[arnefc]

A year ago I had an idea of asking fans to pick their favorite retired obscure baseball figure (player, manager, coach, etc.) in MLB history. A nice way to get ready for spring training, I figured. This time around, I thought I'd revisit the topic here but narrow it down to just former Mariners. For my choice, I'm tempted to say Jack Perconte, mostly because I've done a few email interviews with him. But I'm going with Brian Holman: one out away from perfection in Oakland in April 1990, and then Ken Phelps goes deep off him. A year later, he was out of the big leagues, and that rotation he, Johnson, and Erik Hanson were going to anchor never came to fruition.

[Lonnie]

Good idea for a thread! For me this is a no-brainer. My boy of obscurity is none other than Bobby Wolcott.

[topher65]

I would have to go with Bob Stinson AKA Scrap Iron. Personal family friend....grew up with his kids and he taught me how to catch. Known his familr for about 26 years or so.

[phredmojo]

arnefc, on 10 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

A year ago I had an idea of asking fans to pick their favorite retired obscure baseball figure (player, manager, coach, etc.) in MLB history. A nice way to get ready for spring training, I figured. This time around, I thought I'd revisit the topic here but narrow it down to just former Mariners. For my choice, I'm tempted to say Jack Perconte, mostly because I've done a few email interviews with him. But I'm going with Brian Holman: one out away from perfection in Oakland in April 1990, and then Ken Phelps goes deep off him. A year later, he was out of the big leagues, and that rotation he, Johnson, and Erik Hanson were going to anchor never came to fruition.

http://www.phredmojo.../Ron/Holman.WAV

[IWantZduriencik'sJob]

arnefc, on 10 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

A year ago I had an idea of asking fans to pick their favorite retired obscure baseball figure (player, manager, coach, etc.) in MLB history. A nice way to get ready for spring training, I figured. This time around, I thought I'd revisit the topic here but narrow it down to just former Mariners. For my choice, I'm tempted to say Jack Perconte, mostly because I've done a few email interviews with him. But I'm going with Brian Holman: one out away from perfection in Oakland in April 1990, and then Ken Phelps goes deep off him. A year later, he was out of the big leagues, and that rotation he, Johnson, and Erik Hanson were going to anchor never came to fruition.

Richie Amarel. 29 year old getting his first shot. Sick as a dog in spring training 1993 with 2 games to go and 3 days until final cuts. He was playing the third to the last game with 103 degree temperature trying to make the team. Lou sat his butt down the last two games and the rest is history.

5th in ROY voting that season and won a lot of hearts in 95 with Diaz.

Good at getting a stolen base late in games. HUSTLE all the time. Excellent influence on A-Fraud in A-ROd's early years.

All time favorite outside the Mariners is Manny Moto.

This post has been edited by IWantZduriencik'sJob: 10 February 2012 - 08:42 PM

[Jokestar]

Stan Javier. He made one of the greatest catches I ever saw. Great all round utility guy.

[Leo Gomez]

It's fascinating to me how certain players stick with you, especially if you're watching a team every day as a kid.

When I was a kid growing up near Portland I got to see Ms games when they were broadcast on the WB - maybe once a week (I still remember being so excited when I got to see the "Back to the Future" game in '98. Junior and Shane Monahan playing with their hats backwards for the first couple of innings before the umpires - and my dad - got fussy is a great memory). I did see quite a few Cubs games in the early-to-late 90s, though. As a result, there are a great many fringe-y players that I hold a special place for, and in most cases, I'm not really sure why.

I love thinking back and examining my opinions of certain players, and once I got a baseball card (or jumping way in to the future - looked on baseballreference) and realized how wrong I was. Of course I loved Tino, Edgar, and Griffey; Mark Grace and Ryne Sandberg. Here, though, is my All-Obscure Team. And I apologize for writing so much, but this is fun stuff for me

Some players I enjoyed watching:
Jim Bullinger: Didn't really like him as a player, but loved him in general because he would quickly punch the ball in to his glove a couple of times during his leg kick. I attempted to emulate this in a little league game with disastrous results.
Turk Wendell: Who didn't love this guy?
Scott Bullett: Always expected this guy to steal more bags because of his name. But he was a good story baseball reference-wise. He actually had a very long and successful minor league career: 150 HRs, almost 300 steals, over 1500 hits.\
Orlando Merced/Howard Johnson: Guys who played for years elsewhere, played only briefly in Chicago, but I distinctly remember both of them hitting late-inning pinch hit homers. That's a good way to win me over.

My absolute favorites:
Kevin Foster: My favorite pitcher when I was a kid. Had a couple of really good seasons, and was a pretty solid hitter too. I'm still baffled as to why he didn't stick around in the big leagues longer than he did.
Joe Kmak: I'm really not sure why I liked this guy so much. He was they typical veteran catcher who didn't play much, but seemed to be especially clutch when you least expected it. He's a HS teacher now, and a few years ago one of his students wrote a great Wikipedia page for him that's since been sterilized.
Leo Gomez: Had good power and always hit the first baseman right in the chest with his throws to first. Ended up having a really good career in Japan, but I still don't understand why he never caught on in the majors.

And some Ms:
Rey Sanchez: I'm cheating here, because he was a Cub. But I was so excited when the Ms picked him up to replaced the ill/injured Carlos Guillen. I think even today I'd take Sanchez as the M's utility player over Carlos
Roberto Petagine: I remember SportSpot being up in arms that this guy never got any playing time. He was Roy Hobbs in spring training and made the team. In (I think...) his first two at bats he hit a pinch-hit double and a walk-off home run, then went on to rot on the bench. The man dominated in Japan, but never got the reps in the big leagues. He drove in 100 runs and hit .335 while playing overseas in 2009 at age 38.
Shane Monahan: I've heard tell that this guy was kind of a punk. But he was a left-handed hitter who didn't have a lot of power, much like me. So he gave me hope that I could be a ball player too.

This post has been edited by Leo Gomez: 11 February 2012 - 05:58 AM

[Mariner Analyst]

I'd have to say that for me, a couple of guys come to mind off the top of my head.

Like you arnefc, I'd say Brian Holman. I loved everything about this guy. After he was acquired along with Randy Johnson via the Mark Langston trade, I had high hopes for Holman. I remember well that near perfect game that he had against the A's. Others weren't all that enamored with his stuff, but I felt that given his makeup that he had #1 (or at the outset #2) starter potential. You know, I had a chance several years later to hear Holman speak about those years and about his life. My gosh -- I had no idea that he had struggled so badly with drugs during the time he was a Mariner (cocaine was his drug of choice). He's now a very active philanthropist and inspirational speaker. If you ever get the chance to hear him, definitely go.

The second guy that I really enjoyed watching was Charles Gipson. Gipson had absolutely ZERO bat ... but his defense and his hustle -- WOW! He made some absolutely spectacular plays out there in the outfield that I said to myself, "Griffey couldn't have done any better." If he could have ever hit, he would have been one heck of an asset to the team ... because defensively, he could literally play every position on the field except catcher and pitcher. He was that good defensively.

MA

This post has been edited by Mariner Analyst: 11 February 2012 - 06:43 AM

[tradedollarnut]

How quickly we forget! Ruuuuuuuuuupppppppe!

Ruppert Jones

[6-pak-abs]

How can so many people forget Pokey Reese. Starred in one of the commercials and spent the entire year on the DL.

[Lonnie]

6-pak-abs, on 11 February 2012 - 10:15 AM, said:

How can so many people forget Pokey Reese. Starred in one of the commercials and spent the entire year on the DL.

So, Pokey Reese is your favorite obscure Mariner then?

[DaddyO]

Doug Strange. He got a number of huge hits in the miracle stretch run of '95.

[M's Watcher]

Alex Diaz when he replaced Griffey in 1995. He couldn't hit a lick, but made exciting catches in CF. That was his year and his 100 games of fame. Pretty obscure.

[arnefc]

Strange, of course, one of those unsung heroes of the '95 run. Diaz and Wolcott as well; it seems Vince Coleman is not one of the guys people bring up from that team. He hit a key grand slam at some point that August or September.

[Jokestar]

arnefc, on 11 February 2012 - 12:19 PM, said:

Strange, of course, one of those unsung heroes of the '95 run. Diaz and Wolcott as well; it seems Vince Coleman is not one of the guys people bring up from that team. He hit a key grand slam at some point that August or September.

If I'm not mistaken, it was on his birthday, to boot.

[Orlandu]

I'd have to go with Rich Amaral.

[Mariner Analyst]

M, on 11 February 2012 - 11:50 AM, said:

Alex Diaz when he replaced Griffey in 1995. He couldn't hit a lick, but made exciting catches in CF. That was his year and his 100 games of fame. Pretty obscure.

Very true, but if you'll remember even Diaz had his shining moment in the sun that year as well. Diaz hit a clutch HR in a game during that stretch run in September. Darn if I can remember the specifics, but I DO remember that HR from that game. That HR made it on the "My, Oh My!" 1995 tape.

MA

[Vidya]

I couldn't think of anyone until the name, Roberto Petagine was mentioned. Absolutely, he was my favorite, and I was one of those leading the charge against the manager for not playing him. Second place goes to a Mariner that actually got some playing time, Bobby Wolcott.

If you only consider his first go-around with the Mariners my absolute favorite was Raul Ibanez. Unfortunately, he doesn't qualify because he ended up being very much appreciated. I remember attending a game against the Royals where Raul was cheered as much, if not more than most of the Mariner players. No wonder he was so quick to re-sign with the Mariners.

[Leo Gomez]

In case I haven't hogged the discussion enough - I think Charles Gipson deserves a vote.

One of my favorite fan moments involved Gipson. If you recall, he was with the team for 4 or 5 years in a row, often bouncing between AAA and Seattle. One day, I remember, Gipson was optioned to AAA just before the game but in the early innings one of the Ms starting outfielders got injured. I must have been 11 or 12 and was listening to the game on the radio when Dave pauses and says something like "Charles, you'd better turn your car around and head back for Seattle. I think you're about to get called back up."

That moment struck me for a few reasons, but I remember feeling so connected to the team and to Dave, and I remember thinking "Wow, Gipson is probably listening to the game just like me." It was a cool moment for a kid

[Mariner Analyst]

Leo Gomez, on 11 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

In case I haven't hogged the discussion enough - I think Charles Gipson deserves a vote.

One of my favorite fan moments involved Gipson. If you recall, he was with the team for 4 or 5 years in a row, often bouncing between AAA and Seattle. One day, I remember, Gipson was optioned to AAA just before the game but in the early innings one of the Ms starting outfielders got injured. I must have been 11 or 12 and was listening to the game on the radio when Dave pauses and says something like "Charles, you'd better turn your car around and head back for Seattle. I think you're about to get called back up."

That moment struck me for a few reasons, but I remember feeling so connected to the team and to Dave, and I remember thinking "Wow, Gipson is probably listening to the game just like me." It was a cool moment for a kid

Yep, Gipson was one of the two I noted above. I don't remember that specifically, but that is absolutely what it was like for Gipson. As I said, he was an absolutely fantastic defensive player. He could put on a clinic out there in CF on those days he was spelling Griffey, Buhner, whomever we had in LF (we had a lot -- believe me). Gipson would make diving catches and even high leaping catches that make you say, "Another fantastic catch by Griffey ... oh, wait a minute." He could play any of the outfield and infield positions (and do them all quite well), which is what made him so valuable. The problem was ... the guy had ZERO (and I do mean ZERO) bat. He was a career .237 hitter ... and never went yard. If he'd even been average offensively, he'd have been one heck of an asset off the bench. As it was, Gipson ended up playing parts of 8 Major League seasons. That right there tells you just how good he was defensively. I think out of all the "obscure" Mariners I've ever seen play, he was my favorite.

MA

This post has been edited by Mariner Analyst: 11 February 2012 - 10:08 PM