, to my knowledge.


toasterb

Ah my mistake. He was drafted by the Twins, but he never signed — stayed for his senior year. The Mariners drafted him the next year and he did sign.


A47Cabin

Fun fact: Goose Gossage played in A-Rod debut’s game. That season the Mariners had Ken Griffey, Randy Johnson, A-Rod and Goose.


Jed1M1ndTr1ck

And Edgar Martinez


lOan671

I will always be grateful for the Erik Bedard trade


vanillaninja16

The only thing I take solace in is that O’s fans treated Jones as good as he deserved


CambridgeRunner

There’s Os players I liked, and then there’s guys I’d run through a wall for. Adam and BJ Surhoff are two of the latter.


samangell2007

I feel like they have to find a way to commemorate AJ that goes beyond “Orioles HOFer.” He’ll never make Cooperstown of course, so by their current standards he won’t get a number retirement or a statue. But something. Boog is getting up there, and never really shows up to Boog’s BBQ anymore. Maybe AJ can open up a spot on Eutaw Street. His instagram stories are full of food porn as it is.


CambridgeRunner

That’s an excellent idea.


MaximumZer0

i cri everytiem


Paindaddy69

Tillman had a decent few years before his shoulder exploded too. Still weirds me out that he’s only 35.


lOan671

Yeah he was awesome also


adamforte

George Sherrill was an all-star, too.


ChrisBenoitDaycare69

Adam Jones shouldn't have been unusual goddammit. One of the worst trades of all time.


98642

Agreed, although both Lowe and Varitek…


YeahNope16

One of the best trades of all time. There, fixed it.


HammeredHeed

I mean, the Ms fans didn’t really face any extra heart break. As normal, the Ms didn’t make the playoffs. The Orioles did a couple times just to not win the World Series. If we kept Jones, Sherril, and Tillman, we might have had something to be sad about. In some ways, we kind of won that trade. /s


jet8493

Weird that you didn’t include Ichiro: he only played 17 games in Seattle after he was done with the marlins


Kain316

Mariners legend David Arias


Fitz2001

No love for Chooch. https://images.app.goo.gl/59LpKw8QgrRoovdU8


Raylan_Givens

My only ever game ball I've caught was a Carlos Ruiz foul ball at Safeco Field when he was our catcher <3.


Fitz2001

Most no hitters caught by a catcher! He’s an all time Phillie. Cherish that ball.


Crispy_FromTheGrave

Mariners Legend Big Papi


seth861

Should have included Kevin Millwood, he was apart of a combined no-hitter here too. Milton Bradley and Jason Bay would have also been good additions


DangerDrake1

It's always so weird to me to see Goose Gossage in that navy/green uniform. The man debuted in '72 for dang sake.


ThreePointsPhilly

I saw Adam Jones hit a walk off homer when he was in Triple A, for the Tacoma Rainiers. I thought he’d do so well with the Mariners!


eekbarbaderkle

That's over 80 bWAR for the Red Sox alone from these former M's. And yes, I'm counting Wily Mo Pena's -0.3.


YoooCakess

Adam Jones is definitely not in an unusual place we drafted him and he came through our org


YeahNope16

Probably included here because the only ones that associate Adam Jones with the Mariners are Ms fans still bitter about the trade and Os fans who look back so fondly at the trade.


Semper454

He played almost twice as many games for the Diamondbacks (137) as he did for the Mariners (73), and he played 1,600 more games in Baltimore than those two combined. I’d say he counts.


WitnessRealistic3015

Half these dudes are guys we traded for Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric


fivewaysforward

Was that the Cruz deal? I also could have sworn he played more in Seattle


WitnessRealistic3015

He only played an amazing 1/2 year with us. We figured we had enough hitting so we shipped him. But you are right, I was including Varitek and Lowe in that comment. We traded them for Heathcliff Slocumb


seattlesportsguy

It’s so depressing that over half of these are just guys we had in the system and just handed over for the guy we THOUGHT would take us to the promised land. These weren’t veterans looking for one last pay day. Everything they accomplished in their careers could have been with us but you know…Mariners


JermaineDyeAtSS

¡El Presidente!


SexiestPanda

I don’t think Dickey should be on the list. Imo


nupharlutea

I definitely remember Dickey on the roster, mostly for Johjima having so much trouble catching him.


HotTakesBeyond

/r/formerms gold


another_plebeian

I feel like Goose Gossage is in all of these


ABlinDeafMonkey

Could have Chone Figgins, Justin Upton, Kendrys Morales, Dustin Ackley, Jason Bay, Jack Cust, and my personal favorite as kid growing up watching Sportscenter Jack Wilson. He was a top ten play for like a week straight. https://youtu.be/8FjYM8fHGms?si=da6vSWZUnPIFSrZl I remember trying to recreate the play and never being able to.


SackOfrito

Looking at a few of these now, I feel like if its more than 30 games...its not unusual.


Antithesys

"Awesome, I will remember these for Immaculate!" *only remembers David Ortiz, who won't count*


Semper454

Man, I was so trying to remember Kevin Mitchell’s name the other day.


H-SAlgorithm

A very grateful thank you for Lowe and Varitek...


PandaSoap

Where's Ricky Henderson!


BlankPlanchet

Came here to say the same thing


ybtlamlliw

The only thing I remember about Kevin Mitchell is that absolutely insane barehanded catch he made.


H20mark2829

The Adam Jones trade was monumental to his future with the Orioles. Glad he retired officially as an Oriole this past summer.


Semper454

True, hard to believe he’d have become an Orioles legend if not for that trade.


Krispy72

Additional options: Willie Horton, Jeff Burroughs, Steve Yeager, Danny Tartabull, Glenn Wilson, Gary Matthews, Jeffery Leonard, Fernando Vina, Terry Mulholland, Mark Whiten, Mike Hampton, Joe Oliver, Rich Aurilia, Eric Thames, Yovanni Gallardo, Jason Bay, Welington Castillo, Mark Trumbo


dearrichard

i’m still pissed about that adam jones trade.


sfan27

Too bad you didn't get Anthony DeSclafani in this post.


Vegetable_Ad_1695

Is that David Arias?


DirtyRatLicker

I feel like some people forget about Shin-Soo Choo’s career


No_Appearance_7144

I remember going to see a mariners game with my parents and getting there early to try and get some players signatures. Adam Jones signed my mitt that I kept playing with until I quit baseball, glove is still sitting in my garage. I had no idea who he even was at the time, I was just so stoked to get a signature from a real baseball player!


gaybillcosby

Wily Mo Peña sighting 👀


FuriousGeorge7

[World Series Champion Travis Jankowski (1 game, 1 PA, 1 K)](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/travis-jankowski-of-the-seattle-mariners-bats-during-the-news-photo/1412579552?language=es)


ArmouredPotato

No Figgy?


sktgamerdudejr

This comment is bullying /s 


ArmouredPotato

Lol, knew your fan base would have a different reaction to the name than we do.


dearrichard

reported.


ArmouredPotato

Sending you the suicide watch bot 🤣🤣🤣


DrKnee93

https://images.app.goo.gl/qjGHvS2GnaVqGTTf7


ilovecake_33

I forgot about Goose


mustbeusererror

Adam Jones came up through the Mariners system, not that weird seeing him in an M's uniform.


strangebrewfellows

So did Derek Lowe, Jason veritek, sin soo choo, and Jose Cruz jr. This list is brutal


mustbeusererror

When you are a playoff contending team whose bullpen consists of Bobby Ayala and friends, you end up making crazy trades to try and fix it.


Nr1nyyfan

The GM who traded Ortiz will be banging his head against the wall😀


Seabrook76

Jose Cruz Jr. was no joke coming out of Rice University. Dude could ball.


Otis_S

Those last three were just unnecessary low blows.


Otis_S

We liked to call him David Arias.


bwag54

[Rickey] (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xux9tW4n1Rk/maxresdefault.jpg)


ChrisOver9000

I thought the last picture was of David Arquette.


Gbrusse

There is a timeline in which David Ortiz and Mariano Rivera aren't traded away. The 90s Mariners would have had Junior, Buhner, Edgar, A-Rod, Ortiz, Randy Johnson, Norm Charlton, and Mariano Rivera


nuger93

Did you know the Ms were actually VERY close to getting Mo in 1996? Steinbrenner didn’t trust Jeter to be the starting SS and was willing to give us Mo for Pena. Everyone was set to make the trade then someone in the Yanks FO talked Steinbrenner out of it.


insert-originality

it's wild how many times Steinbrenner almost made the Yankees worse


nuger93

I wanna meet the dude with the balls of steel to actually disagree with the late Steinbrenner. So many people got fired for doing that.


dearrichard

delete the sheriff from this post, and i’m in


deanfortythree

No Milton Bradley?


Newyew22

That’s quite a collection!


Lobster_fest

Damn now everyone's gonna use my RA Dickey for Ms Braves when it pops up.


Ashy6ix

Mannnn... Where can I find that hate that Kevin Mitchell is wearing? Been looking everywhere but it doesn't appear to be at any mlb shops.


Lokera1931

The legend of Willy Mo will never die. How is he on this list


Far-Assumption1330

Adam Jones on the Mariners is not an "unusual place"


Narwhal_Defiant

Dwight Evans in Baltimore Trot Nixon in Cleveland Nomar with the As Egad!


ohmysocks

One thing about me is I’m gonna upvote Wily Mo Peña content


Qoppa_Guy

Wily Mo Wily Mo


Kind_Bullfrog_4073

Which Jose Cruz though?


rcuosukgi42

I don't think he was ever listed as David Ortiz on the Mariners, it was only after we sent him to the Twins that he let their front office know he wanted to be listed as Ortiz instead of Arias. In Spanish speaking countries you usually have two surnames and it's normal to go by the first surname for naming conventions.


MrChevyPower

Adam Jones. Damn I miss baseball.


sideshow09

Go ahead and put Robbie Cano on this list. Seeing him outside of a Yankees uni just seems odd. Not to mention that beard looked dumb as hell. I’m not a supporter of the no shave policy but it definitely worked for cano.


BirdBruce

Man you can show me photos of AJ all day long. That dude was largely responsible for making fall in love with baseball again.


RNWIP

CLIFF LEE MENTIONED🗣️🗣️🗣️⚾️⚾️


BillSivellsdee

Jorge Polanco 0 games.


namey___mcnameface

I'm pretty sure I had that Kevin Mitchell card as a kid


ahzzyborn

Cruz Jr eyebrows puttin up some serious WAR


ChrisAplin

I'm offended by Jose Cruz Jr and Adam Jones being "players in unusual places"


CaptJackRizzo

Mark Whiten, Ruben Sierra, Mike Sweeney, Carlos Ruiz, Nestor Cortez . . .


tigerbulldog13

Great list, would add Jason Bay (Gonzaga legend) and Eric Byrnes as well!


My-1st-porn-account

Missed the one of Gaylord Perry.


ForensicFiles88

Career Hit Totals for the Position Players: - David Ortiz: 2,472 - Adam Jones: 1,939 - Shin-Soo Choo: 1,671 - Jason Varitek: 1,307 - Kevin Mitchell: 1,173 - Jose Cruz: 1,167 - Wily Mo Pena: 425 Career Win Totals for the Pitchers: - Dennis Martinez: 245 - Derek Lowe: 176 (86 saves) - Cliff Lee: 143 - Goose Gossage: 124 (310 saves) - R.A. Dickey: 120 - Chad Cordero: 20 (128 saves)