The Bermuda Triangle of Baseball

I gotta admit this, I'm weirdly fascinated with the Seattle Mariners. When I was growing up the Mariners were actually a good team. Ken Griffey Jr. was being compared to Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez looked like the next Cal Ripken, and Randy Johnson was the new Steve Carlton. Of course those guys left but the Mariners continued to win with Ichiro, Brett Boone, and Jaime Moyer.

The winning stopped though and the losing has carried on and on. What has amazed me though about the Mariners is not only do they keep losing, but besides Ichiro and possibly Adrian Beltre, the players on their team get lost in the Bermuda triangle of suck.

Think about the players the Mariners have signed or traded for over the past 10 years and remember what has happened to them? The reason why you don't remember them is because they basically have fallen off the edge of the world. Disappeared into the Bermuda triangle of suck.

Take for example Jesus Montero. Montero was a touted prospect with the Yankees* who was traded to Seattle this offseason. This is Montero's stat line for the young season so far: 33 PA, 1 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 4 SO, .323 AVG, ,303 OBP, .452 SLG. Now you're probably saying his On-Base percentage is acceptable, but take a look again at how many walks he has. He has none. And for someone who has displayed a lot of power in the minors and in his shot stint with the Yankees, Montero has only hit one home run so far.

*I can already hear someone like Kris yelling, "OF COURSE HE WAS A TOUTED PROSPECT! ALL YANKEES ARE TOUTED PROSPECTS!" 

Now of course the year is still young and Montero could hit what he's projected to hit. Keep an eye on him though, he's definitely a candidate for getting sucked into the Mariners Bermuda Triangle.


There are other examples of players getting sucked into the Mariners Bermuda Triangle:

Erik Bedard: Bedard was traded for Adam Jones just four years ago who has become a respectable player for the Orioles. Bedard was a 5 WAR player for the Orioles for two years before being sent to Seattle. Bedard never approached that kind of WAR in Seattle mainly due to injuries. Of course Jones is still with the Orioles today while Bedard is trying to revive his career in Pittsburgh.

Chone Figgins: In the 2009 offseason, Chone Figgins was the most in-demand third baseman on the market despite Adrian Beltre being in the same market. You know the same Adrian Beltre who had just played for Seattle? Figgins was in demand partly because of his speed and his ability to get on base. (His OBP for the 2009 season was a staggering .395, meaning he was on base almost 40% of his PAs). Of course Figgins signed with the Mariners and hasn't approached that same OBP since. His OBP has steadily declined while his speed has also declined with his advancing age. Once again we have a player stuck in the Mariners Bermuda Triangle.

Rich Aurilia: The Giants one smart move in recent years was not re-signing Rich Aurilia because his power was declining fast. So who signed him? Of course it was the Mariners! Aurilia didn't even last a year in the Northwest.

Other Examples: Richie Sexon (had a great start to his Mariners career and then he disappeared), Casey Kotchman, and Justin Smoak.

It's only a matter of time the Mariners will trade or sign someone and they'll disappear into the Mariners Bermuda Triangle of Suck.