Seattle Mariners: Eight Days Until Opening Day

Sep 13, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter

(8) hits a single off of St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher

(not pictured) during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. St. Louis defeated Seattle 2-1 in 10 innings. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning Mariners fans! We are now only eight days away from regular-season Mariners baseball. Yesterday, we started a countdown to Opening Day by looking at who would be the most popular Mariner to wear the #9. Today, we look at the #8.

But first, the results of yesterday’s vote.

By a margin of one vote, the winner is:

ENDY CHAVEZ

Chavez beat out Luis Sojo by one vote and Ruppert Jones by two votes. The people have spoken. Now who will you pick? Here are the nominees:

Rich Amaral: The longest tenured Mariner to wear the number eight, he wore it for eight seasons in Seattle.

Kendrys Morales: The most recent wearer of the number. Will he wear it again for the Mariners in 2014? Some people hope not.

Carlos Guillen: One of the pieces the Mariners got in the trade that sent Randy Johnson packing. He was then traded to the Tigers a few years later for two players you’ve never heard of. Guillen became a 3-time All-Star with the Tigers.

Jeremy Reed: Also wore #7 and #58, but for three years with Seattle, he patrolled centerfield – and the bench – with a #8 on his back.

Miguel Olivo: The veteran journeyman catcher wore three different numbers in four seasons with Seattle. But while wearing #8, he had the lowest batting average of his career (.151).

There you go. Voting is open now until 6 AM tomorrow. Tune in to find out who the greatest #7 in Mariners history is as we continue our countdown to Opening Day. My oh my!