It has become a staple of Mariners lore, growing only more romantic with the passage of time. I’m talking of Jay Buhner’s famous insistence in 1995 that the ballclub pull down the banner it had posted in the Kingdome, delineating its standing in the wild card race.
“Forget the wild card,” Buhner declared, although he used a different f-word. “We’re going to win the division.”
Some 28 years later, as he closely watches the Mariners from afar, Buhner hasn’t changed his thinking one bit. He feels strongly that the 2023 Mariners, like their forebears, should focus on winning the division — a feat the ’95 M’s pulled off in a memorable one-game playoff with the Angels.
The current Mariners entered their off day Thursday in possession of the American League’s third wild card, a half-game behind No. 2 Houston and just a game ahead of Toronto. But they have also pulled within a game and a half of division-leading Texas, a team they trailed by as much as 10 ½ games in late June — not unlike the M’s 13-game deficit to the Angels in ’95.
“Why would you even think about playing for the wild card?” Buhner said passionately Wednesday from his home near San Antonio. “You play to win, in anything you do, and you want to win your division. Why can’t they win their division? Who’s saying that they can’t? Just because they don’t have household names? I guarantee if you go around every single clubhouse, everyone knows about the Mariners. Trust me. I don’t think anyone wants to play Seattle, because Seattle has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
“I talked to Bake [Astros manager Dusty Baker] during the All-Star Game, and he respects the heck out of that pitching staff. They’re electric. They’re young and scary with good arms, and they’re deep. Anytime you trade a guy like [Paul] Sewald who’s a stud closer for you, and you’ve got enough confidence in the rest of the guys to step up and do it — I mean, that speaks volumes about how deep you are from a bullpen and pitching standpoint.
“Everybody understands how good that bullpen is and how good their starters are. And they have thumpers. They have some guys that can hurt you if you [mess] around.”
There is a contingent of Mariners fans who recoil every time the 1995 season is brought up, believing the franchise has lived off that success for too long. The fact that the organization ended its 20-season playoff drought last year has perhaps made it more palatable to reminisce — and to Buhner, the parallels are stark.
“They’ve got confidence going, and they’re winning games in crazy ways,” he said. “They’ve got a lineup of, ‘I don’t know who the hell you are,’ and they end up winning ballgames for you, just like we did.”
Case in point is Cade Marlowe’s grand slam in the ninth inning to steal a win over the Angels on Aug. 3, shortly after being called up from the minors. That might turn out to be as impactful a hit as the Mariners have all season.
“Think about it — in ’95 we had unsung heroes all the way down the line,” Buhner said. ‘’Frickin’ [Alex] Diaz hitting a pinch-hit, three-run home run to win a game for us. Doug Strange doing the same thing. Richie Amaral. Tino Martinez. I mean, you go down the list. Every single person on the 25-man roster. I see a lot of that on this team.”
Another similarity Buhner sees: The ’95 Mariners had a transcendent superstar in Ken Griffey Jr. [along with another Hall of Famer, of course, in Edgar Martinez], whom he likens in importance to Julio Rodriguez. Even though Griffey was out because of a wrist injury from late May until mid-August, he returned to lead them down the stretch and into the postseason.
“Remember, Junior still had a friggin’ screw in his wrist, and he didn’t really go out on rehab. And he comes back and starts hitting yayas [homers] left and right, like it’s nothing. Come on. That shouldn’t be happening.
“Just like Julio is carrying the team right now. When your superstars carry the team, that takes pressure off a lot of the other guys. Then all of a sudden guys let up on certain guys, and they’re making them pay the price. Younger kids are making a name for themselves.”
Buhner, whose relentless style of play — and bald head — made him a fan favorite, said he still has concerns about the Mariners’ inability at times to manufacture runs or come up with clutch hits. But he added:
“When your superstar is going out and carrying the team, saying, ‘Get on my shoulders,’ that’s the definition of a true superstar. And he [Rodriguez] has been doing that, so who knows? Who knows what can happen?”
Buhner remembers vividly the day he saw the wild card banner go up at the Kingdome in August of ‘95. He confronted the front office and demanded they take it down or he’d rip it down himself — which they agreed to do before Buhner had take matters in his own hands.
“I told them I didn’t want guys to see that crap,” he recalled. “We’re winning the whole damn thing. I said, ‘We’re trying to do something that’s pretty freaking special, and there’s a lot of things that are lining up pretty special right now. Let’s just run with it.’ Call it superstition, call it whatever you want, but let’s run with it.”
It’s more about a mentality than anything, Buhner stressed, especially in ’95, when there was only one wild card instead of three. The Mariners and Angels were locked in a tight battle, not just for the division but for that lone wild card berth with the Yankees, who wound up narrowly beating out the Angels. Even with three wild card spots now, one of the teams battling will get left out, so the safest path to the playoffs is still by winning the division.
“It was just a way to change the mindset,” Buhner said. “It was easier for us to say, ‘Let’s win the whole damn thing and be the lead dog.’ Don’t be a butt sniffer. If you’re not the lead dog, the scenery never changes. That’s what I meant by that: Let’s shock the world. Especially in little ole Seattle back in ’95. People thought Washington was Washington, D.C.”
Buhner, who lives near all three of his children and two grandsons in Texas, said he still bleeds Mariner blue. But he wants to see the ballclub build on its success last year.
“It’s like they need to capitalize on this window right now, because they got there last year,” he said. “And it can’t be a one and done. It can’t be just like a flash in the pan. Seattle deserves it. And I’d love to see them do it.”
In fact, when he visited Seattle in July to participate in All-Star festivities, Buhner told friends “I’ll see you guys in the World Series” when he was leaving.
“And I truly believe that could happen,” he said this week.
If Buhner has taught the Mariners anything, it’s the power of belief.
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