January 31- Seattle Mariners

This post is dedicated to Tommy Brentley, a great friend I made through my journey in and out of the MLB Fan Cave. Today he was selected as one of the Top 50 finalists for this year's edition of the Fan Cave and the lone representative of the Seattle Mariners. Do what you can to get him in and keep him there until the very end. Thank you for being a great friend Tom.

 
Like a lot of kids my age, I'll never forget watching Ken Griffey, Jr., Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez when these hats were introduced. I was living in Southern California at the time, but as always, I still cheered hard for the Oakland Athletics. Nonetheless, when the Seattle Mariners started wearing the teal jerseys and caps, my fragile little head was on the verge of exploding. All my friends and I could talk about was how awesome that combo was, but also how the Miami Dolphins uniforms still looked “dainty.” (Definitely not the word I used when I was a kid) Bright colors have never really been a part of uniforms in baseball, outside of powder blue that is. But even with powder blue, the University of North Carolina has held a stronghold on that color well before anyone cared about what the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals were doing. As kids though, outside of a box of Crayola crayons none of us had ever seen something so appealing to our eyes. When one kid in school got a hold of a teal Mariners cap, we all became insanely jealous. For me, it would still be another 17 years before I got my hands on this bad boy, but I assure you, it was well worth the wait.

From 1994-96 the Mariners looked natural playing in such an unusual baseball color. This stretch also became the first time I really noticed Nike jump into the picture, but primarily for Ken Griffey, Jr. and Jay Buhner. Much in the same sense as the Atlanta Braves, TV exposure helped push The Kid and the Mariners into the limelight. OK, maybe not as much as the Braves and TBS, but enough to tap into my generation to get them to pay attention. Although the Mariners continued to sell this hat beyond ’96, it would be until the 2012 season that it would resurface back on their heads. 1995 was arguably the most successful of that three year stretch, and certainly one of the most memorable years in Mariners history as they took down the New York Yankees with a game-winning run by Griffey, Jr. in the 9^th inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series. But the Mariners lost in six games to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series.

Another key component of this era is one of the more famous mascots in Major League Baseball, the Mariner Moose. The Mariners Moose was introduced to me when I was about 11-years-old in 1994. Now, the Moose was actually introduced in 1990 after the Mariners held a contest for kids 14 and under to submit what they wanted as their mascot. Out of 2500 submissions the moose was selected. Due to the fact that I was living in Bakersfield, California at the time I was not privy to the Moose as I posted above. I was in both the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels market, and mostly because the Angels were not exactly the caliber team that they are today, I never got a chance to see the Mariners play a home game on TV until around 1994. That's not to say that NBC or ESPN weren't playing games or showing highlights at the time either, but as an avid Oakland Athletics fan I couldn't care less what the Mariners were doing unless they were a threat to Oakland winning the AL West. Nonetheless, when the Mariners started playing some solid ball as a team, as opposed to just Ken Griffey, Jr. knocking the guts out of the ball, they got more exposure. Thus, I was introduced to the Moose. Plus, who could forget the line of Nike commercials starring Griffey, Jr. for President, which also featured the Moose as his running mate? Money!

The one thing I made sure to do was put him in the teal jersey which most baseball fans outside of the Mariners base have always found iconic. Especially considering they only did it for one year before bringing them back for the 2011 season. A very wise decision on management's part I might add. The one other thing I really wanted done was to put a cast on the right leg of the Moose as a tribute to when he bit the dust at the Kingdome in 1995 during the ALDS against the Yankees whilst being pulled by an ATV and wearing roller blades. Both of which were genius decisions by management as well. What's even better is that the team continued the ATV/roller blade stunt until 1999 as they were kind of forced to stop after opening Safeco Field which has natural grass. However, due to the location of the Moose in the stencil I decided to scrap it. But hey! At least I was thinking about it. And look at him waving to the kids. The Moose is still a winner in my book.

As for the numbers, they’re pretty obvious…

#24- If you ask any kid born in the 1980s who their top 3 favorite baseball players of all time are, I’m willing to bet that 9/10 would have Ken Griffey, Jr. somewhere on that list. I of course am that douchebag 1/10. Sorry! I’ll give you Top 10 though! Anyway, Griffey, Jr. was THE guy who was slated to overtake not only the home run record, but possibly the RBI record as well, on top of getting 3000 hits easily. But sadly, this didn’t come to be. In the three year stretch The Kid went .295/106/272… in 323 games. Granted, 1994 was shortened by the lockout, but still!!! Those stats are out of this world in such a short period of time. Oh, and by the way, in ’94 Griffey, Jr. wet .323/40/90 and was a dead lock for the MVP up until that point. Somehow he didn’t win an MVP until 1997, the one and only of his career, but he did win Gold Gloves and make the All-Star team all three years. A small consolation prize I suppose, but at least he’ll be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

#51- I’ve only worn this hat three times since I bought it and marked it, and every time someone takes a shot at guessing the numbers they always say Ichiro. I seriously cry inside when I hear that name… because they’re WRONG!!! From 1994-96 Randy “The Big Unit” Johnson brought batters to their knees with his inhuman slider… and mullet. Funny story about Johnson: He played high school ball in Livermore, California and attended Livermore High School the same years as my uncles. Two of my uncles recall easily hitting doubles off of Johnson, much to his chagrin. Going back: ’94-’96 proved to be rather prosperous for the Big Unit, especially 1995 when he went 18-2 with a League leading 2.48 ERA, a League leading 1.045 WHIP, a League leading 12.3 strikeouts per nine inning and a League leading 294 strikeouts. Johnson received 26 first place votes for the AL Cy Young award that year. The next closest was Cleveland’s Jose Mesa with two first place votes. Good effort though. What’s really amusing is how many people, outside of Seattle, forget that Johnson played for the Mariners from the middle of the 1989 season through the middle of the 1998 season when he was dealt to the Houston Astros for three Minor Leaguers. I don’t know, maybe you’ve heard of them: Freddy Garcia, John Halama and Carlos Guillen.

January 14- Arizona Diamondbacks

The idea for these numbers came during a night of drunkenness and tomfoolery three days after I had gotten the axe from the MLB Fan Cave. I was in an a rather cantankerous mood after I had been forced to move into a hotel for the remaining five days I’d be in New York before heading back to Portland with my tail between my legs. I had started drinking not too long after I got my stuff thrown into my hotel room as I had to walk ¾ of a mile with three ridiculously heavy bags since none of the cabs wanted to drive me as traffic was starting build in that area. I don’t usually complain about things, but “f--- that” popped into my head as my arms quivered, ready to drop everything on the sidewalk. I sucked it up and trekked between construction zones and narrow corridors. I passed actor Michael Fassbender on the streets and for some reason yelled, “Fassbender!” and gave him a high five after I shifted one of bags under my right arm. I checked into the Holiday Inn Express, which nestled right on the cusp of Chinatown, threw my stuff on my bed and hit the bricks for the closest public house. After a few rounds I made my way to downtown Manhattan to do some hat shopping and grab dinner as night was quickly approaching. Rather than going to a swanky restaurant I opted to hit up Foley’s Irish Pub. (For those of you who haven’t had the honor, go there. It is hands down, the premier baseball bar in New York.) After crushing a Caesar wrap and fries… along with 4 pints of Samuel Adams I leaned back in my chair and watched the Oakland A’s drop their third straight to the Minnesota Twins. My day just seemed to one punch in the nuts after another. The bartender who was working at the time and I got into a bit of a discussion, and while the details are still a bit hazy to me, somehow the conversation turned to the hardest baseball question he had ever been asked.

In order to set up the question, I have to tell you what was on the line when it was first proposed: A few moths prior, the owner of the pub, Shaun, threw out a proposal to the two bartenders on duty. (In a thick Irish accent) “Ok, here’s the deal. If you two can answer this question in 20 guesses, I will give you both the bar.” To my knowledge there wasn’t a consequence if the two got the answer wrong; however, both were champing at the bit to give it a go. The owner, confident the two wouldn’t get it correct, let it loose, “Name the seven players in MLB history who have hit 300 home runs and stolen 300 bases.”

Now, despite being a half case of beer deep on the day, three answers immediately came dribbling out: Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds. In the same breath I had also mustered out Carlos Beltran, but… I was wrong. Beltran at that time was still two stolen bases away from achieving this feat, something that Cardinals rep, and Cave Troll, Kyle Thompson didn’t even know. I then started firing names out that seemed like fitting answers, but were all wrong: Rickey Henderson, Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Ken Griffey, Jr. and like five others before I said Alex Rodriguez and Andre Dawson. Dawson and Rodriguez are in fact the fourth and fifth answers. Two to go. I burned through my other guesses without even coming close to the right answers. As it turns out, the bartended and his co-worker had fallen victim to the same enigma. We were all able to nail down five of the seven, but those last two killed us. Finally, I had to ask for a clue.

Clue- Both players were members of the 2001 World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks. I slowly nursed the lager in front of my face, barely hanging onto the bar when I fired out Luis Gonzalez. Apparently I had all ready guessed him and was equally as wrong on the first try. I sat there for a second, staring at the walls, hoping an answer would be right in front of my face. I then got up and peed for the first time on the day and popped out for a smoke to mull it over. About three drags into my smoke I had it. I tossed my cigarette out into an Escalade that was driving by and stumbled back into the bar. “Reggie Sanders and Steve Finley!” I yelled. The bartender looked at me amazed and bought me a beer as my reward. Pretty sure I didn’t need it, but I drank it anyway.

#12- Steve Finley made his debut for the Baltimore Orioles in 1989 and played for a very quiet 19 years. Most people remember the name and face, but few have looked at his accomplishments. .271 career average, 2548 hits, 304 home runs and 320 stolen bases, as well as having played on eight teams. He also racked up five Gold Gloves and made two All-Star Game appearances; quite possibly a borderline Hall of Famer.

#16- Reggie Sanders, like Finley, was a bit of a journeyman in his own right. Sanders donned a jersey for eight teams as well, most of which was spent with the Cincinnati Reds over his 17-year career. Despite only having 1666 base knocks in those 17 years, Sanders still clubbed 305 home runs and swiped 304 bags.

Since that night I have clearly never forgotten all seven, now eightanswers, as I imagine most of you won’t either. What’s really interesting; however, is that if Carlos Beltran’s numbers stay consistent for the next four to five years, he’ll probably have a better shot at making the Hall than Finley for the sake of a slightly better average and possibly 100 more home runs. But, after 15 years of playing, how many more years does Beltran have left in him? Finley has him beat by 500 currently. I guess we’ll wait and see.