I like individual team halls of fame. They're significant enough to confer a high honor, but insignificant enough to avoid all the bickering and heated debate that surrounds their...dad? Mothership? If a player is inducted into a team hall of fame, it is neat. If a player is not inducted into a team hall of fame, it's really just not that important.
The Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame, at present, has four members. There's Alvin Davis, who was known as "Mr. Mariner" when "Mr. Mariner" was a devastating insult. There's Jay Buhner, who resides in the catacombs beneath Safeco Field and emerges when he senses a tremor in the floor. There's Dave Niehaus, who never played a single inning for the team. And there's Edgar Martinez, who was and is awesome in every way.
The Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame will soon have a fifth and sixth member. According to Greg Johns and countless other people, Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson will be inducted on Saturday, July 28th. Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson are basically members of the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame now, but they'll become official members in six months. Think of this like a trade, pending a six-month physical. A physical that neither Johnson nor Wilson can fail unless we become aware of gambling allegations. Not that I'm saying there will be gambling allegations. Hands off this passage, Bleacher Report.
Randy Johnson was a Mariner from 1989 to 1998. Over that span he posted a 128 ERA+, but that includes the early part when he was still developing. In Randy Johnson's first year with the Mariners, he had 104 strikeouts and 70 walks in 131 innings. In Randy Johnson's last year with the Mariners, he had 213 strikeouts and 60 walks in 160 innings. Randy Johnson got a lot better. He went from terrifying to terrifying and dominant. Johnson has the most strikeouts in Mariners franchise history, and for a long time one of my favorite facts was that Jamie Moyer sat in second. Jamie Moyer now sits in third. Damn (bless) you, Felix. Moyer could always return in an attempt to re-claim his position!
So, Johnson is an obvious fit. A player doesn't get much more beloved than Randy Johnson. Dan Wilson is also an obvious fit, albeit for different reasons. Wilson was a Mariner from 1994 to 2005. Following are the main ways that I remember Dan Wilson:
(1) He was a Mariner for a while.
(2) He dropped down a lot of sac bunts, or at least an amount of sac bunts that one baseball card company thought was a lot one time.
(3) He used to be a hockey goalie.
(4) He was and is so darn nice.
(5) My mom thought he was the cutest Mariners player in 1999 or 2000. He doesn't seem to have aged a day. In our limited interaction I have refrained from letting him know that my mom thinks he's cute.
(6) He wasn't a good hitter or an awful hitter.
(7) He walked off the field in 2005 with what turned out to be an ACL tear that in a way ended his career.
Strictly based on statistics, Dan Wilson probably doesn't belong in a team hall of fame. But team halls of fame aren't strictly based on statistics, and the fact of the matter is that, when you think about the good Mariners teams, you usually end up thinking about Dan Wilson at some point. He was there, and he was popular, and now he's being honored, and nobody is upset about that. Team halls of fame have it figured out.
5 recs | 140 comments
I know it's old news and all, but I'm really glad that Randy and the organization are back on good terms.
JY - January 17, 2012
It's just a shame he'll have to share his day with a guy that cost us no fewer than 3 World Series appearances
Poochie - January 17, 2012
Let it go.
It’s over.
Paul AB - January 17, 2012
I won't let it go until we finally win the World Series
Poochie - January 17, 2012
Never letting it go can cause serious stress issues.
ToddK - January 17, 2012
So can a starting catcher who has a .200 OPS over the course of four playoff series
Poochie - January 17, 2012
It also keeps one of your hands permanently occupied
seattlebruin - January 18, 2012
Potentially causing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Don’t ask how I’m aware of this possibility.
ToddK - January 18, 2012
Yeah.
Randy is still my mom’s favorite Mariner, despite the fact that he hasn’t played for them almost a decade and a half.
quacker27 - January 17, 2012
Yeah
It may be true now that “A player doesn’t get much more beloved than Randy Johnson” but that wasn’t the case all that long ago, as DMZ pointed out in a couple of ways.
J0SER - January 17, 2012
I wish it had included a return in 2009 or 2010.
jameslcrockett - January 17, 2012
Wilson also had the good fortune of entering his prime right after Salt N Peppa did so.
yuniform - January 17, 2012 via Android app
Push it real good?
J0SER - January 17, 2012
I thought this was written exclusively for Dan Wilson for years
Whatta Man
Mariner John - January 17, 2012
I will most remember Dan Wilson for one thing...
Catching the final strike of the 1995 playoff game and jumping up in the air with both hands raised in the air, as Randy beat and chest and thanked his recently departed father.
To have them enter together seems appropriate. Almost to say that we recognize Randy’s greatness, as well as the value that we place on Dan Wilson’s character and leadership, even if we can’t measure it.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
Some other cool facts about that game...
That was Spike Owen’s last game in the majors. He was playing for the Angels.
Randy threw a complete game 3 hitter.
Dan Wilson had the first RBI of the game, and finished with 3 RBI.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
Of course, one-game playoffs count as Regular Season games.
Two Rs and Two Ls - January 17, 2012
Dan Wilson was always under-appreciated.
according to the mother of a friend.
msb - January 17, 2012
Does this friend happen to be Jeff Sullivan?
seattlebruin - January 17, 2012
(8) He hit an inside-the-park grand slam
MapleBar - January 17, 2012
Making it two Inside-The-Park home runs!
msb - January 17, 2012
I saw one of them!
At least, I remember sitting in the third deck in the Kingdome behind 3rd base and see it.
But my memory isn’t as good as it once was.
Paul AB - January 17, 2012
I was at that game.
That’s my favorite in person sports moment.
cdalto - January 17, 2012
Hahahaha me too!
Just laughing at that (Tiger?) laying in CF, watching the ball chill at the fence behind him…priceless!
Sounders4life - January 17, 2012
I was there too
I loved Dave’s call of the hit because he got the mustard and rye bread out and then had to put it away and then had to rush to get it back in at the end…
TheZzyzx - January 17, 2012
It is interesting, watching the players of my youth who basically passed into myth and legend while still playing, finally officially ascend to the Mariner's Pantheon.
Now, who will be Homer and write the Mariner’s Odyssey? I feel some official doctrinal writing is needed to catalog their deeds.
quacker27 - January 17, 2012
No need for that.
It is written in the words of Niehaus.
“IT JUST CONTINUES!”
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
Now this is epic poetry.
“Now the left hander ready, branding iron hot, the 1-2 pitch….”K" inserted! It’s over! Right over the heart of the plate! Randy looks to the skies that is covered by the dome and bedlam! As the Mariners now erupt! 19 long years of frustration is over!"
“Right now, the Mariners looking for the tie. They would take a fly ball, they would love a base hit into the gap and they could win it with Junior’s speed. The stretch… and the 0-1 pitch on the way to Edgar MartÃnez swung on and LINED DOWN THE LEFT FIELD LINE FOR A BASE HIT! HERE COMES JOEY, HERE IS JUNIOR TO THIRD BASE, THEY’RE GOING TO WAVE HIM IN! THE THROW TO THE PLATE WILL BE … LATE! THE MARINERS ARE GOING TO PLAY FOR THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP! I DON’T BELIEVE IT! IT JUST CONTINUES! MY, OH MY!”
Man, we miss you Dave.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
How is it humanly possible that a set of words gives me chills all over? Incredible.
Kenneth Arthur - January 17, 2012
Still
Sixteen years later. Always.
robbbbbb - January 17, 2012
Doesn't Dan Wilson hold some sort of "best" passed ball percentage record?
Can’t remember exactly, but I remember at his retirement night ceremony, they mentioned something about him having the best percentage in the history of baseball of something that had to do with catcher’s defense.
Given he had just 42 passed balls in 14 seasons and about 10K innings, that might have been it.
Anyways, obscure record seems to fit for an obscure every day player (outside of Seattle).
TIFO - January 17, 2012
Wow. 3 per year.
I’d swear Rob Johnson had 42 passed balls in a game once.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
Didn't Jason Varitek have that many in like 3 or 4 games, when he was trying to catch Tim Wakefield?
Aly Edge - January 17, 2012
Dan always seemed to be at the very least average defensively to me
Of course compared to the non-Johjima players that have crouched behind the dish since, he was positively god-like.
Kingdomer - January 17, 2012
The dude had to catch for Randy for years.
If nothing else, it seems like you would twitch just a little bit every time a ball came towards you.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
Yeah I always thought he was an amazing defensive catcher
I wonder if he actually was a good as I thought.
Edgar for Pres - January 17, 2012
Why look!
DAN WILSON INTERESTING FACTS
msb - January 17, 2012
"On August 8, 1997, Dan Wilson had 20 putouts in one game. Dan is also tied with Bob Kearney for the most putouts in an extra-inning game with 21. "
Wow
TIFO - January 17, 2012
That seems insane....
Was a team trying to bunt on every single play?
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
Strikeouts count as putouts for catchers.
That Aug. 8 game was one where Johnson struck out nineteen players.
Coach Owens - January 17, 2012
Riding Randy's coattails then
Riding them now into the team HoF.
(I keed, I keed)
J0SER - January 17, 2012
//waits for people to realize that catchers are credited with a putout on strikeouts
Matthew - January 17, 2012
Oh, duh.
I thought about that for a second and was like “That is the only thing that makes sense, but seriously, they give them credit?”
MLB rules. Wow, it’s snowing hard.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
Not in Spokane!
quacker27 - January 17, 2012
Since it is no out if they don't catch it (mostly) they deserve them!
Schuxu - January 17, 2012
Aw, you're no fun.
I wanted to see how long that was going to go on.
JY - January 17, 2012
Not my fault that even my passive actions are transcribed into blog comments
Matthew - January 17, 2012
//writes comment
Matthew - January 17, 2012
19 of those were due to strikeouts.
KC Mariner - January 17, 2012
And he has an engineering degree.
But he’s an extrovert, so he looks at your shoes when he’s talking to you.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
He'd changed the major by the time he finished the degree
bachelor of science degree in applied business and IT studies
msb - January 17, 2012
Ended up with a degree that didn't exist when he started college.
Probably was like “Take THAT dad, didn’t want to be an engineer anyways!”
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
"In High School, Dan made All-State in Basketball twice and Hockey 3 times as a goalie, and lettered in Football as the team's Quarterback. "
Double wow. He never struck me as such a great athlete. In college he was a great pitcher too.
TIFO - January 17, 2012
You try crouching for 3 hours a day 150 days a year
And we’ll see how fast you run. :)
It should be noted that it was in Minnesota.
Henry Valz - January 17, 2012
I would guess that 90% of prof. baseballplayers would have been highschool start at other sports
Schuxu - January 17, 2012
I think all Mariners catchers should train in the offseason as hockey goalies.
Based on a sample size of one, it seems to work.
Two Rs and Two Ls - January 17, 2012
Comic Sans!
Mariner John - January 17, 2012
haha these fun facts are all over the map
Dan had the highest fielding % of any C of the 90’sin highschool Chemistry-When Dan was 6 he led his tee ball team with a 1.700 OPS
-Dan got an A
-On June 7 1998 Dan went 3-4
-In 1986 Dan was voted the greatest athlete in the history of Barrington
-Dan thought the ending of Lost was pretty lame
C Dubya - January 17, 2012
and it would appear as though
I’ve stumbled across a method to jerry-rig a strikethrough font (albeit randomly)
C Dubya - January 17, 2012
The "preview" button is your friend
Also that little “show formatting guide” link in the reply box at the bottom of the page (but not in the reply box you get when replying to another comment — I guess expanding things in the middle of the page is problematic for some reason, though the guide might be more useful as a separate floating window anyway)
J0SER - January 17, 2012
you know
that information might have been a little more useful to me yesterday
Egad, it works! Thanks for the heads up chum
C Dubya - January 17, 2012
I always hate having to scroll all the way to the bottom to look at formatting guide.
quacker27 - January 17, 2012
Some formating is available using the symbols below the subject line in both the post and reply forms.
Bold Italic Strike Blockquote Link Image
xmet - January 19, 2012
This I could see
But I wasn’t aware I could alter the font using hyphens, asterisks, etc. Still pretty new to LL so I’m learning the ropes (for instance don’t refer to Montero as J-Mo). In the meantime pay no mind to my boobery. Thank goodness for relative anonymity!
C Dubya - January 19, 2012
I feel like it's appropriate that probably the greatest Mariner battery goes in together.
Patrick Stites - January 17, 2012
I wonder when Rob Johnson and Washburn will go in together.
Mothy - January 17, 2012
Go in what?
J0SER - January 17, 2012
Dick's Drive In
Paul AB - January 17, 2012
How about a duck blind?
J0SER - January 17, 2012
I think you mean Rob Johnson and Ian Snell.
Patrick Stites - January 17, 2012
Great. Now I'm going to have to spend all week re-repressing that memory.
Mothy - January 17, 2012 via Android app
My vote for greatest mariner battery goes to the main guns of the Yamato.
joof - January 17, 2012
Greatest until Felix and Montero, anyway
Chris_FB - January 17, 2012 via mobile
Honestly, I hope Montero catches everyone *but* Felix
Unless we’re going for some kind of passed ball record.
J0SER - January 17, 2012
Fuck yeah!
Patrick Stites - January 17, 2012
You state this as if you think Felix will actually pitch to a Mariner's DH.
ToddK - January 17, 2012
Randy will be one of those tests for HOF voters in a few years.
Any voter who doesn’t include his name on the ballot should be banned from future voting.
Paul AB - January 17, 2012
Maddux, Glavine and Thomas the year before too.
jameslcrockett - January 17, 2012
He's been injecting a foreign substance into his knees for years
And it improved his performance, by quite a lot. So if I had a vote it would be no.
Kermit. - January 17, 2012
He's been ingesting foreign substances since he was born. Before, even.
J0SER - January 17, 2012
Good on ya, Dan.
Although Ben Davis should have been given a better shot at catcher. (sniff)~
Scott71267 - January 17, 2012
Two years was about a year and a half too long.
Paul AB - January 17, 2012
He was given exactly the shot he deserved.
pdb - January 17, 2012
I remember when he tried to make a comeback as a pitcher.
JY - January 17, 2012
The interviews the last few years sounded like he finally grew up
msb - January 17, 2012
Interesting that Junior isn't in the Mariners HoF.
Chris_FB - January 17, 2012 via mobile
It's only been one season since he retired.
joof - January 17, 2012
Mandatory waiting period, for both legends and handguns
J0SER - January 17, 2012
And powerful sedatives
Chris_FB - January 17, 2012
And it took Gar 3 seasons before he got inducted.
Patrick Stites - January 17, 2012
Mid-season 2013 it is, then.
Chris_FB - January 17, 2012
Randy Johnson is the best pitcher that the Mariners have ever had.
And probably will ever have.
Edgar for Pres - January 17, 2012
Felix.
EequalsMc2 - January 17, 2012
Felix vs. Randy
is a very happy debate to have.
rtang - January 17, 2012
Judging from the way this is going in the posts below
Not really
J0SER - January 17, 2012
You are so wrong
Edgar for Pres - January 17, 2012
Prove it.
In a few years, Felix is capable of doing what the Unit did in his prime (and more).
EequalsMc2 - January 17, 2012
None of this can be proven.
Yet.
LonelyintheBleachers - January 17, 2012
So you mean Felix will leave the Mariners and win a world series on another team
Oh my. Well good for Felix!
gunsbound - January 17, 2012
So you think Felix can have 13.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 with 250 IP (10.7 WAR)?
Randy Johnson lives in a world populated with Mickey Mantle and Albert Pujols. Felix is an amazing pitcher but he won’t fall into the list of pitcher that will be “best pitcher ever” category.
Plus let me know when Felix grows a mullet, makes John Kruk piss his pants and explodes a dove.
Randy Johnson was the most dominant LHP ever to play the game. His career spanned 20 years and he had a peak where he was absolutely dominant of over 10 years.
Edgar for Pres - January 17, 2012
To be fair, when Randy Johnson was at the same age as Felix is now, he had only pitched his Montreal career.
Which was 10 starts and 55.2 innings. Not saying that Felix is quite the dominant pitcher that Randy was at his peak, but if Randy improved from 25 and on, why am I going to start doubting Felix?
He already is in a “best pitcher ever” category for pitchers accomplishing what he has before he was 25.
Kenneth Arthur - January 17, 2012
I know what you are saying. Felix is amazing.
I don’t think it takes anything away from Felix when I say that Randy Johnson was better than him.
Edgar for Pres - January 17, 2012
And I totally understand what you are saying, but you are confusing Felix with a pitcher who is almost done with his career.
Even if we would be hard-pressed to imagine Felix posting strikeout numbers like Randy, would we be crazy to think he could be better in a number of other ways? He’s 25.
I agree with you, yet disagree with your hard conclusion comparing a finished Hall of Fame career to a guy who is that young.
Kenneth Arthur - January 17, 2012
Also don't forget there were a number of hitters he faced were on performance enhancing drugs.
InSpokane - January 17, 2012
And Kingdome vs. Safeco
Edgar for Pres - January 17, 2012
Run support too.
Imagine Felix with the 95-97 offense.
EequalsMc2 - January 17, 2012
I'm imagining Ian Snell with the 95-97 offense
I’m seeing 162 wins anyway.
Agent_J - January 17, 2012
It always makes me a little sad think of those mid-late '90's offenses and how we'll never see their like again at Safeco.
I think I read that the M’s still hold the record for most homers over a four season period. I haven’t bothered to check if that is true, but I’ll believe it.
quacker27 - January 17, 2012
At the very least the '97 Mariners still hold the MLB record for home runs by a team in a season.
Patrick Stites - January 17, 2012
The lowest OPS+ among regulars was 96 (Dan Wilson).
Last year among players with 250 PA only Ackley, Smoak and Carp posted an OPS+ higher than 96.
KC Mariner - January 18, 2012
Pick up the damn slack, Dan.
Patrick Stites - January 18, 2012
And Randy was a Diamondback when he posted that line.
Which maybe doesn’t matter to your point. But my impression was more like best pitcher for the Mariners, in which case, Felix and Randy are very comparable already.
Matthew - January 17, 2012
Absolutely
In his prime, a Randy Johnson start an automatic W. I mean, it wasn’t really, but anytime Randy didn’t win it legitimately felt strange, like something had happened that shouldn’t have. Opposing teams knew they had a tall order (no pun intended) when #51 toed the rubber.
Felix still lays the (very) occasional egg. I’m sure we all remember that Toronto game last year? Yeah, that game started with Felix getting his ass kicked. Opposing teams still know it’s a tall order, but it’s a possibly doable one.
Some of that has to do with the quality of the teams, yes. Randy could pitch 8 innings and give up 3 runs, and be pretty sure of getting a win. If Felix pitches 8 innings and gives up 3 runs…boyidontknow.
But still, I take Randy any time.
Aly Edge - January 17, 2012
But we can argue Felix is not at his prime and he's still posting numbers comparable to Randy.
That’s why I put in “in a few years”
EequalsMc2 - January 17, 2012
A pitcher's prime is different than a hitter's' prime
Pitchers often start off at a certain velocity and decrease from there, while hitters often develop power as they age until about 27-28, and it begins to taper off around 32-33.
That’s not to say Felix couldn’t become a better pitcher as he ages – and he has the added benefit of entering only his age 26 season (!) – but in terms of ‘prime’, his raw stuff will likely not get better from here on out.
cwel87 - January 17, 2012
Velocity doesn't define a pitcher's "prime"
Virtually all the best pitchers have years better than their rookie year (by almost any measure you want to use). Felix has gotten better as he ages (and loses velocity, possibly in a conscious effort to harness his “stuff”). Likewise Randy Johnson didn’t become RANDY JOHNSON until ‘93, when he was 29 and had already been in the bigs for five seasons. He probably wasn’t throwing as hard then as he had with the Expos, but that hardly mattered: he was entering his “prime.”
J0SER - January 17, 2012
I never said it did
I was just outlining the notion that pitchers do not generally plateau at 28-32 and then decline, as hitters do. Pitchers follow no truly definable trend to determine when they will perform at their best, and it certainly isn’t because they hit a certain physical peak. It’s more a combination of knowledge and stuff, and with some pitchers, it works right off the bat (Gooden, Felix – although Gooden also fell apart earlier, but I think outside factors led to that more than any sort of physical deterioration) and with others, it takes time for them to put it all together (Johnson).
cwel87 - January 17, 2012
The Toronto game last year...
where we wound up winning after being behind 7-0? Best bad Felix game ever.
Two Rs and Two Ls - January 17, 2012
Luis Rodriguez encapsulates our 2011 rather nicely
cwel87 - January 18, 2012
I was at Randy's last game in Seattle
He was in his last year with the Giants, clearly showing he was near the end of career. When he came into the game (and was warming up) he received a standing ovation, rightfully so. And when he got pulled from the game, he received an even longer (2-4 minutes) standing ovation, and he was clearly fairly emotional, and even tipped his cap to the crowd. Randy was a big ol mean pitcher who was a dirty Yankee. But he was a mean yankee we all loved dearly. Glad to see the team honor him.
ichirofan5197 - January 17, 2012
I almost forgot Randy was a Yankee.
I think of him with us and the D-backs. In fact, the only thing I remember from his New York days is when he pushed that cameraman guy.
sofa_king - January 17, 2012 via mobile
That and him losing the mullet :'(
Fearless Frog - January 17, 2012 via mobile
I remember the New Yorker cover.
I can’t find an image of it online, so to describe it without doing it justice, it was a picture of Randy on the mound in pinstripes, standing tall, and the area above the shoulders was cut off by the edge of the frame.
JY - January 17, 2012
.
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/60/6009/7W3B100Z/posters/barry-blitt-the-new-yorker-cover-april-4-2005.jpg
msb - January 17, 2012
Fantastic, thank you.
My usual Google methods weren’t working.
JY - January 17, 2012
I was at that game!
He gave up something like one run over six innings and struck out a bunch, but the M’s still won.
quacker27 - January 17, 2012
I was there too!
We won in extra innings, game winning hit by Jose Lopez, haha.
seiferguy - January 17, 2012 via mobile
I remember Dan Wilson at 3B and Joe Oliver at 1B in 2000.
Lou being creative with the blowout.
Big Jared - January 17, 2012
Who the fuck is Robert Ramsay?
Aly Edge - January 17, 2012
.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramsaro01.shtml
msb - January 17, 2012
Gee, I guess I have to be literal
because believe it or not, I am familiar with baseball-reference.com
Literally, then…..
I have no recollection of a Mariners pitcher named Robert Ramsay. Isn’t that quaint? I have been following the team since my childhood and think I have a good memory, but I completely forgot someone who pitched 43 games for the team. Wow!
Yeah, I like the first phrasing better. Pithier.
Aly Edge - January 17, 2012
Commonly known as Rob Ramsay? Tall, pleasant looking?
Brain tumor?
msb - January 17, 2012
He had annual stories about his comeback from the tumor for a while.
JY - January 18, 2012
Ehhhhh, starting to come back to me
Still would have figured I’d recognize a Mariner for 43 games.
Aly Edge - January 18, 2012
Forrest Snow was just on the Hot Stove League, and talking (being a local kid) about Dan Wilson
paraphrasing … Dan was down visiting the minors and according to Snow, he didn’t care if he won or lost his game because he knew that either way he was going to get a Dan Wilson Butt Pat.
msb - January 17, 2012
Dan Wilson doesn't age. Maybe his knees age, but he's still as fresh-faced as ever.
Two Rs and Two Ls - January 17, 2012
Why is there a picture of Iwakuma posted on nearly every second article now?
Llewdor - January 18, 2012
Because it's the only picture of him they have
So for a while there when every story was about him (will they sign him? They might sign him. There are reports that they’ve signed him. Oh, they’ve signed him. Here are the terms under which he signed), that picture was really all they had to put in the articles.
Now it’s a running gag.
Aly Edge - January 18, 2012
I know.
The picture should be on every first article.
Mariner John - January 18, 2012
Fuck Dan Wilson
Yay Randy Johnson
Robert - January 18, 2012
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