Niehaus died today. I've never been a big Mariners fan, but I watch baseball and have watched him since I was a kid. I loved his calls: "My, Oh My!" "Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it is grand salami time!" "Swung on and belted!
"Fly, fly away!" "A can of corn.." A legend in the Pacific NW. Listening to him was a treat when the M's were in the Kingdome and they were hitting HRs like it was nothing, especially with Griffey. RIP.
Buhner and Edgar as well, with Randy Johnson throwing flames from the mound. I'll never forget when Mark McGwire took Randy off of the back wall of the upper deck in the Kingdome. So awesome that I didn't even care that the A's had scored. Niehaus was speechless for the first and only time that I can remember.
Good ESPN article with quotes from Buhner and Junior. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5789958
Yeah, those mid-90's M's teams were fun to watch. And they always had a terrible bullpen back in the day but they kept trying to outscore you. Those 15-14, 15-inning games were pretty cool. That short rightfield fence in the Kingdome was a joke for easy HRs. But it did make for some great calls from Niehaus, where you could tell he was going crazy in the booth. A great old-school announcer.
I remember those teams. Mariners fans revered Bobby Ayala like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. During that magical 95' season everybody thought he was great and players up and down that roster were overacheiving. Then after that he was absolutely garbage. My favorite M's pitcher to this day was Chris Bosio. I think a washed up "Chief" Denny Martinez was on that staff as well. Bob Wolcott. The ultimate utility man, Rich Amaral. Oh the names go on and on.
haha, man Ayala was absolutely terrible. You could guarantee some runs scored off him in the eighth, but there were no worries since you knew the M's would score in the bottom half. Then you had Norm Charlton come in, give everyone a heart attack by either putting two on or load the bases, but somehow get the save. It made for some exciting games. And I think they must've tried 100 left fielders out, but no one would ever pan out. Amaral, Bragg, Javier, Coleman, etc. Their lineup was always the same everyday, which made it fun to follow: Cora, A-Rod, Griffey, Edgar, Jay were their top five. Then you had guys like Tino, Sorrento, Blowers, Sojo, Wilson. The Mariners now, though, are just horrid.
I think Butch Huskey had a stint out in left field as well. Sorrento was garbage. I remember they had Felix Fermin as well.
Who could ever forget the brilliant Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb trade! Good Lord...
