Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Maniger Avoids Arbitration/R.I.P. Squiggy

Episode Date: December 9, 2020

Two bits of Mariners news on today's episode First of all, Mitch Haniger avoids arbitration. D.C. talks about his career as a Mariner, his injury-riddled past two years, and the impact his absence had in the outfield in 2020. Later on, D.C. talks about David Lander, who passed away last Friday. While he was a Mariners scout and at one time was minority owner of the Portland Beavers, he's best known for his role on the classic sitcom "Laverne and Shirley," where he played Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Yes, indeed. Thank you very much, Joey Martin. I am indeed D.C. Lundberg at the helm of another episode of Locked-on Mariner's, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, brought to you by Bilt Bar. Please remember to download Rate and subscribe to this program using whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariners podcast or any program here on the Locked-on Podcast Network or T-L-O-P-N-O-P-N-N-L-O-P-N-N-N-N-E-N-R-N-B-E-R-G, if you are indeed scoring it home.

I'm going to step aside from baseball history on today's show and get to some actual Mariners news for a change. I was debating. There are two stories to do. One of them is, you know, a half. happy story. And the other one is a rather somber story. The Mariners did lose a member of its family over the weekend. I was debating on which story to do in A block and which story to do in B block. We're going to go with the happy one in A block. This one involves Mitch Hanigar. There's not been a lot of

happy news surrounding Mitch Hanigur over the last 18 months. But the Mariners have agreed to a one-year contract with Manninger worth $3.01 million. Yeah, 0.01 million. So basically a three-month $3 million contract. He didn't play at all last season after undergoing two separate surgeries in January to correct a core problem that basically is sports hernia problem. And in 2019, another injury riddled season in which he only played 63 games. Last game was on June 6th where he fouled a ball off a rather sensitive piece of male anatomy, ruptured something really important down there.

and yeah, you know what happened, and I don't really want to rehash it. 220, 314, and 463 slash line in 2019. Only 63 games played. That year was a throwaway for him. 2020 was a throw away for him. The two previous seasons, however, were both very good ones. 2017-2018, combined slash line of 284, 361, 492, and 965 at bats, 63 doubles, 42 home runs, 140 runs driven in,

101 walks, pardon me, and 241 strikeouts. That strikeout total does need to come down. He played 157 games in 2018. He was an all-star slashed 285, 366, 493. Very similar to a slash line from 2017, where he played 96 games. getting back to 2018, 596 at bats, 26 home runs, which is a little bit more power than I anticipated from him. 38 doubles, he's got gap power.

He's got really good gap power, but he also struck out 148 times. That is too much. And he's got a very good arm in right field. Can play center in a pinch, too. He is also arbitration eligible following next season, and he is eligible to become a free agent after the 20-22 season. He does figure in the Mariners' future plans. He turns 30 at the end of this month.

And with all the veterans gone, having been traded, you know, at the beginning of 2019 for the most part, he really did assume a leadership role in that clubhouse as one of the few players with any sort of major league tenure. And that's important for a young team. And at the same time, with him not playing last year, the outfield situation was, well, it was interesting, let's say that. Okay, who am I kidding?

It was a mess, aside from center field, which Kyle Lewis patrolled the whole season, 58 games played for Lewis in the 60 game schedule slash 262, 364, 437, and just got off to that monstrously hot start where he was tearing the cover off the ball. Really went cool in the second half, however, yet still won the American League Rookie of the Year award, very deserving of that. And that's combined with his absolutely stellar defensive play in center field, which remained constant the whole season, made some great catches in which he brought some home runs back.

He is the Mariners center fielder now. Left field and right field were the problems. Hanager was going to be the right fielder if everything worked out as it should have. Well, I shouldn't say as it should have. If they didn't have the surgeries and if he was able to play, he would have patrolled right field. and right field was both left and right field really very odd situations. Dee Gordon saw a lot of playing time in left field.

That pretty much tells you all you need to know about that. Dylan Moore played a lot in left field and some right field. Tim Lopes saw action in left field. Jose Marmaloos played out there. Braden Bishops saw action in left and right field. Jake Fraley played seven games. You know, what can I say? Sam Haggurty, Telegram Sam played a while out there before he got hurt

and he hit very well out of the shoot after being recalled from the alternate training site, I guess about a third of the way through the season. But he is really, he's an infielder, much like Tim Lopes and Dylan Moore, they are infielders. DeStrange Gordon, same thing, although he's a free agent now. He's no longer a mariner. Jose Marmara Malayos is really a first baseman, can play the corners. All these men can play the outfield, but they are really infielders.

The Mariners, it was just a mess. The situation in the outfield was just such a mess. it's almost comical, you know, how it wound up working out. But back to the story, Mitch Hanninger, again, one year, $3.01 million contract to play with the Mariners in 2021, where he will most likely patrol right field unless the injury bug gets the better of him again. Let's hope that does not happen. We've got another story to talk about in the second half of the program, again, not a happy one. This is ordinarily the part of the program where I had the Mariners trivia question.

kind of went away for a while for various reasons. Most of them related to my health and just not having the energy to do much of anything, quite honestly. I'm going to bring that back sort of. I'm going to bring the trivia portion of it back, sort of. It's not going to be a Mariners trivia question every day. Sometimes it's going to be a straight baseball trivia question. And sometimes, like today, something that I'm going to call Hall Pass. I am going to give you some information and some statistics on a baseball player.

and you at home can decide whether or not you would vote for this man to be in the Hall of Fame. Today's player enjoyed an 18-year Major League career in the 1960s and 70s as a catcher and corner infielder. Came up as a catcher and later was moved to corner infield. He played both third and first base. He has a career 297, 365, 452 slash line, 2,342 hits, 7,874 at Bats, 344 doubles, 252 home runs, 1,185 runs driven in. He is an MVP award winner. He is also a Gold Glove Award winner as a catcher.

He's also a nine-time All-Star. And he was not moved from behind the plate because of poor defense. As I said, he's got a gold glove there. It was more to preserve his bat. Would you, ladies and gentlemen, put this man in the Hall of Fame? I'll tell you who it is, after this word from, Bilt Bar. What comes to mind when I say delicious protein bar covered in 100% real chocolate that's low in sugar calories and carbohydrates? If you said Snickers, you weren't paying attention.

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So just use promo code locked on instead, and that'll get you 20% off of your next order of the best protein bars and the history of protein bars. Bilt Bar, we try harder. Yeah, today's Hall Pass, the stats I just mentioned, would you put that man in the Hall of Fame or not? That's Joe Tori. Yes, he had a fabulous career as a player. He is in the Hall of Fame as a manager, not as a player. led the league in batting average in 1971, his MVP season,

also led in total bases, RBI, and base hits. 363 average for Tori that season. Great career as a player. If you've got a question or comment, please do send it over to Lockdown Meritors at gmail.com. I will reply to it on the air

in an upcoming mailbag episode. We are probably doing a mailbag episode later on in the week, Friday, maybe Saturday. So if you've got any questions or comments you'd like me to address on the show, Send them to Lockedon Mariners at gmail.com. Does it not need to be a baseball question. Questions on any subject are encouraged.

Just keep it clean. It's a family show. And we will be back following this important commercial massage. Welcome back to Locked On Mariners. Once again, your host, D.C. Lundberg. Yes, thank you very much, Joey Martin. I am indeed D.C. Lundberg. Back with you on Locked on Mariner's.

Again, there's some somber news to get to that I alluded to in the beginning of the program. and that somber news is that the Mariners did indeed lose a member of its family over the weekend. Friday night, December 4th, David Lander passed away at the age of 73. He had been a scout for the Seattle Mariners. As he was not a scouting director or a regional scouting director or anything of that sort, I could not find a source stating how long he had worked for the Mariners or even how recently he had been employed by the team. So you may be asking yourself,

Why is this worthy of mention on the show in that case? Ah, but those of you out there of a certain age, or those of you who grew up on reruns like I did, know exactly why. It's because of the unusual background this gentleman had. Baseball was not his first profession, and it's not even close to what he's best known for. From 1976 to 1983, he had a recurring role on the classic sitcom Laverne and Shirley. He played Squiggy of Lenny and Squiggy,

the dim-witted friends of the title characters. He appeared in 156 episodes, each of his appearances, punctuated by his distinct way of saying, Hello, which I am not going to try to imitate on the air. I used to attempt this impression, but our announcer Joey Martin told me that it sucks, so I'll spare you. I'm no rich little gang, even though I sometimes think I am. Anyways, Mr. Lander got into the baseball business while Laverne and Shirley was still on the air. But soon after ABC changed its time slot and the ratings,

sharply declined. In 1980, Mr. Lander assumed minority ownership of the Portland Beavers, so there's another tie to the Northwest. He was brought in, in part, to pay for Luis Tion's salary, according to some sources that I found. And his first game as an owner was in Spokane of all places. My hometown. All right, I've only lived here two years, but I am now claiming it as my hometown. Anyways, this is a direct quote from Mr. Lander, recalling this first game as an owner. The first game as an owner was in Spokane. I showed my pass and the kid at the gate didn't know any better,

so he waves me in and I go sit in the dugout. The game starts and I'm still sitting there. I know the rules about non-uniformed personnel being on the field, and I know I'm not supposed to be there, but no one says anything, and Tiont has no hitter going, so I'm afraid to move and jinx it. And no one is saying anything to me because they don't want to jinx it either.

The game goes on, and I'm still. starting to worry that we'll have to forfeit the game because I was in the dugout when I wasn't supposed to be. I can see the headlines. Squiggy ruins Tion's no-hitter, but I don't want to move because he's got a no-hitter going. Finally, it's the seventh inning, and T-ont sits right down next to me and says, so what do you think of my no-hitter? I love that quote. Baseball superstitions, you don't change anything if there's a no-hitter going on. Mr. Lander first got into the scouting business in 1997 with the Anaheim Angels and then moved over to the Mariners

and from what I understand he was employed for quite a few seasons but again I couldn't figure out just exactly how long his tenure was or how recently he had been employed by the team. And again, the fact that he had a prominent role in a very successful sitcom

and had an entire other career other than baseball and he had an acting career and a scouting career, he had them both go. going on simultaneously, although Laverne and Shirley obviously what he's best known for. And those of you out, I grew up on reruns and game shows. And when Laverne and Shirley was on in reruns on Nick at Night in the mid-90s,

you know, we're talking 95, 96, I was 10, 11 years old. I would watch it every night. And it wasn't exactly a huge favorite of mine, but I would watch it every night pretty much. And I really liked Happy Days, the show from which Laverin and Shirley was spun off. that whole lineup of classic rerun sitcoms that Nick and I had, you know, back in those days, I loved it and I would watch it every night. Like I said, I grew up on reruns and I grew up on game shows, which we can talk about some other time.

David Lander had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1984, but didn't go public with this until 1999. He was born on June 22, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, as David Leonard Landers. Dow, and again, passed away December 4th, 2020 in Los Angeles at the age of 73. Locked-on Mariners offers our best wishes to the family of David Lander. We'll be back later on in the week with our next episode. I am not sure whether it's going to be our mailbag episode or if I'm going to be able to produce another episode in the interim. I really just don't know. It's just still kind of going like that, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm sorry, please bear with us. But do not let that stop you from downloading rating. and subscribing to this program, look for us on any podcasting app that you may happen to like to use. Also, to follow us on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. Follow me on Twitter at D.C. underscore Lundberg. Hope you enjoyed today's episode, ladies and gentlemen, thank you again for listening. I hope you'll join us for the next one. This is Joey Martin saying join us back here next time for another edition of Locked-on Mariners,

part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.