The Seattle Mariners have brought former players back for a swan song late in their careers before, and it didn’t work out well.
Word on the street is the Seattle Mariners are close to signing free agent outfielder, dual-continent legend Ichiro Suzuki. Casual fans will be perked up a bit. Ichiro is, by all accounts, a great guy and he’s always been fun to watch. He’ll stand in the outfield doing his deep knee bends, and stretches between pitches, then step up to the plate and slap singles to left field.
Serious baseball fans know that Ichiro, at 44 years old, is very unlikely to push the Mariners closer to a playoff spot. He was a below average hitter last year for the sixth time in his previous seven seasons, and his defense isn’t what it once was. At Fangraphs, the projection system known as ZiPS has Ichiro hitting .264/.323/.344 this year.
Ichiro is committed to his fitness routine and works hard to stay in shape. He claims he would like to play until he’s 50. Unfortunately, history is not kind to old baseball players, and it’s especially unkind to old position players. The last position player 44 or older to get a plate appearance in a major league game was Omar Vizquel, who was 45 back in 2012. He hit .235/.265/.281 and was worth -0.7 WAR (Fangraphs).
Going back to 1961, there have been just six position players 44 or older who had more than 10 plate appearances in a season. Julio Franco is the gold standard among this group. He was still an above average hitter in his age 44, 45, and 46 seasons, averaging .294/.367/.447 across those three years. Pete Rose was the only other member of this group who was an above average hitter after turning 44. He had a 107 wRC+ in 1985, the year he broke the all-time record for career hits (100 wRC+ is league average, so Rose was seven percent above average as a hitter that year).
Along with Vizquel (2011, 2012), Franco (2003-2007), and Rose (1985, 1986), the other members of this age-44 and older group are Tony Perez (1986), Carlton Fisk (1992, 1993), and Rickey Henderson (2003). Perez, Fisk, and even the great Rickey Henderson were all below average hitters during these years. It’s tough for guys in their mid-40s to hit major league pitching.
So we know that baseball history is not on the side of Ichiro as far as old position players go. The Mariners have their own history of bringing back former players at or near the end of their careers, and it’s not impressive either. These players were usually part of one of the great Mariners teams in the past, but the reunion rarely provides the same magic. Let’s look at five examples of this phenomenon.
13 Oct 1995: Mike Blowers of the Seattle Mariners prepares to throw the ball during a game against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Mariners won the game 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport /
Seattle Mariners: Mike Blowers
In late August of 1999, the Seattle Mariners signed free-agent third baseman Mike Blowers. He had spent the year playing for the Hanshin Tigers in the Japan Central League. Four years earlier, Blowers had been one of the big run-producers on the first Mariners team ever to make the playoffs. He had a career-high 23 homers and 96 RBI in 1995, including 33 in August and eight in one game against the Boston Red Sox.
In his eight-RBI game, Blowers slammed two doubles, a triple and a home run. His eight RBI tied the Mariners’ single-game record (with Alvin Davis). Mike Cameron has since joined them. Blowers was also the first Mariner to bang out four extra-base hits in a game.
Blowers was traded away to the Dodgers that November. He didn’t hit much in L.A. and re-signed with the Mariners as a free agent before the 1997 season. This was their first attempt at recapturing the magic they once had, but it didn’t go particularly well. Blowers was an above average hitter, but only played in 68 games. The Mariners let him become a free agent again after the season, and he played one year in Oakland before going to Japan.
When the Seattle Mariners brought Blowers back in August of 1999 for the third time, the magic had utterly fizzled. He hit .239/.300/.391 in 19 games in what would be his final season. In retirement, he traded in his spikes for dress shoes. He’s now a television analyst for the team and is most famous for predictingMatt Tuiasosopo’s first career home run (if you’re a fan of Dave Niehaus, click on that link; it will remind you of better days).
Seattle Mariners: Norm Charlton
Like Blowers, Norm Charlton had three different stints with the Seattle Mariners. Two years after helping Lou Piniella and the Cincinnati Reds win the 1990 World Series as part of their famous “Nasty Boys” bullpen, he was traded to the Mariners for outfielder Kevin Mitchell. He was outstanding in the first three months of the 1993 season, putting up a 2.34 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 34.7 innings, but an elbow injury ended his season in August. He had surgery and missed all of 1994, then signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Charlton was terrible with the Phillies in 1995. He walked 15 batters in 22 innings and was released in July with a 7.36 ERA. The Mariners took a chance on him. Perhaps Lou Piniella knew something the Phillies didn’t. Charlton “, The Sheriff,” was incredible with the Mariners down the stretch. He struck out 58 batters in 47.7 innings while picking up 14 saves with a 1.51 ERA.
This was the team that saved baseball in Seattle, the “Refuse to Lose” Mariners. They were 13 games behind the division-leading California Angels in early August. On August 23, they were 54-55 and still 11.5 games behind the Angels. Then they got hot and went 25-11 down the stretch to tie the Angels by the end of the season. They won the tie-breaker game Behind Randy Johnson and Luis Sojo, then beat the Yankees in an epic 1995 ALDS (hat tip,Edgar Martinez).
Charlton spent the next two seasons with the Mariners but was not nearly as good. They released him in November of 1997, and he pitched for the Orioles, Braves, Rays, and Reds over the next three seasons. The Mariners brought him back for a third time prior to the 2001 season, and he pitched well, with a 3.02 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 47.7 innings, but would need rotator cuff surgery after the season. He tried to make it back from the injury, but his arm was done.
Seattle Mariners Jeff Nelson
Jeff Nelson was another critical member of the 1995 Seattle Mariners bullpen. This was his fourth season with the team, and it would be the best of his career. Coming from the right side, the six-foot-eight sidearm reliever struck out 96 batters in 78.7 innings and had a 2.17 ERA. In one memorable outing, Nelson smartly lets a popped up bunt drop, then threw to second to start a triple play.
In December of 1995, Nelson was traded along with Tino Martinez and Jim Mecir to the New York Yankees for Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock. This was a terrible trade for the Mariners. Davis was below replacement level in three of his four seasons with the team, and Hitchcock had a 5.35 ERA in his one season in Seattle.
Nelson returned to the Mariners before the 2001 season as a free agent, and it was just like old times. He had his only all-star season thanks to a 2.76 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 65.3 innings. Also, the Mariners won an incredible 116 games and reached the ALCS, which they lost to the Yankees in five games.
Nelson pitched for the Mariners in 2002 and the first four months of the 2003 season before being traded to the Yankees for Armando Benitez. The way Nelson was swapped back and forth between the Mariners and Yankees, it was like he was a groupie in the movie “Almost Famous” (hat tip, Kate Hudson).
After pitching for the Yankees at the end of the 2003 season, Nelson moved on to Texas in 2004, then back to the Mariners for a third time in 2005. This time around wasn’t as successful as the first two. Nelson had a 3.93 ERA in 49 games, and the Mariners went 69-93. He pitched in six games for the 2006 White Sox before riding off into the sunset.
Seattle Mariners Ken Griffey, Jr.
Before Ichiro was the most famous player on the Mariners, there was Ken Griffey, Jr. Griffey reached the big leagues with the M’s as a 19-year-old in 1989. History will show that he finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting that season, but neither Gregg Olson nor Tom Gordon, who finished first and second, would come close to the heights that Griffey reached.
“The Kid” ran off 10 straight all-star seasons with the Mariners from 1990 to 1999, while averaging 38 homers and 109 RBI per season. He led the league in home runs four times and was the AL MVP in 1997. Despite playing in the Pacific Northwest, Griffey was the face of baseball in the 1990s, famous for his youthful smile and the backward cap on his head.
Then came the trade to the Cincinnati Reds before the 2000 season. Griffey wanted out of Seattle, so he could play for the team he’d grown up watching his father play for. He was traded to the Reds for Mike Cameron, Brett Tomko, Antonio Perez, and Jake Meyer. The Mariners got the last laugh on this deal. Cameron was a much better player for the M’s over the next four years (averaging 5.0 WAR per year) than Griffey was for the Reds (averaging 2.2 WAR per year) and cost about $26 million less than Junior.
Griffey spent the next eight-and-a-half seasons with the Reds and a half-season with the White Sox. The Mariners brought him back as a free agent in 2009, but he was a shadow of his former self. He played in 117 games, almost all as a DH, but was a below average hitter (.214/.324/.411, 97 wRC+) and finished precisely at replacement level. It wasn’t a good year for Griffey, but at least the team won a respectable 85 games. It would have been an excellent time to walk away.
Instead, Griffey was back for the 2010 season, and it was ugly. He hit .184/.250/.204 in 33 games. In May, it was reported that he fell asleep in the clubhouse during one game, which caused him to miss a pinch-hitting opportunity (he denies this). One player on the club said, “He doesn’t sleep well at night, he’s away from his family, he’s comfortable in the clubhouse. They could have awakened him.”
Not long after, Griffey abruptly retired by releasing a statement through the team. No press conference, no farewell tour. He just slipped away before a game against the Minnesota Twins. Ichiro was his teammate at the time and said, “To play with him is a treasure I will keep deep in my heart. I have played 19 years in professional baseball, and I can say he was one of my best teammates and my best friend.”
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 11: Raul Ibanez /
Seattle Mariners: Raul Ibanez
Rauuuuuuul Ibanez was a 38th round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners in 1992. It took him until 1996 to reach the major leagues, and he struggled in his first five seasons, hitting .241/.295/.383. The Mariners let him become a free agent after the 2000 season, and he signed with the Kansas City Royals.
Something clicked for Ibanez in Kansas City. Maybe it was that amazing barbecue (hat tip, Joe Posnanski). In three seasons with the Royals, he hit .291/.347/.492 and averaged 18 homers and 82 RBI per season. The Mariners saw what he did and they liked it, so he was back in Seattle before the 2004 season.
Over the next five years, Ibanez hit .291/.354/.477 and averaged 23 dingers and 98 ribbies per season. Most of these Mariner teams were not very good, but Ibanez was a good guy with a nice bat and well-liked by fans. Many were more than willing to ignore the awfulness of Ibanez’ fielding in left field.
Ibanez signed with the Phillies as a free agent before the 2009 season. After three years there, he moved on to the Yankees in 2012, then one last stint with the Mariners in 2013. He was 41 years old by this time, but his bat was still above average (.242/.306/.487, 121 wRC+). Unfortunately, the Mariners continued to let him play left field, and there wasn’t a worse left fielder in baseball than Ibanez. Based on Ultimate Zone Rating, he ranked 26th out of 26 left fielders with more than 500 innings. He also did this:
Ibanez finished his final season with the Mariners with 0.2 WAR. This was typical of the players the Mariners brought back at the end of their careers. Mike Blowers was a 0.0 WAR player in his final year with the M’s and Jeff Nelson was a 0.1 WAR player. The one guy who provided a bit of value was Norm Charlton, worth 0.9 WAR in his final year.
The worst of this group was Griffey, who was a -1.0 WAR player despite playing in only 33 games (that’s still not as bad as Albert Pujols last year, though). Hopefully, Ichiro won’t be that bad. And if he is, hopefully, he won’t fall asleep in the clubhouse during a game.
