Seattle Mariners: Two Days Until Opening Day

Mar 23, 2014; Peoria, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (22) signs autographs before a game against the Oakland Athletics at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, get ready. Because in only two short days we will have regular-season Seattle Mariners baseball. That’s right, Opening Day is just two days away.

To celebrate, we having been counting down the most popular Mariners to wear the uniform numbers 9 through 1. Yesterday, you overwhelmingly voted Mike Zunino over Alex Rodriguez as the most popular #3.

Not sure if that was mostly driven by Zunino’s popularity or the hate for A-Rod. Either way, congrats to Mikey Z.

Here are today’s nominees for the #2.

Julio Cruz– The first 2. The “Cruzer” had the all-time Mariner record for steals up until 2008 when he was passed by Ichiro. Julio Cruz was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on September 15, 2004, in a pregame on the field ceremony at Safeco.

Bobby Valentine– Played his final season in his only season as a Seattle Mariner (1979). He retired after that season – at the age of 29 – and went into coaching. Playing for the M’s made him want to quit playing baseball? It WAS a bad team.

Randy Winn– Winn patrolled the outfield in Seattle for two and a half seasons with a #2 on his back. In that time he sported a .287/.345/.417 slash line.

Kenji Johjima– The Mariners tried to strike gold in Japan again by bringing in the popular and talented catcher Johjima. In his rookie year, he batted .291 with 18 HR and finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year balloting.

So there you have it. Tough choices today. Should be an interesting one to watch. Be sure to check back tomorrow with the winner and a look at the most popular #1. That means it’s only one day until Opening Day.