Seattle Mariners “Name that Player”: Can you guess these players?

The start of the Mariners season is nowhere in sight. The lack of games, news, and rumors has really been a pain to deal with. So welcome to Mariners Trivia Night.

The game is pretty simple. I’ll describe a player and you guess which of the Mariners I am describing. What do you win if you guess right? Pride will have to do I suppose. Keep in mind that I won’t be focused solely on the current Mariners players. I’ll go through the franchise’s history and select a random contributor, be it as a player, coach, manager, or broadcaster. The answers will be at the end of the quiz. So, let’s get started!

Player 1

I appeared in 142 games for the Seattle Mariners but spent most of my career in the National League. I was an 8th round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 1985 but never appeared in a game for Atlanta. While I never made an All-Star team, I did finish in the Top 5 of the 1993 NL Rookie of the Year Award.

I finished my 11-year career with a .276/.339/.444 slash line and 132 home runs in addition to 173 stolen bases. My time in Seattle was short, but I did see a lot of team success in my stay. I was acquired at the 2000 trade deadline when Pat Gillick shipped John Mabry and Tom Davey to the Padres to play left field. Who am I?

Player 2

I am a Washington native, born in Yakima Washington where I attended Eisenhower High School. I spent 5 seasons with the Mariners, working primarily out of the bullpen, though I did make 21 starts for Seattle, the only 21 I’d make in my entire career.

I did get to play in 3 playoff series with the Mariners, which is more than could be said for Ichiro Suzuki and Felix Hernandez. A year after leaving Seattle, I led the American League in appearances, finding myself pitching in 76 games. Who am I?

Player 3

I am a 6’5″ pitcher who was drafted 3 times by 3 different teams. I finally signed with the Mariners as a sixth-round pick in the 1999 MLB Draft. Over the course of my big league career, I racked up 189 saves, including 101 wearing Mariners navy blue and teal. I made one All-Star team and even finished in the Top 15 of the MVP voting that season.

I entered the game to “Thunderstruck” by ACDC where I used my electric fastball and splitter to put away hitters in the ninth inning. But perhaps what I am most famous for is being traded away in a deal that landed the Mariners Franklin Gutierrez and Jason Vargas. Thanks a lot, Jack Zduriencik. Who am I?

Player 4

While I made my Mariners debut in 1996, it wouldn’t be until 1999 that I actually got a decent sample size against MLB pitching. My first stint didn’t work out too well, but I figured some things out after 3 seasons in Middle America and came back where I quietly put up one of the best 4-year stretches by an outfielder in team history.

I played in parts of 19 big league seasons but didn’t make my first All-Star game until I turned 37-years old. Oddly enough, I was never traded by any team. I retired less than 10 years ago, after bashing 305 home runs and 424 doubles. I wasn’t known for my defense and even made an infamous blunder or two. But I’m well respected an have a manager’s job waiting for me if I ever decide to go that route.

Player 5

I was Dustin Ackley before it was cool. I was a Top 5 pick for the Seattle Mariners who bombed in fantastic fashion. I was supposed to be a power-hitting catcher with a sweet left-handed swing. But after just 152 games in MLB, I retired.

Adding insult to injury, some of the players drafted after I was included Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, Andrew McCutchen, and Jacoby Ellsbury. All in all, of the first 30 players selected that year, 9 of them made at least 1 All-Star team. Oddly enough, GM Bill Bavasi wasn’t fired for another 3 years. Yikes.

So, in order, the players are Al Martin, Bob Wells, J.J. Putz, Raul Ibanez, and Jeff Clement. How did you do? I’m going to guess that most of you got tripped up by Bob Wells unless you cheated. Either way, a little bit of fun in the form of a brain teaser never hurt anybody as we bunker down and try to ride out our current situation.