| Jay Buhner |
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EARLY CAREER Buhner was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2nd round of the 1984 amateur draft and was traded shortly thereafter to the New York Yankees . He made his Major League debut on September 11 , 1987 , appearing in seven games that year. Jay was traded again the next summer, on July 21 , 1988 , to the Seattle Mariners along with two career minor leaguers (Rich Balabon and Troy Evers) in exchange for Ken Phelps . The trade is often considered one of the worst made by the Yankees of that period, and the best in Mariner history. (This fact was once noted humorously on the television program '' Seinfeld '', in which the Yankees' owner, George Steinbrenner , appears at the home of George Costanza 's parents to inform them – mistakenly – that their son is dead. All Mr. Costanza can say is, "What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?! He had 30 home runs, over 100 RBIs last year!" The clip was played at Safeco Field when Buhner was inducted into the Mariners' Hall of Fame in 2004). BEST YEARS Buhner hit his stride in 1991 , hitting 27 HRs with 77 RBIs . While well-known for his tendency to strike out, he also developed a patience at the plate which allowed him to walk 100 times in a season on several occasions. By the mid-90s he had developed into one of the premier offensive players in the game, hitting 40-plus home runs in three consecutive seasons, 1995 , 1996 and 1997 . Had he not been in a line-up surrounded by superstars Ken Griffey Jr. , Edgar Martinez , Alex Rodriguez , Buhner's accomplishments might have been more noted. Buhner retired at the end of the 2001 season as one of the most popular players in Mariners history. The Mariners have not issued his #19 jersey since he retired, but under Mariners team policy he will not be eligible to have his number retired until 2010 , when he will appear on the Baseball Hall Of Fame ballot for the first time. The Mariners require a player to have spent at least five years with the team and be inducted into the Hall of Fame, or spend most of his career in Seattle and just miss induction. Even if he misses induction into the Hall of Fame, it is highly unlikely that any Mariner will wear #19 again. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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