Today is July 10th. The Mariners-related events listed below also happened on July 10th, but during previous years. That is how this whole thing works. I hope you enjoy reading about a few fun/goofy/noteworthy M’s things and getting lost in a little bit of nostalgia (and potentially feeling kinda old).

July 10th, 1993 – Jay Buhner socks the lone walk-off homer of his career

Although Jay Buhner amassed 310 home runs during his 15-year career (only Junior and Edgar hit more in an M’s uniform — Kyle Seager is in a distant fourth place, more than 100 behind Buhner), he had just one game-ender. And it happened 27 years ago today! 

This game crammed a lot into two hours and 50 minutes. Randy Johnson started but pitched like a human instead of a demigod. Omar Vizquel smashed his final home run in a Mariners uniform (he hit just six while appearing in 660 games for Seattle). Rich Amaral had a bunch of TOOTBLANs, as one does. Chris Bosio pitched in relief and got the win. Heck, Jerry Dipoto even made an appearance for Cleveland, striking out Buhner on three pitches with two men in scoring position in the sixth inning. Maybe that’s why Buhner doesn’t feel like going into the M’s broadcast booth anymore.

This win actually pulled Seattle to within two games of the AL West lead, but they’d go on to drop their next four and finish the season 12 games out of the playoffs.

July 10th, 2001 – Safeco Field hosts the All-Star Game!

Nineteen years ago today, Seattle hosted the 72nd Midsummer Classic, and it was a gosh dang party. Eight Mariners were on the American League All-Star squad, including four starters. Bret Boone, Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, and Ichiro Suzuki! Mike Cameron, Jeff Nelson, Freddy García, and Kazuhiro Sasaki! Sweet Lou was in the dugout, too. 

All eight Mariners made it into the game. Ichiro had a single and a stolen base. Cammy slugged a double. Freddy got the win and Kaz picked up the save. And the fans at Safeco went absolutely bananas anytime one of their guys was in the spotlight. Baseball: it’s a good thing.

You can actually watch the whole game on YouTube, if you are so inclined. The video quality is…lacking, but it’s pretty neat hearing Tom Hutyler announce the names of so many all-time greats during the pregame ceremony. 

July 10th, 2008 – Seattle releases Richie Sexson

There was so much excitement among the M’s fanbase when Richmond Lockwood Sexson signed with Seattle before the 2005 season. At the time, his four-year, $50M deal was the largest free agent signing in franchise history. (A record that would stand for two days until the team inked Beltré.) This 6’8″ giant of a human — fully recovered from a shoulder injury suffered the previous season — was going to hit so many majestic moonshots for the M’s. And he did! For awhile…

Sexson’s 2005 was pretty damn special, especially for a righty at pre-fence-adjusted Safeco Field. He fell one home run shy of 40, posted a wRC+ of 144 (gross!), and even garnered a few MVP votes. Although he regressed somewhat in 2006, he continued to pull his weight, thwocking 34 more homers and again slugging north of .500. But his last two seasons in Seattle? Things were…rough. 

As a Mariner in 2007 and 2008 (783 PA), Sexson slashed .210/.303/.392 — good for an 86 wRC+. (For perspective, Dylan Moore hit .206/.302/.389 with an 88 wRC+ last season.) All the pop had fizzed away, the slugger a sluggard who could no longer swing the bat. 

The writing was on the wall for weeks before the team finally released its beleaguered behemoth. The worst team in the league and already ~20 games back in the division, there was no reason to keep Sexson and his expiring contract around. Just a few days before the All-Star break, Richie was given his pink slip. In his last plate appearance with Seattle, two days before his release, Sexson grounded out weakly to third. The Mariners would lose that contest to the A’s by a score of 2-0. It was a Tuesday night game in Oakland that lasted one hour and 49 minutes.

July 10th, 2009 – Seattle trades Yuniesky Betancourt to Kansas City for Derrick Saito and Dan Cortes

When he signed out of Cuba as a 23-year-old, Yuniesky Betancourt was widely considered to be a fast, light-hitting middle infielder with a very good glove. Jeff Sullivan once described him as having “the hands, the arm, the awareness, and the lateral mobility to be the best defensive shortstop in baseball for the next ten years.” Oh, what could have been. Yuni did flash the leather sometimes, but he also had a propensity to make egregious mistakes on seemingly routine plays.

Yuni’s bat never really developed beyond blech, but he did demonstrate a flair for the dramatic. In low-leverage plate appearances with Seattle, he hit just .266/.288/.369 (72 wRC+). But in high-leverage at-bats, his wRC+ shot up by 21 points and he slashed .292/.317/.420. That’s certainly not good, but it’s almost respectable. Betancourt’s uneven play was frustrating, but it did make him kind of exciting to watch…you never knew what was going to happen!

At the time of the trade, Geoff Baker described the Mariners as being “generally giddy” about their return. But Saito never played above Single A and Cortes pitched poorly in just 14 games with the M’s. HOWEVER, Cortes did make this play, which always sticks out in my memory. The ol’ throw a wild pitch with the bases loaded to get out of the inning trick — a classic maneuver.

July 10th, 2010 – Justin Smoak debuts for Seattle

Acquired one day earlier in a trade for Cliff Lee, the Mariners wasted no time inserting Smoak into their starting lineup. The 23-year-old first baseman hit sixth, slotting between Franklin Gutiérrez and Michael Saunders. Smoak — who was ranked as a top-20 prospect by both Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America entering the 2010 season — went 0-4 with three strikeouts in his M’s debut. But he was probably just nervous about playing with his new team, yeah? This was the beginning of a brand new era! The Mariners were destined to enjoy a ton of success at the first base position for many, many years to come…right?

This game was actually pretty noteworthy for another reason, too. The M’s were playing the Yankees and Félix was pitching well. Despite New York scoring just one run through eight frames (on a solo shot by Nick Swisher), the Mariners were losing 1-0 (typical). Félix was very close to getting Mariner’d for the one millionth time of his career…until José López hit a go-ahead grand salami in the bottom of the eighth! Félix slammed the door in the ninth, notching his fourth complete game of the season. Long live the King.