Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Mariners Yearbook: 1997

Episode Date: April 4, 2020

D.C. Lundberg takes a look back at the 1997 Seattle Mariners, a team with a historically powerful offense, but also a team whose pitching staff kept them from attaining a historically great season. 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.

Welcome to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. It's Friday Night Gang, time for Locked-on Mariner's, 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 podcast, or whichever podcast, the app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariner's podcast or any of the other programs here on. the Locked-on network. Follow the show on Twitter at L-O-U-U-N-S-Kor-Mariners, and follow me on Twitter as well at D.C. underscore Lundberg,

L-U-N-D-B-E-R-G, if you are scoring at home. Before we dive into the program, I want to wish a very happy birthday to Locked-on Mariners contributor, John Miller. You can follow John on Twitter at Seattle Pilots 69. We're going to look at the 1997 team today. While the Mariners were not a post-season team in 1996, they came pretty close.

They faded a bit down the stretch while Texas were often running. Many of the same pieces in 1996 remained for 1997. The downfall in 96 was pitching. The rotation had been riddled with injuries, and the arms with which the Mariners tried to fill the holes mostly weren't up to the task. Most would begin the year back in AAA Tacoma or be traded in off-season moves.

In addition, Chris Basio's career was over because of knee injuries that plagued him throughout 1995 and 1996. To bolster the rotation, the Mariners acquired Jeff Fissero from the Montreal Expos. For Matt Wagner, who had been in and out of the rotation in 1996, Chris Widger, and minor league pitcher Trey Moore. The M's also traded away Sterling Hitchcock, the only pitcher to remain in this rotation the year before. However, he also gained a reputation as a whiner, and he did not have the best of attitudes.

Norm Charlton confronted him in the clubhouse after overhearing an interview Hitchcock was giving, in which Hitchcock claimed that he was doing his job by going five innings. The sheriff lit into him and informed a young pitcher that he was not doing his job and that the starters needed to go as long as possible. Hitchcock also was not on Lou Pinella's good side, after slapping the baseball into the skipper's hand upon being removed from a game late in the season. To which Pinella barked back at Hitchcock as he left the mound. It was obvious that Hitchcock was a problem, and he was shipped off to the Padres for starting pitcher Scott Sanders.

The Mariners also acquired veteran Dennis Martinez via free agency, and Randy Johnson was returning after missing most of the year with back problems, but no one really knew what to expect from him. Would his back hold up? And if it did, would he be the same dominant pitcher that he was in 1995? The M's also re-signed Jamie Moyer, whom they acquired at the deadline the year before. Terry Mulholland, another deadline acquisition was not retained, and he signed with the Cubs. Reliever Mike Jackson was also allowed to leave as a free agent.

The bullpen would be mostly filled with arms that were already in the organization, most of whom pitched with the big club in 96. However, Hoseus Manzanillo was signed as a minor league free agent, and he wound up making the club out of spring training. On the offensive side, Mark Whitten and Dave Hollins, both of whom contributed big time for the M's down the stretch after being acquired in separate moves, both left as free agents. Dave Hollins really wasn't needed because he was more or less a fill-in for the injured Russ Davis,

and he signed with division rival Anaheim. Mark Witten's departure meant a continuation of the revolving door in left field, and the M's started 97 with a platoon of Lee Tinsley and Rich Amarol. The right-handed hitting half of the first base platoon in 1996, Brian Hunter, also wasn't retained. Mike Blowers was re-acquired. fired by the team after spending an injury shortened 1996 with the Dodgers. He also made the team out of spring training and became Paul Sorrento's platoon partner. Brett Gates was signed as a free agent to platoon with Joey Cora at second base,

and outfielder Rob Deucey was signed as a minor league free agent, and he'd begin the year in Tacoma. The first game of the 1997 season took place in the kingdom against the defending world champion New York Yankees. ESPN carried the game for a national television audience. The Yanks started veteran David Cohn, and the M's sent their new left-handed starting pitcher Jeff Fissarro to the mound. The Yankees jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly. The Mariners countered in the bottom of the first with a solo home run from Who Else?

Ken Griffey Jr. to kick off his MVP campaign. The Yankees went ahead in the top of the second, however, on an RBI single from Joe Girardi to score Mariano Duncan. The M's went quietly in the second, but in the third, Russ Davis led off with a home run to tie the ball game. Two batters later, Alex Rodriguez, fresh off his batting title, singled and advanced to second base on a wild pitch during the following at bat, which ultimately proved ancillary since Katie Griffey Jr. parked another home run while Alex was on second base to untie the game and give the M's a 4-2 lead.

Fisero cruised most of the game. He pitched seven innings, gave up two runs, both of them earned, gave up five hits, one walk, and struck out seven. Following him was Bobby Ayala, the Mariners' very own Jekyll and Hyde. You never knew which Bobby Ayala you'd get. He always had good stuff, but he also had a tendency to get over-excited and overthrow, leaving his fastball and forkball in the middle of the plate begging to be hammered into the gap for extra bases. Tonight, the controlled, effective Bobby Ayala made an appearance,

allowing only a single-to-weighed Boggs in the eighth inning. After the M's went one, two, three in the bottom of the eighth, Ayala returned to the mound to face right-handed hitting Cecil Fielder, who grounded out. With left-handed hitting former Mariner Tino Martinez duup, Panella brought in the sheriff, Norm Charlton to face him and Paul O'Neill, who had scrapped with John Marzano the previous August after running his mouth. Martinez and O'Neill both hit singles, bringing up another left-handed hitter, Daryl Strawberry. Strawberry grounded into a double play and the ballgame and give the Mariners a four-to-two victory and their first win of 1997. Prior to the second game,

the Mariners signed Alvaro Espinoza, who had been released by the Mets at the end of spring training. Youngster Andy Sheets, who was also up with the big club in 1996, was sent down to Tacoma to make room for the veteran infielder. That second game was started by another new acquisition, Scott Sanders. He was not nearly as effective as Facerro was the night before. And neither were any of the relievers that the Mariners trotted out either. Sanders lasted five innings, gave up six runs, five hits, walked three, and allowed three home runs, all to Tino Martinez. I know I say this at least once on just about all of these yearbook episodes,

but yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was at this game, and let me tell you it was over almost before it started. It was a Wednesday night game, started at 7.30, and the Yankees spent nearly four hours clubulating the M's 16 to 2. However, the saving grace of this game was that it may have been the game of Tino Martinez's life. Not only did he hit three home runs, but he had multiple chances to do something historic that had never been done before. His first home run in the first inning was a three-run shot.

In his second at-bat in the third, he hit a two-run blast. A solo home run followed in the fifth during his third at-bat. So now he's got three home runs and plenty of time to hit a fourth to tie the Major League record. But wait, there's more! If he were to hit a grand slam, he would have had a solo home run, a two-run homer, a three-run homeer, three-run homer and a salami. No one had ever hit home runs for the cycle before. As it happened, he had his first shot at a grand slam and is next at bat in the sixth. The game was over at that point

and the kingdom crowd was pulling for Tino to make history, chanting Tino, Tino, Tino, Tino. Unfortunately, he hit into a forceout. After hitting a single in the eighth inning with one runner aboard, he'd have not one but two chances in the ninth inning with the bases loaded. He'd walk and strike out in those at baths, with the crowd still hoping he'd get his salami. Unfortunately, it just wasn't to be. On the other hand, a four-for-six-day with three home runs and seven RBI is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. Back to the Mariners, they combined to walk 13 Yankees that game, and it was apparent that the bullpen problems that had plagued the club in previous seasons were not.

going away. The bullpen was filled with many of the same young arms the organization had been trying to develop over the past couple of seasons. Solomon Torres, who had given the M's some pretty good starch down the stretch in September the year before, was back in the bullpen and was not effective at all. His ERA after this miserable outing was 189.00, and he was waived after one more ineffective relief appearance. Tim Davis, who was effective in long relief the year before, had his career cut short because of an injury and only appeared in two ball games this season. Edwin Hurtado appeared in 13 ball games with an ERA of nine. He always had good stuff, but he couldn't control it and had stamina issues because of weight problems.

He still had a minor league option, so he spent much of the year in AAA. He'd play in Japan in 1998 after the Mariners gave up on him. Raphael Carmona, who had pitched fairly well at the big league level up to this point, spent most of the season in AAA. The starting pitching also wasn't what the M's had hoped for. After four poor starts, Scott Sanders was moved to the bullpen, where he was more effective, but still nothing to write home about. He'd start two more games in May, but they were also poor outings.

Former All-Star Dennis Martinez also floundered. He did have one good start, which came on April 30th. He pitched seven innings and gave up only two runs, one earned, on seven hits and two walks. That was the lone bright spot in his season, though, and he was released on May 24th after accumulating a 7.71 ERA and 9 starts. Despite the pitching woes, the Ms went 16 and 11 in April. The offense was clearly a force to be reckoned with. However, Lee Tinsley was unproductive and had to go on the disabled list in early May.

Rob Deucy, who had not been on a big league roster since 1994, was called up from AAA to take Tinsley's spot as the left-handed hitting half of the left-field platoon. He started slow, hitting 212 through May. Joey Cora, however, was heating up. After hitting 247 in April, the M's began a string of 12 straight games versus right-handed starting pitching, allowing Cora to start 10 of those 12 games and get comfortable at the plate. On May 19th, the platoon label was removed, and he began starting against right-handers and Southpaws. He ended May hitting 362.

Not only was he hitting well, but his platoon partners, Brent Gates and Alvaro Espinoza were not. In addition to hitting the weight room and strengthening his upper body slightly, Cora was also using a new batting stance this year. He still used a deep crouch, but he now had most of his weight on his back leg, rather than evenly distributing his weight on both legs. This allowed him to stay back a little bit more and make better contact rather than lunge at the ball as he did a bit in the past.

Cora remained a skilled bunter and patient hitter, who was difficult to strike out. The Mariners as a team were very inconsistent in May and ended the month with a 27 and 27 record. Left field continued to be a problem and at the end of the month, the club called up its 1996 minor league player of the year, switch hitting a Jose Cruz Jr.

He made his major league debut on May 31st and got his first two big league hits two days later against the Blue Jays, both doubles, and smacked his first major league home run the next day against Woody Williams. There was no looking at it. back at this point and he continued to hit from the bottom of the lineup. Shortstop

Alex Rodriguez was injured during the June 11th game and would miss just over two weeks. Alvaro Espinoza started all but one game in Alex's stead and hot hitting crews was moved from the bottom of the lineup and promoted to the number two spot, which Rodriguez ordinarily occupied. June 12th was a special day in Major League Baseball. On this date, the first series of interleague games would be played. The M's first

ever interleague opponents were the Colorado and the two-game series took place in the kingdom. The first game was interesting. Both teams had high-powered offenses but questionable pitching. It was a wild, back-and-forth three-and-a-half-hour shootout, which the Mariners eventually won 12 to 11. Youngster Derek Lowe started for the M's and was opposed by veteran Darren Holmes, whom the Rockies were trying to convert from a back-end short reliever to a starter.

Neither starter was effective at all. Low only went one and two-thirds innings, gave up five runs on five hits, only one walk, though. He just didn't fool anyone and was hit very hard. Following low was Mike Maddox, who had signed as a free agent in mid-April. He was also ineffective in his two-and-one-third innings of work, four runs on seven hits. Norm Charlton pitched two innings, giving up a lone run on three hits and two walks. Bob Wells pitched one-and-one-third scoreless innings, and Greg McCarthy then came in with one out in the 8th and walked Harvey Pulliam. While pitching to Walt Weiss, McCarthy

wasn't sharp, and Lou Pinella came to the mound to give McCarthy the hook during Weiss's at bat. Bobby Ayala came in and completed a walk to Weiss, which was charged to McCarthy. Then, maybe the most bizarre play I have ever seen. With Pulliam on second and Weiss on first, Quentin McCracken laced a ground ball single to left field. Pulliam scored on the and Weiss advanced to second. But Quentin McCracken also tried to advance to second, forcing Weiss to try to take third and getting caught in a rundown. Weiss was out at third base with the put-out,

finally going to shortstop Brent Gates. McCracken, thinking there were three outs, was not standing on second base. Gates flipped the ball to Ken Griffey Jr., who was trotting in from center field, and Jr. tagged McCracken to end the inning. For those scoring at home, that double play went seven,

2, 4, 6, 8. I wish the play were on YouTube. You've got to see it. But I couldn't find it. Hopefully soon. Also of note, the first relief pitcher the Rockies brought in after Darren Holmes was chased after 3 in the 3rd innings was none other than Jerry Depoto.

Yes, current Mariners general manager, Jerry DePoto, pitched for the Rockies in the Mariners' first interleague game. And for once in this series, I cannot say truthfully that I was at this game. I sure wish I had been, though. The Mariners swept those two games from the Rockies, then the Dodgers came to town and also lost both games of that two-game series. The M's then traveled to San Francisco for their first set of games in National League parks. This meant they would have to play under National League rules, which meant no designated hitter.

Edgar Martinez started at first base, and Jeff Vicerro had to hit. He would go 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. The M's lost both games at Candlestick Park, or whatever it was called at that time. Despite this blip, the Mariners dominated in June, going 20 and 7 for the month. Randy Johnson was particularly dominant in the first half of the month, and the team won five straight games three different times in the month. Alex Rodriguez returned to the starting lineup on June 27th. They took a 49 and 37 record into the All-Star break,

which is where we're going to take a break and we'll be back to discuss the All-Star Game and beyond right after these brief commercial massages. Hey gang, D.C. Lundberg here to talk about Postmates. If you're the type who starts thinking about what to have for dinner while you're eating lunch, then you'll love using Postmates. They deliver food from every restaurant you can think of right to your door. But Postmates doesn't just deliver burgers and sushi. They can actually make your life easier.

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withthings.com, W-I-T-H-I-N-G-S-com slash MLB, to get 25% off body-plus body composition scale. That's W-I-T-H-I-N-G-S dot com slash MLB to get 25% off body plus body composition scale. Welcome to the second half of Locked-on Mariners. Here once again is your host, D.C. Lundberg. Yes, indeed. Second half of Locked-on Mariners, we are at the All-Star break of the 1996. Seattle Mariners season. At the break, the Mariners were four and a half games up on the Anaheim Angels, and five games up on the Texas Rangers, the defending Western Division champions. The Mariners

sent five players to Cleveland for the All-Star game, four of whom started. Joey Corr was chosen as an All-Star for the first time, and the television commentators noted that no one was more excited to be part of the game than him. Alex Rodriguez was the starting shortstop for the American League. Ken Griffey Jr. was a starting center fielder. Edgar Martinez was the starting DH and Randy Johnson was chosen as the league's starting pitcher. Junior took part in the home run derby for the first time since 1994 when he won the event. He had to miss the prior two due to injuries despite being elected to the All-Star team both seasons. He did not put on much of a show this time and was eliminated after round one. Former Mariner Tino Martinez won the contest at Jacobs Field.

As for the actual All-Star game, in his first at-bat, Edgar Martinez hit a towering home run down the left field line off arguably the best pitcher in the game at that time, Greg Maddox. Alex went one for three, junior went 0 for four, and Cora went to bat once after pinch running for Calerican Jr., but did not collect a hit. Randy Johnson pitched two innings, walked one and struck out too. One of the more memorable moments was his at-bat against Larry Walker. Earlier in the season when the Rockies were in town to face the M's, Larry Walker sat out the game that Randy Johnson started and took some flack for it. Prior to Walker's at bat against Johnson the All-Star game, the television coverage had just shown a clip from the 1993 All-Star game

in which Randy Johnson threw the ball over John Crux Head. Immediately after cutting back to live action for the first pitch of Walker's at bat, Randy Johnson did the exact same thing. Only this time Walker removed his batting helmet, walked across the plate to the right-handed batters box, put his helmet on backward, and proceeded to set up as a right-handed hitter. Johnson then facetiously went to the Rosenbag with a grin on his face. Walker took one pitch as a righty, then went back to hitting lefty,

where he drew the lone walk that Johnson would give up. It was a priceless moment in the Midsummer Classic. The American League won 3 to 1. In addition, this was the first time that the All-Star Game MVP played for the host team, with Sandy Alamar Jr. of the Cleveland Indians taking home the prize. Not only that, but his brother Roberto would win the All-Star Game MVP the following year in Cores Field. Back to the regular season where the M's played 500 ball for the couple weeks following the break. Alvaro Espinoza, who had started shortstop for most of Alex Rodriguez's time on the disabled list,

was released on July 14th. At 35 years old, he had clearly lost a step or two. His range was not what used to be, his hands also not what they once were, and he was never much of an offensive threat. At the time of his release, he was hitting 181. With pitching also continuing to be a problem, General Manager Woody Woodward sought to make a few deals to bolster the staff. The first of these deals occurred after the game on July 18th. The Mariners sent the unproductive and disappointing Scott Sanders to the Detroit Tigers, along with two minor league pitchers for Omar Olivares and Felipe. Lera. Oliverus arrived prior to the next game on July 19th, and even though he was headed for

the rotation, Lou Panella threw him into the game in relief. He faced two batters and walked them both. This game also happened to be turned back the clock night. Because of the special uniforms ordered, Oliverus's uniform was slapped together at the last minute. He wore an adjustable ball cap for the game since he and Sanders did not have the same hat size. He also wore a jersey meant for Scott, complete with Sanders' number 27, but with Oliverus's name, which was clearly too large for him. Although in fairness, none of the jerseys seemed to fit too well, Dave Nehouse noted on the TV broadcast that Mike Blowers looked as if he were wearing pajamas, stating that he, quote, looks like he's ready to go nighty night, end quote. One more note, the starting picture

for the Royals that day was Glendon Rush from Shoreline, my old hometown. Rush and I both attended Shorecrest High School. At different times, obviously. The M's lost this game after Bobby Ayala came in and blew it. On July 23rd, the M's won their first of five in a row, but followed that string with four losses in a row. Two more trades were executed at the deadline on July 31st. Those who know what I'm going to talk about next may want to have a bucket handy in which to puke. The first trade occurred while the Mariners were playing the Brewers in Milwaukee. Desperate for bullpen help, newly minted left field or Jose Cruz Jr. was traded to the

Toronto Blue Jays for relief pitchers Paul Spall Jerrick and Mike Timlin. The trade was finalized while Cruz was on deck in the top of the fifth inning. He was called back to the dugout and told he was traded. Rob Deucey pinch hit for him. Later that day, possibly the worst trade in Mariners history took place. For my money, it's worse than the Eric Bedard trade. The Mariners acquired Heathcliff Slocom from the Boston Red Sox for young pitcher Derek Low and minor league catcher Jason Veritech. Slocum was supposed to anchor the bullpen with Norm

Charlton having a very bad season and the inconsistent and excitable Bobby Ayala better suited for a setup role. None of these three relievers pitched all that well down the stretch, with Timlin being the best of the bunch, and none of the three would be a mariner be on 1998. The return on investment for these two trades was not nearly what it needed to be, considering the level of prospects given up. And while Cruz didn't develop into the hitter everyone thought he would, he was a very good defender and had a pretty long Major League career. Lo and Veritech wound up being key members of the Boston Red Sox for years to come,

both having a part in the team ending the Curse of the Bambino in 2004. Alveris and Lira didn't exactly impress in their appearances as well, and Alvarez was allowed to walk as a free agent after the season. Going into August, the M's had a precious half-game lead over the Angels, but Texas had fallen into a tailspin and were nine and a half games out and below 500 at 50 and 56. Despite the moving pieces and fresh arms, the M's remained inconsistent through August. For July and August combined, they went 28 and 28, exactly at 500. The M's had a void to fill in left field, which they did on August 20th,

acquiring Roberto Kelly from the Minnesota Twins for two minor league players to be named later. Kelly hit pretty well down the stretch, compiling a 298-328-3-29-slash line in 30 games from the number two spot in the lineup. The Angels had been keeping pace with the M's and September began with the Mariners holding on to a precarious one-game lead. And while Anaheim began September on a five-game slide, the Mariners began the month playing well, winning four of their first five games. They played well through most of the month and clinched the Western Division tied. at the Kingdom on Tuesday, September 23rd, and a 4-3 victory over those angels. Heathcliff's Slocom struck out Jack Howell to end the game,

and Dave Nehouse declared, Let the party begin! There would unfortunately be very little partying after that game, as the Ams won just one more contest in their final four ball games, and would then lose the division series to the Baltimore Orioles three games to one, getting shelled in the first two games at the kingdom with identical 9 to 3 scores. 1997 certainly was disappointing.

With better pitching, particularly in middle relief and the back end of the bullpen, this team could have gone so much further. The offense was historically good, and Joey Cora and Russ Davis had career years at the plate. And while the defense was not that great either, the downfall certainly was pitching, the back end of the rotation, and pretty much the entire bullpen. Please remember to download. rate and subscribe to this program on Google Podcast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio,

or whichever podcasting app that you care to use. Follow the show on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. Follow me on Twitter at D.C. underscore Lundberg. We will be back on Monday with a look back at the 2002 season, Lou Pinellas' final year with the Mariners. Wednesday will speak about the unforgettable 1995 season, saving the best for last. And on Friday, John Miller will join me to talk about Lou Panella's 10-year in Seattle and discuss some of her favorite memories and key moments from that time period.

Until then, have a great weekend, ladies and gentlemen. This is Joey Martin saying that we'll be back on Monday for another edition of Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on MLB upon the conclusion of this program.