Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Who Are the Greatest Mariners Pitchers of All Time?

Episode Date: March 9, 2020

This week on the show, D.C. Lundberg and Locked On Mariners contributor Jonathan Miller will discuss the top all-time best Mariners at each position. The series kicks of with the duo talking about the greatest M's ever to toe the rubber. (Which means they're talking about pitchers.) 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. Yes, we're back. That sure was an interesting way to spend Friday. Let's hope that doesn't happen again. You don't know what I'm talking about. Anyways, this is Locked-on Mariners, and I am D.C. Lundbert.

Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program on Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or any podcasting app that you can think of. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariner's podcast or any of the other wonderful programs here on the Locked-on Podcast Network. Follow this show on Twitter at L-O-O-U-N-R-N-R-R-G, if you are scoring at home. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have a special series of shows coming to you this week. We're going to discuss the all-time top Mariners at each position. Today we'll talk about the pitchers. First half will be starters, second half will be relievers,

essentially closers. And joining me all this week is Locked-on Mariners contributor, Jonathan Miller. John, that only took four takes. That's not bad for you. It's good to be here, D.C. If people at home only realize how much BS I had to edit out from my mumbling and stumbling, they'd be completely surprised.

In any case, John, thank you for joining us here this week. We appreciate it. It's pleasure. Yes, indeed. And like I said, every day we're going to talk about the top mariners at each position. There's ordinarily going to be the top three at each position, but since there are so many starting pitches to go through, we're going to do five.

John and I have each come up with a list of our top five Mariners starting pitchers of all time. We're going to read them, kind of back it up with some statistics, and talk about it. And I don't know how much we're going to argue because our lists are vaguely similar to one another's, but it's certainly something to get you talking about it at home. And if you have any thing to add, please email me at Longer, on Mariners at gmail.com and i'll read them next week because these are all pre-recorded we'll be done with these by tuesday in any case we'll start with starting pitchers my number one

starting pitcher uh and between one and two for me it was something of a coin toss i mean either one of these is a great number one choice but i chose felix as my top starter he's not only started the most games in Mariners history, 418 of them. He shares the mantle for top ERA. Four pitchers have a 342 ERA, and he's one of them. His whip is 1.206. The strikeouts per 9 is 8.3, which I'm not real keen on strikeouts, but for a power pitcher, he doesn't, he didn't walk very many people. 2.7 walks per 9 innings is very good for a power pitcher, less than a home run per 9. and if you throw out his last three seasons where he was mediocre or worse, his ERA not only improves the 316,

all of his other numbers improve as well. My number two starter was Randy Johnson, and like I said, he very easily could have budd my number one. It was kind of a coin toss. He also has that same 342 ERA in 274 starts. The whip is a little higher at 1.250. He did not give up as many hits, 6.9. 4.3 walks per nine innings.

but if you subtract 1990 through 1992 in which he walked almost six per nine innings the rest of his time with the Mariners, it's 3.3. 1993, he flipped a switch, he found his control and just went off into orbit. 10.6 strikeouts for 19 is huge, also less than a home run per nine innings. My number three starter is Jamie Moyer

with 323 games started. 397 ERA. The whip was a little higher than I thought it was going to be for him. It's 1.254, exactly nine hits per nine innings. That's exactly a hit and inning. 2.3 walks per nine. 5.3 strikeouts per nine. He was not a strikeout pitcher.

And he gave up over a home run, 1.1 home runs per nine. But he allowed 44 of them in 2004. So if you subtract that, then I'm pretty sure that number goes below a home run per nine. My number four started, and this is where it kind of got, now, who do you pick and choose?

But my number four guy is Hissashi-Owakama. 136 starts. That very same 342 ERA. Get this whip gang. 1.143. That's amazing. 8.4 hits per nine innings. 1.9 walks per nine innings.

Less than two walks per nine innings is amazing. Very, very good numbers. And then my number five starter is Eric Hanson. And I'm going to get crap for this, I think. But Eric Hanson's my fifth guy, 143 starts. He has a 369 ERA. Whip is sort of high, but not real high, 1.276, 2.7 walks per nine innings. He had 6.9 strikeouts per nine, which surprised me, and a quarter of a home run per 9.

0.7 home runs per nine innings. Before I get to my honorable mentions, John, would you please share your list of our top five starters in Mariners history? Certainly. My number one starting pitcher is Randy Johnson. D.C. just read off his stats very well. and like he said, it could very well be the flip of a coin for him or Felix Hernandez, who I had at number two. The thing that separated the two is that Randy Johnson's strikeouts per nine innings was so much more than Felix's.

Another thing that separated them, which actually goes in favor of your list instead of mine, Randy Johnson had 19 shutouts where Felix Hernandez had 11. Good point. Yep, so I just supported your list rather than mine, but that's okay. Yeah, I'm fine with that. So then I had Felix Hernandez at number two. We both had Jamie Moyer at number three, and then from there is where we differ. I had Freddie Garcia at number four, with 169 games started for the Seattle Mariners.

He won 76, he lost 50. He had that ERA, which still pretty decent at 3.89. His whip was a 1.30, which is better than most for the Mariners, but he doesn't quite reach Iwakama. Right. I'm surprised that O'Wakaba holds the record, quite honestly. That's very impressive. Yes.

And then at number five, and I think it was purely just his win total that put him there, I have Mark Langston. He in 173 games started for the Mariners. He went 74 and 67, whereas Iwakama had 63 wins. Yeah. And 39 losses.

so I could certainly see where you could have Waucoma in your top five, and that's where Waukema also has that 3.42 ERA, whereas Langston had over a 4-ERA. But barely over 4. 401. Yes, 4-1, thank you. And his whip was actually even higher than anybody else. Yeah, but 1.372, according to the numbers I have. Langston did make my honorable mentions.

he did pitch for the Mariners for a while, 173 starts, which is certainly more than most. And his numbers after he reached the Angels actually were a bit better than they were with the Mariners. I had Freddie Garcia. I was debating between Garcia and Hansen for number five. Garcia just barely missed for me.

Their numbers are very, very similar, but Hanson was just slightly better in most categories. The ERA was a difference of only 20 points. Hanson has a 369 ERA, Freddie Garcia at 3-8-9. The whip was slightly better in Hansen's favor. The walks per 9 inning were also slightly better in Hanson's favor. So were the home runs for 9.

However, Garcia certainly could, a very, very good choice for a top 5 mariner starting pitcher of all time. His best career numbers came as a mariner. The other players that I had, the two other players that I were considering, was a recent one, James Paxton. And the only reason he missed my top five is because he pitched maybe slightly too few mini-games. 102 starts. He also seemed to be injured all the time, which limited that start total, but he also has that

342 ERA, a very good whip at 1.187, 2.6 walks per nine innings, which again is low for a power pitcher, which Paxton was, and still is, of course, 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. And the other guy I had was before my time. He pitched for the Mariners before I was born. but Floyd Bannister in 117 starts, he accumulated a 375 ERA for the Mariners, a 1.286 whip, 6.6 dragouts per nine innings, 2.9 walks, which is very respectable, 8.6 hits per 9, and just over a home run for 9. And again, his best career numbers came as a Seattle Mariner. John, are there any other pitchers you want to mention?

I had, as my honorable mention, Iwakuma. and then of course the much revered Ryan Franklin. No, I'm joking about Franklin. Okay. I was going to say he wasn't even on my radar. Anyways, thank you for that, John. We're going to take a break of this time, but not before getting to the Mariners trivia question.

We're going to kind of theme each trivia question with the position of groups that we're talking about today. Obviously, this is a pitching question, and it is, who has pitched the most games as a Seattle Mariner? I'm sure John and I are both well aware of this since we went over a bunch of pitching numbers, but we'll tell you at home who it is right after the break. And if you've got a question for me or a comment on the show, please email it to Locked-on Mariners at gmail.com,

and I'll consider using it for the Friday mailbag segment. I get a very long email from a gentleman named Joe, sent me a bunch of questions, listens to every show. Thank you for doing that. We will get to some of those questions on Friday. Locked-on Mariners will continue as soon as John and I are damned good and ready. Welcome back to Locked-on Mariners. Once again, your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you once again, J.M. for leading us back into the second half of Locked-on Mariners.

The trivia question, who has pitched the most games as a Seattle Mariner? The answer, believe it or not, is Jeff Nelson with 439 games. Second is Felix at 419. 418 of those are starts. John, do you have any idea who number three might be? It's a reliever. I'll give you that hint. My first thought is the sheriff or the bartender, Norm Charlton and Tom Wilhelmson for those who don't know. I, could it be Arthur Rhodes? Arthur Rhodes is number five. That's close.

Number three is actually Mike Jackson. Wow. I would have never guessed that in a million years of 335 games pitched as a Seattle Mariner. Four was Jamie Moyer. Five is Arthur Rhodes. J.J. Puts 6. Tom Will Helms is number 7. Charlton's outside the top 10, which also surprised me.

But guess what? Speaking of relief pitchers, it's time to talk about our three top relief pictures in Seattle Mariners history. In some ways, this was easier for me just because there were so few good relief pictures that the Mariners have had over the years. But in some ways, it was harder just because the Mariners could never seem to figure out just who the heck they wanted to close. So it was hard to find somebody who had any sort of tenure as a Seattle Mariner. John, did you run into that problem, too?

I definitely ran into that problem. And as it turns out, John, John's list and my own are very, very similar. John, I'll let you go first this time since I took the top spot in the first half. So, who are your top three Seattle Mariners relievers slash closers? We're really

talking about closers of all time. Yeah, it's really difficult to find a good reliever that doesn't end up being a closer. It is. So at my top spot, I had Kazahiro Sasaki in 228 games for the Mariners. He had 129 saves in 151 opportunities.

He struck out 242 in 23 in the third innings and only walked 77. So that means his whip was 1.08. That's a tremendous whip. What I remember about Sasaki is that forkball. Yes. I loved watching that thing. Just dive out of the strike zone. here's a wave on top of it.

Number two on my list. I had number two on the single season save list, Edwin Diaz, who in his brief time with the Mariners was really a shining star, and we looked forward to him coming into ball games. In his 188 games in three seasons, he had 109 saves and 121 opportunities with a 2.64 ERA. he struck out 301 and walked only 64. His whip was 1.02.

It's amazing. And coming in number three on my list, I had JJ Putz, who is one of the few guys who actually has a win-loss percentage over 500. Which is not something you ordinarily want out of a closer. You want him saving games, not winning them. And he did that, too. It's odd that in 380s. games as Seattle Mariner, he was 22 and 15. That's really surprised me when I saw that.

He had a 3.07 ERA, 101 saves in 125 save opportunities. He struck out 337 in 323 innings, only walked 104. His whip was 1.16. Very, very good stats, as you just said. And my top three are very, very similar to years. I switched to the last two. Sassauki. is my number one. You mentioned it. 203 games finished 3-1-4 era. You mentioned all the numbers, so I'm not going to bother going over them again. I had puts at number two, basically for the same reasons you said, and I had Diaz number three. Diaz has a little bit of an asterisk for me, though, in that he would have been higher if his tenure would have been longer, because the strikeouts and the walks that you mentioned, that averages 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings. That is

absolutely astronomical. And that's three walks per nine. innings, and especially the 2018 season where he saved those 57 games, his control was just pinpoint. It was beautiful to watch. And I know the Mariners wound up trading him to the Mets after that season as part of the Robinson, you know, get rid of Robinson Canoe deal. And he has struggled so far in New York. And I really think that that has to do with just the change of scenery. And I do believe that if he would have remained a Mariner, you know, if not for last season and and season's future. He very may have been number one on my list.

But we'll get to the honorable mentions now at this time, and John, who would you like to honorably mention? My honorable mentions are, first of all, Mike Schuller, who just barely missed out in 243 games with the Seattle

Mariners. He had 98 saves in 123 opportunities. In 267 in the third innings, he struck out 232, walked 93, his whip was 1.29. And I will say that if his last season as a mariner, I believe, was 1992. He pitched on some horrible Seattle Mariners teams. He certainly would have had more save opportunities had the Mariners not been so mediocre.

Definitely. Who else did you have? Also, it's a toss-up here. I kind of have a tie for my second honorable mention between the DA, David Ardzma, and the bartender, Wilhelmson. Oh, okay. Because their saves are so close. Yep. And ERAs are a lot lower than, well, one whole point lower than Norm Charlton. Yeah. Ardzma in 126 games for the Mariners had 69 saves and 78 opportunities.

He had a 2.90 ERA. In 121 innings, he had 129 strikeouts and only walked 59. Yeah. With a 1.17 whip. And he was only a mariner for two seasons. That's pretty good to do that in two seasons. But that goes back to the Mariners not knowing who they want their closer to be because of his tenure any longer, he very well, he very could have well made my top three because he was very good in the two seasons he was here.

Our honorable mentions are also very similar. I was going to talk about schooler, you've done that. I was going to talk about Arsma. You've done that. I was just going to talk about Norm Charlton not for his overall career as a mariner because it was up and down. His 1993 as a mariner certainly was pretty good until he got injured. And then when he came over from the Phillies in 1995 when they needed a closer,

he was absolutely just lights out. He had a 151 ERA in his 30 games as a mariner. 1996 was okay. He was kind of in a timeshare at closer with Mike Jackson. And then 1997, he just completely fell off the map. and then he came back for one last hurrah, as it were, in 2001, where he was a pretty effective middle reliever. And the other person I was going to mention was Mike Jackson,

who I liked watching him pitch. I remember him for his 1996 stint more than his original stint. But as a mariner, he appeared in 335 games. He finished 142 of them. His whip was around 1.24. He was an effective, more or less, set up man. But I remember him in that time share. as Closer with Norm Charlton, 1996, which was pretty effective that season.

I remember that, too. He was fun to watch. I think we're over our time. We've got to wrap this up, unfortunately. John, thank you very much for joining us today. We will hear from you tomorrow. But in the meantime, where can people find you on Twitter? You can find me on Twitter at Seattle Pilot 69. Thank you very much. Again, we will talk to you tomorrow. And ladies and gentlemen, we will talk to you tomorrow as well, where we talk about the top three Mariners' first baseman and third baseman of all time.

Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to Locked-on Mariners on Google Podcast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, any podcasting app, and you can imagine, ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariner's podcast. Follow the show on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. Follow me on Twitter at D.C. underscore Lundberg. That'll wrap up the show for today. Tell your smart device to play Locked-on MLB at the conclusion. of this program. Ladies and gentlemen, have a great day. This is Joey Martin, letting you know that we'll be back tomorrow for another edition of Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.