Mariners Analysis: Have A (Birth)day

Birthdays are always special, but some of these Mariners made their big day even more memorable.

May 10th might not be any of the current Mariners birthdays, but it is mine, as well as former Mariners Matt Tuiasosopo and John Cummings. In celebration of the day, I’m feeling nostalgic and taking a look back at the top-5 best performances- based on stats, clutch-factor and flair- by a Seattle Mariner on their birthday. I remember one of the best performances I saw when I was became a Mariner fan back in 2001 after switching my support from the Yankees. It was my friends birthday and we were watching the Yankees play the Mariners two weeks before my tenth birthday. The M’s had been losing 5-3 heading into the 7th, poised for a comeback.

Tom Lampkin tied it up with a 2-run shot in the 7th, and in the 8th and 9th John Olerud and Ichiro Susuki respectively hit RBI singles to give the team a 7-5 lead to win the game. It was great to see young stars and journeyman help the team beat the mighty Yanks. I was able to see how good a team could be without having to spend so much money and get big name players; I began to admire the way a baseball team should be crafted. It was only by pure luck that my first viewings of the M’s happened to be their record-tying year, but it sure did make me a fan for life.

For the five men on this list, whatever position(s) they played for the M’s during their stint, I am grateful to be a Mariner fan and also grateful they stepped up to the plate and delivered in a Mariner uniform instead of their birthday suit.

Next: McLemore's Birthday Performance Plays Role in Historic Season

#5 Mark McLemore’s Birthday Performance Plays Role in Historic Season (10/4/01)

The 2001 Mariner season was one for the record books. Tying the MLB record for most wins in a single season (116) with the 1906 Chicago Cubs, this Seattle Mariners squad was poised for greatness. What made this team so unbeatable, outside of the usual suspects, Edgar Martinez, Bret Boone and rookie, Ichiro Suzuki, the other guys in the clubhouse stepped up on various nights; tonight it was Mark McLemore.

From the onset, the whole team pounded away at Rangers starter, Aaron Myette, tallying 3 doubles and 2 walks in the bottom of the 1st; the 2 latter doubles were both 2-run hits that broke the game open 4-0. Later in the inning, the team’s 4th double in the 2nd by John Olerud brought the score to 6-0.

Ex-Mariner, Alex Rodriguez was the only spark in an otherwise lifeless opposition. His home run in the 3rd would be all the Rangers could muster against this unstoppable force that was the 01’ Mariners.

McLemore got in on the action in the bottom half of the 3rd with an RBI single. Then in the 4th he would make it 11-1, following the team’s 5th double earlier in the frame off the bat of Tom Lampkin. Several more hits later in the game, including another double, an Edgar Martinez homer and a RBI single that scored McLemore topped the rout off at 16-1, making McLemore a very happy birthday boy. His 3-6 day with a double, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored was the type of the performance the Mariners were used to from role players during the magical run of 01’.

Next: Clark Pitches A Birthday Beauty

#3 Raul Ibanez Does It All (6/2/06)

Raul Ibanez had an impressive 11-year scattered career with the Mariners, but he failed to shine on his special day until he turned 34. On his first breakout birthday, Ibanez managed to do a little bit of everything, pushing the Mariners to a rare shutout win in the 2006 season.

In an early June affair between the Kansas City Royals and the Mariners, Ibanez, the ex-Royal, didn’t wait long to showcase his value on a day the candles would shine a little brighter on his cake. In the second inning Ibanez treated the home fans to a piece of great hitting as he wrecked a long double to left field. The team couldn’t get him home, eventually stranding Ibanez at third base, but that first big hit set the tone for what would be one of the best Raul Ibanez birthday shows of his career.

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In the fourth the New York native displayed his patience and control on a day where most players admittedly feel especially jittery. This time when he dug in to face Royal pitcher, Bobby Keppel, he took advantage of his first 6-pitch at bat, and forced a walk on yet another half-dozen of throws. Although he was stranded again by innings-end, his pitch count against Keppel and the Royals was rising, allowing him to see the ball more fluidly, making it easier to read pitches and thus, be able to hit the ball. We would see the impact of his aging-wisdom when in the 7th Ibanez would make his loudest statement of the night.

Through the first 6 innings the game had been a fairly uneventful stalemate. At 0-0, something had to give, and when Jose Lopez came to bat, it finally did. A home run on the first pitch after the 7th-inning stretch put the Mariners in front with Ibanez coming to the plate to follow him. In one of the best “whatever you can do, I can do better” acts, Ibanez blasted the first pitch he saw (the 13th of the game) to complete the back-to-back home runs to pad the Mariner lead to 2-0. Ibanez was now 2-2 with a solo home run and a walk.

In the 9th Ibanez had another chance to follow Lopez who had just brought in 2 more runs on a double of his own, but could not capitalize. He did manage to bring the count to 3-2 for the 3rd time of the night, finishing with having seen 19 tosses, but this time he lined out to center field to end his birthday bash. More importantly, the Mariners won, although it wouldn’t make an impact on the teams playoff hopes, but Ibanez being the team player he is, was surly satisfied that he tried everything he could to put his team on the winning side.

Next: Coleman Has A Grand Celebration

#2 Vince Coleman Has A Grand Celebration (9/22/95)

It wasn’t until 1991 (my birth year) that the Mariners had their first 80+ win season and it was 4 years later, in 1995, that the Mariners made their first playoff appearance. Vince Coleman’s game-deciding grand slam on his birthday was vital to keeping the M’s in the hunt for the final spot in the American League Division Series. When it was all said and done, it was only one game that separated the Mariners from elimination, none bigger than the day Coleman hit his grand slam.

This was not just a match-up that was deciding the Mariners post-season fate but had added intensity because it was an inter-division grudge match with Mark McGwire, Rickey Henderson and the Oakland Athletics. Those big names took advantage of a poor start by Mariner starter, Tim Belcher, who allowed a 3-RBI double to Henderson in the top of the 3rd followed by a 2-run homer by McGwire in the 4th to put the Mariners in a 5-0 hole. Another run was added later in the inning but the big names put up devastating numbers that should have won the game and demoralized the Mariners ending the their playoff hopes right there. But the spirit of this squad is what propelled them into those wondrous comebacks and later, to the all-important mid-October games.

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Ken Griffey Jr. started a rally for the Mariners in the next inning with a solo dinger that was crushed deep into the night. A Mike Blowers double brought home the Mariners 2nd run in the home-half of the 4th, but this was all just the appetizer for what was about to be served up.

With Blowers on 2nd, Luis Sojo stepped to the plate and strategically forced a base on balls after seeing 8 pitches. A week single from the 9-spot in the order from Mariner great, Dan Wilson loaded the bases for Coleman who was looking to become the only Mariner to hit a grand slam on his birthday, not to mention one of the rare times in baseball a grand slam was hit by the lead-off batter.

A first pitch ball from A’s pitcher Todd Van Poppel set the tone for the next pitch, as he did not want to fall too far behind in the count with no place to put Coleman. The next pitch was placed right in the wheelhouse of the former Rookie of the Year speedster, who connected with similar accuracy to Griffey Jr. and deposited the ball several rows deep, tying the game up and capping off the improbable 6-0 comeback.

Coleman’s heroics were invaluable, but unfortunately the Mariners were not out of the woods yet. After a lull in the action for a few innings, the A’s regained the lead with a single in the 7th- Henderson was the run that scored. The must-be-hall-of-famer, Edgar Martinez again tied the back-and-forth affair with a solo blast of his own in the 8th before another unlikely hero, pinch hitter Alex Diaz, hit a 3-run knock to ultimately put the Mariners ahead for good- it would be one of Diaz’s 8 career long balls in as many years.

The game ended at 10-7, and while Diaz’s dinger put the M’s ahead to finish the game, it was the 4-RBI grand slam that made the biggest difference in this heated home match that was witnessed by over 51,000 fans (3rd most all season). Coleman, sadly would not have another momentous moment like this the rest of his playing days, but in the late September battle he was able to produce his most memorable- and one of the clubs special moments on his birthday.

Next: Phelps is The Ultimate Birthday Boy

#1 Ken Phelps The Ultimate Birthday Boy (8/6/87)

The 1987 season was not one of the most memorable seasons in franchise history, not by a long shot. That is of course unless you ask Ken Phelps, the Mariners first basemen/designated hitter. That was his most prolific year, in an otherwise underwhelming year for the budding Seattle franchise. Most impressive about his standout outing was that even in his best year as a pro, this was arguably one of his best games, and it happened on his birthday.

Through the first 4 innings the game moved back and forth between the California Angels and Mariners, and in the 3rd Phelps knocked the 1st of his 2 doubles on the night. He would have scored later in that inning but he was thrown out at home plate. His next at bat in the 5th he got that 2nd double, this time scoring 2 runs, breaking the game open now to 7-3. In the 6th, Phelps and the Mariners continued their scorching extra-base hit frenzy with 3 runs in the inning -a single shy of the team cycle- including Phelps’ personal 3rd hit, this time in the form of a triple (his only one that season).

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Phelps made sure to continue his stellar birthday spectacular when he drew a walk and later scored in the bottom of the 8th off a Rey Quinones single. That would be Phelps’ last plate appearance of the game he wishes would’ve never ended. His final stat-sheet read like such: 3-4, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 RBI and a walk. In the 29 years of Mariner birthday baseball since Phelps put a clinic, no Mariner has been able to dethrone his most incredible birthday showcase.