Yuni vs. his predecessors, part 5 March 10, 2008
Posted by Brad in commentary, stats.Tags: seattle mariners, spike owen, yuniesky betancourt
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Yuniesky Betancourt is a great name, but this guy’s name might be better…
1983-1986 Spike Owen

Stats: .239/.301/.327 in 1590 at bats in 4 years. Spike was the first Mariners shortstop that could take a walk, or stick with the M’s for more than two seasons. He also was a switch-hitter
Place in M’s fandom: My mom always quotes the M’s announcer that said “His real first name is Spike. His parents must not have liked him much.” How’d he get his name? His mom liked her name. “‘My mother’s maiden name was ‘Spikes,’ explained [Spike]. ‘When I tell people that, it clears things up for them.’”
Baseball Reference says that Owen was named the M’s captain in 1986 (the year he was traded), and remains the team’s only captain ever. What happened to captain’s never leaving their sinking ship? In 1986, the Mariners’ 67-95 record closed out a decade of sheer losing, which certainly constitutes sinking.
Wikipedia/Google: Owen kept getting traded for Latin shortstops, specifically Rey Quinones and Luis Rivera. He was better than both of them.
Owen has a page on the Internet Movie Database, because he appeared in the “1986 World Series” mini series, which had a nice surprise ending.
Spike Owen’s last game in the majors? The Mariners’ playoff win against the Angels ion October 2, 1995. Trailing 9-1 in the top of the ninth, Owen pinch hit for Gary DiSarcina and hit a pop up to Ken Griffey, Jr.
Spike Owen played almost a hundred more games as a Mariner than Yuniesky Betancourt, and played all of them wearing a trident hat, which I believe is worth double. He’s the first Mariners shortstop that’s worth considering to be a peer of Yuni.
[...] Spike Owen There’s a big drop off after the top 4. Spike played a lot of games, and was the only team [...]