Seattle Once Upon a Time

Dave Niehaus, long-time Seattle Mariners radio announcer created the A-Rod moniker. He was also the originator of the Big Unit tag for Randy Johnson, which he later regretted. He tried to shift to RJ, but the locals wouldn't have any of that.

Those were the heydays for the Mariners. They had Junior, Edgar, Bones, The Unit, A-Rod, and the bonus of being managed by Sweet Lou (Piniella). Pitching never got them all the way to the World Series, but they did manage to eliminate the Yankees once.

One of my favorite footnotes to the mid 90"s Mariners was the acquisition of closer Heathcliff Slocum, from the Boston Red Sox. The Mariners traded Jason Varitec and Derek Lowe for Slocum. One of the best or worst trades ever, depending on your allegiance. Boston fans referred to him as Heart Attack. He saved 13 games for the Mariners over 1 1/2 seasons, with a statistical WL record of 2-9. He generally put the first batter on base in relief, which was not a good pattern for a closer. He was big and intimidating. Lots of heat, as they say.

My wife, who keeps unofficial track of such things, named him one of the biggest butts in baseball (1997), on the Kirby Puckett gold standard. One might argue that Tony Gwynn or Rick Garces (El Guapo) both were sitting on that title. Heathcliff's career sadly ended 2 years after his stint with the Mariners with a line drive to the groin while pitching for the Padres. He lost a ball in the play. Off Base hopes he's happily retired in his native Jamaica.