The Tale of Ex-Mariners

Every team has players who you think, “Darn, we let him get away?!” But for a team who’s struggled mightily for a long time, it makes you wonder about the multiple players who come to Seattle and do either okay or poorly. Or the players who start out as Mariners, have a brief cup of coffee, and then blossom after being traded.

Is it a coincidence or is there something in the Emerald City water that prevents players from doing well here? The following are ex-Mariners who played well just one season after departing the team (since Bavasi was the general manager).

Carlos Guillen

His last year as a Mariner was shortened due to injuries and he never became the full-time shortstop the team thought he’d be. His first year as a Tiger, he became a first-time All-Star and posted career highs in homers, runs batted in, and slugging.

Scott Spiezio

Spiezio’s last year as a Mariner was horrible, to say the least. In just 29 games, he had one homer and RBI to show for it with a .064 average! The next season as a Cardinal, he returned to form with a .272 batting average. He also became a fan favorite en route to his second career World Series title. Oh yeah, he was such a favorite that Cardinals fans began to wear fake red beards to games.

Gil Meche 

Meche’s Mariner tenure went downhill after winning the AL’s Comeback Player award. In his first year of a multi-year Royals contract, his 3.67 ERA was a career-low and he tied a career high in strikeouts. Just like Carlos, Meche was also a first-time All-Star right after leaving Seattle.

Adam Jones

If the M’s had waited for Adam Jones out longer, he could have made a big difference. But management didn’t and in his first year away, Baltimore’s new stud played 132 games after never breaking 50 in his first two Mariner seasons. In the first season where someone gave him a chance, he posted over 100 hits with almost 60 RBI’s and a slash of .270/.311/.400. Rest in peace, Adam’s cup of coffee with the M’s.

George Sherrill

For the record, George Sherrill wasn’t too shabby as a Mariner. Ironically, his ERA during his last Mariner season was roughly half what it was during his first Orioles season. But as a Mariner, he was never an All-Star with 31 saves and a career high in strikeouts. Insult to injury, five of his saves were against the Mariners in 2008.

Adrian Beltre 

Yo Adrian, where were you? Beltre was good but not great as a Mariner. He took off after leaving for Boston via free agency. Just like the previous pattern, another ex-Mariner became a first-time All-Star. His 2010 was something special as he hit a career-high 49 doubles. He also did something he never did in his five seasons here, a .300+ average and over 100 RBI’s.

Casey Kotchman

In his lone Mariner season, Casey never exceeded a .220 average and was essentially replaced by Russell Branyan in a midseason trade. And he was our Opening Day cleanup hitter in 2010! His 2011 in Tampa was a stark improvement from anything he did here. He finished with career highs in hits and batting average, 153 and .306 respectively.

Michael Saunders* 

The Condor gets an asterisk since his first official year out of Seattle saw only nine games due to injury (2015). But once Toronto fans saw more of him in 2016, he had a solid first half en route to career highs in games played, doubles, homers, and free passes. And you guessed it. Another ex-Mariner became an All-Star right after leaving the team!