Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Mariners Yearbook: 1996

Episode Date: March 25, 2020

D.C. Lundberg looks back at the 1996 Mariners, the first M's squad to defend a division title, and a team that dealt with a lot of injuries, a lot of mid-season trades, & a problematic pitching staff. 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.

Thank you for tuning in to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Well, good evening, gang. Late as this is, this is Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program on Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or whichever podcasting app that you personally like to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked on Mariner's podcast. or Locked-on-N-N-A-T-N-T-N-E-R-K-R-G. Follow the show on Twitter at L-O-O-U-N-S-R-G,

and follow me on Twitter also at D-C-U-S-U-N-D-B-E-R-G, if you're scoring at home. Today we're going to look back at the 1996 Seattle Mariners, and while this M's team did not make the playoffs, they sure made a run at it towards the end. Personally, I remember this team very vividly since this is the first season I followed start to finish. Prior to the season, there was quite a bit of turnover on the roster. Tino Martinez and Jeff Nelson were traded to the Yankees because of contract issues.

Mike Blowers was traded to the Dodgers. Bill Risley was traded to the Blue Jays. The M's did not retain rental players Tim Belcher, Andy Benis, or Vince Coleman, and Felix Fermin was released after spring training. However, the Mariners had several new faces, including a new first base platoon of Paul Sorrento and Ricky Jordan. Third baseman Russ Davis came over from the Yankees in the Martinez Nelson trade.

Relief pitcher Mike Jackson rejoined the team as a free agent. Backup catcher John Marzano signed as a free agent to allow undeveloped Chris Widger to play most of the year in AAA. And young pitchers Paul Medhart and Edwin Hurtado joined the pitching staff after being acquired in the Risley deal. Sterling Hitchcock also joined the rotation. The Ms would acquire more talent throughout the season, including outfielder Mark Whitten, third baseman Dave Hollins,

and pitchers Terry Mulholland and Jamie Moyer. The Mariners opened the season in the Kingdom in front of a national television audience on ESPN against the Chicago White Sox on March 31st. The first time a regular season game had been played in the month of March. And what a game it was. Randy Johnson started for the M's and was just as dominant here as he was in 1995. Over seven innings, he struck out 14 and allowed only two runs, both of them coming on a first inning home run by Frank Thomas. In the 11th, newly minted starting shortstop, Alex Rodriguez drove. in Doug Strange on a single to clinch the M's first victory of 1996 in front of over 57,000 fans

in a 3-2 victory. The Mariners finished April at 16 and 10, including a string of eight straight victories. This included an April 15th game at the Kingdom against the California Angels, in which the Mariners came back from an eight-run deficit to win 11 to 10. Jabuner not only drove in the winning run in the eighth inning, but he also threw out J.T. Snow at home plate in the top of the eighth inning to prevent a run. Randy Johnson began to develop back problems late in the month and took himself out of the game against the Brewers in County Stadium on April 26th.

He'd make two more starts before going on the disabled list in mid-May. This threw the rotation into something of a mess, and Chris Basio's knee problems returned in June to muddle the situation even further. The Mariners tried to plug the holes with the likes of Matt Wagner, Raphael Carmona, Edwin Hurtado, and Rusty Meacham. And while Mietam and Carmano proved to be much more effective out of the bullpen, none of them really seemed to get the job done, except for Bob Wells, who went into the rotation and provided some much-needed depth,

while pitching fairly effectively. The M's also lost Ricky Jordan to an injury at the beginning of May, but quickly replaced him with Free Agent Brian Hunter, who was very productive as the right-handed half of the first base platoon, effective enough to also see time in the outfield when Paul Sorrento was starting at first base. The M's treaded water for most of May and June and played 500 ball those two months, taking a 46 and 39 record into the All-Star break. They lost starting third baseman Russ Davis on June 7th for the season after he shattered his ankle in Kansas City.

Doug Strange would wind up seeing a lot of time at the hot corner while the M's sought to acquire a more permanent replacement, as Strange was best suited for a utility role in pinch hitting duties. More bad news came for the Mariners on June 19th, against the men's. Toronto Blue Jays while batting against former teammate Eric Hansen. Ken Griffey Jr. broke the hamate bone in his wrist while fouling off a ball. He immediately walked back to the dugout and would miss almost a month. Rich Amarol filled in for junior during most of this time and did a

pretty admirable job. Griffy was one of five Mariners named to the American League All-Star team, which was the most ever at that time, although he did not play in the game or even make the trip to Philadelphia. The other Mariner All-Stars were Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, as Jay Buehner and Dan Wilson. This was the first of many All-Star games for Alex, while Boone and Wilson made their only appearances in the Midsummer Classic. Buehner even participated in the home run derby and did pretty well. He hit six home runs in the first round, more than anybody else, but did not advance to the finals after hitting only two in the second round.

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Once again, your host, D.C. Lundberg. Welcome back to Lockdown Mariners and our look back at the 1996 M's squad. At the All-Star break, the Mariners were 46 and 39. Not great, but to the M's benefit, the California Angels were having a horrible season, and the Oakland Athletics were not at all the same team that dominated the late 80s. The M's were only a few games back of the first place Texas Rangers, who were pretty much a 500 team this season before. With the injuries and the inconsistent play,

the Mariners knew they could not stand pat with the roster that They had. On July 23rd, they acquired Jeff Mantow from the Boston Red Sox to try to fill the void left by the injured Russ Davis. To say that this did not work out would be an understatement. Doug Strange wound up taking over third base again after a while after Mantow was relegated to pinch hitting. He hit just 185. At the non-waiver trade deadline, the Mariners acquired two veteran left-handed pitchers. First of all, on July 30th, they traded fourth outfielder Darren Bragg to the Boston Red Sox for Jamie Moyer. And while Bragg was a valuable role player, a good defender, decent base runner, and fairly

effective bat, the return on investment on this trade was huge. This may have been the best trade Woody Woodward pulled off as the Mariners General Manager. In 11 starts, he went 6 and 2 with a 3-3-1 ERA. Very, very good numbers, especially considering the American League ERA was 499. and Moyer went on to pitch a decade for the Mariners. The next day, the Mariners picked up Terry Mulholland from the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league infielder Desi Rulliford. He started 12 games and went 5 and 4 with the 4-6-7 ERA

and pitched well in some key games down the stretch, including a great start against the Rangers in September. Even with the solidification of the starting rotation, the Mariners were still an inconsistent team. Even at one point losing seven games in a row at home, where they had something of a home field advantage. The team just was not scoring enough runs, and Woody Woodward went back to work to bolster the offense.

On August 14th, the Mariners traded for outfielder Mark Whitten, who quickly became a fan favorite for his hitting ability. In 40 games for the M's, he slashed 300, 339, 607, drove in 33 runs and hit 12 homers. And those home runs were some bombs, and some of those runs driven in were key runs. In the Metro dome in Minneapolis, he hit a grand slam that went about 10 to 15 feet up on the back wall of the upper deck.

However, he really wasn't anything to write home about as an outfielder except for his arm, and man, did he have a gun? When he was in left field and junior was in center and Buehner was in right, that may have been the best throwing outfield the Mariners have ever had. It was certainly tops at the American League at that. time, if not all of baseball. Then on August 29th, the Mariners traded a player to be named later to the Minnesota Twins for Dave Hollins. That same day, Jeff Mantow was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, the exact same team that had traded Manto to the Mariners earlier in the season.

Hollins was immediately put on the 25-man roster. He arrived at the Kingdom during the game that day, and Lou Pinellas sent him into that game against the Orioles to pinch it for Doug Strange. Witton wound up ending that game on a grand slam off O's Closer Randy Myers. While the player to be named later wound up being future Hall of Famer David Ortiz, Hollins was very effective as a mariner and really helped them down the stretch. In 28 games for the Mariners, Hollins slashed 351, 438, 479, and drove in 25 runs. Witten and Holland certainly provided a lot of offense and drove in some key runs for the Mariners during the stretch. The Mariners continued to be mostly a 500 team through September,

but a win against the Royals on September 12th started what would be a 10-game winning streak. That streak included a crucial four-game series against division-leading Texas, who had started to pull away after making some of their own roster moves to bolster their playoff chances. In the first game of that series in the Kingdom, their big acquisition, John Burkett faced Jamie Moyer. The M's were not kind to the Rangers pitcher,

nor was Moyer kind to the Rangers' offense, as the M's shut the Rangers out six to nothing. Terry Mulholland started for the Mariners in game two, facing Rangers ace Ken Hill. Mulholland was perfect through five innings and won the game five to two. Sterling Hitchcock, the only starter to remain in the rotation all season long, faced Bobby Witt in game three,

and won that one with an identical five to two. two score. Bobby Walcott started game four, but wasn't that effective, and Lou Panella replaced him with Tim Davis in the fourth inning. Davis tossed three effective innings and got the victory seven to six to conclude the sweep of the Texas Rangers. The Mariners would go on to win the next two against Oakland after that critical series, but thereon after won only two more games all season and were eliminated two days prior to the final game. Alex Rodriguez won the batting title this year, hitting 358 in his first full season. He also led the league in doubles with 54.

He was no longer a rookie, however, as he exceeded his rookie status in 1995. Ken Griffey Jr. wound up with 49 home runs and 140 runs batted in in another injury shortened season. However, he would have had 50 home runs if a game in Cleveland hadn't been washed away. Jay Biener checked in with 44 home runs and 138 RBI of his own in what probably was his best season as a Major League Baseball player. Not only that, but he won a gold glove for his play in right field. Another career year came from catcher Dan Wilson. In addition to his spectacular defense, he hit 285, knocked in 83 runs, hit 18 home runs and 24 doubles. His backup, John

Marzano, was a very good backup and brought a toughness to the clubhouse. On August 28th, in a game against the Yankees, he protected his pitcher, Tim Davis, who had thrown to pitch up and in on Yankees' right fielder Paul O'Neill. After O'Neill started flapping his gums, Marzano basically gave it right back, and the two went at it in what was a pretty good brawl. I commend Marzano for protecting his teammates like that. I've always admired him. He was always a personal favor to mine. Tragically, he passed away on April 19, 2008, after a fall in his home in Philadelphia at the age of 45. Joey Corey checked in with his best season to date, hitting 291 with a 370 on base percentage.

In addition, his defense had improved over the previous season, as did Rich Amaroles. Amarol began the season in a platoon situation in left field, but ended up platooning with Cora at second base after Louis Soho was claimed off waivers by the Yankees. In addition to two improved play at second base, Amarol played all three outfield positions without making an error. The closing pitching tandem of Norm Charlton and Mike Jackson was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise problematic pitching staff. They combined for 26 saves in 73 games finished and a 384 ERA. Tim Davis was effective in long relief in his final full season as a big leaguer before injuries unfortunately got the better of him.

Well, gang, that was 1996, a very interesting season in Mariners history. This is the first time they had to defend a division crown, and they did so with mixed success. If Randy Johnson had stayed healthy and not had the back problems that he did, it may have wound up differently, but there were so many other injuries and moving pieces that it's really impossible to say for sure.

Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program on Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. You can ask your smart device to play Lockdown Mariner's podcast. It's very simple. Follow the show on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. Follow me on Twitter.

Twitter as well at DC underscore Lundberg. Ask your smart device to play locked on fantasy baseball upon the conclusion of this show. Tomorrow we're going to look back at both 1997 and 2002 division winning teams. In the meantime, I hope you have a good evening.

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.