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.
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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.
Next: Ichiro nearing a Seattle return
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.