Seattle Pilots... Where are they now?

[Zito75]

Hi All,

The Seattle Times has a front page story on the Pilots today. While cruising through it, I found this link.

Enjoy!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003114508_pilotsbios09.html

[JohnGelnarFan]

Hi Zito - Thanks for the link. One of the other fans put this up in a different thread earlier. It's a great article though and we appreciate you looking out for us! :waving

[Zito75]

I wish I was alive back when the Pilots were in Seattle. Instead, I had to live in Seattle during the 80's and 90's. Man, the M's were just terrible back in the 80's!

[JohnGelnarFan]

It's like our situation in Washington now. It's great having the Nationals here but it just isn't the same as watching the Senators. I remember those early Seattle teams that you saw. There were some good players but they didn't win much!

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

The Mariners had some good players in their early years but unfortunately for their fans they were usually traded away in unsuccesful attempts at building for their future or they were dealt by penny-pinching owners (George Argyros comes to mind first) to save a buck. Ruppert Jones was their first good player to be traded. Enrique Romo showed promise as a closer and was quickly traded. Much better players were to come and in the end most of them were dealt in bad trades (Shane Rawley, Floyd Bannister, etc.).

[JohnGelnarFan]

Some other early names that come to mind are:

Alvin Davis,Bruce Bochte,Rick Honeycutt,Ken Phelps,Julio Cruz,Tom Paciorek,Bill Caudill,Jim Presley,Harold Reynolds,Mark Langston

The Marriners had the same problem that many young teams have- Pitching deficiencies. They needed some Gene Brabender types! :)

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

Oh yeah JG they had some horrendous pitching staffs back then and playing in the Kingdome never helped. I remember in the very early days a guy named Frank Mccormack or Mccormick who had a great arm but could absolutely not find the strike zone if it was painted on a barn five feet away from him. They had a Gene Brabender type in Mike Parret who one year I think was 12-13 or so and followed that up by going 1-16 the next season. The funny thing about it is that back in those days it was so painful to be a Mariners fan but when I look back at it around 20 years later it's just good memories. I'm sure you know this from being a Senators fan.

[JohnGelnarFan]

That's just what I was thinking before I finished reading your post.The memories are much more pleasant now than they were as I watched the Senators in person.
I couldn't find a Frank McCormick or McCormack on the early Seattle rosters but I did find Bo McLaughlin. Could he be the guy you remember or did your McCormick not make the major league team?
I remember Mike Parrott because he was originally with the Orioles. He didn't do much for you in his first year,1978, but was 14-12 with a 3.77 ERA in 1979. You must have been pretty pleased in the winter,hoping that he might improve those numbers. Your memory is very good about the following year. He was 1-16 with a 7.28 ERA That's a bit high even by today's standards! :p He finished his career with the M's in 1981,improving to 3-6 with only a 5.08 ERA

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

That's just what I was thinking before I finished reading your post.The memories are much more pleasant now than they were as I watched the Senators in person.
I couldn't find a Frank McCormick or McCormack on the early Seattle rosters but I did find Bo McLaughlin. Could he be the guy you remember or did your McCormick not make the major league team?
I remember Mike Parrott because he was originally with the Orioles. He didn't do much for you in his first year,1978, but was 14-12 with a 3.77 ERA in 1979. You must have been pretty pleased in the winter,hoping that he might improve those numbers. Your memory is very good about the following year. He was 1-16 with a 7.28 ERA That's a bit high even by today's standards! :p He finished his career with the M's in 1981,improving to 3-6 with only a 5.08 ERA
Got out the old Baseball Encyclopedia and it's actually spelt MacCormick, Frank. Appeared in twelve games over two seasons with Detroit and then the expansion Mariners, 0-5 record 18 k's 46 bb's in 40 innings. Not real impressive but atleast he made the show. Sorry my spelling is sometimes off )Mike Parrot, etc..

[JohnGelnarFan]

The baseball Encyclopedia is the best book I own. I have to get a more recent edition though. I have a much less expensive "bible" called "The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball". The year to year rosters and Stats are more complete.
You weren't kidding about his control,were you? :eek: You have a good memory Goose. He only pitched in 3 games! I wonder what Mike Parrott is doing these days?

[Zito75]

I remember seeing Mike Moore and Mike Morgan in the rotation back in the mid 80's. Those guys were hideous then- just terrible. Then again when you're getting support from Barry Bonnell, Spike Owen, Domingo Ramos, Henry Cotto, Jack Perconte and Rey Quiones, you KNEW that a long night was in store for you. I saw some blowouts there in the dome. :laugh

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

Yeah that was back in the days when they had Matt Young who had great stuff but couldn't do anything with it. They took Mike Moore number one in the draft passing on Ron Darling because they thought that Moore would cost less than Darling. Moore struggled throughout his career with the M's but when he got to Oakland he really blossomed. He and Dave Stewart dominated the Giants in the Bay area series.

[JohnGelnarFan]

Guys like Moore and Morgan were Inning eaters on bad teams kind of like Rick and Mickey Mahler were in Atlanta. You also had hall of famer Gaylord Perry!

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

You're exactly right on Moore, Morgan and Matt Young they were innings eaters. I was there the night Gaylord won his 300th. The joke about the old Mariner teams was that more fans once attended a Funny Nose Glasses Night game than attended Perry's 300th win game.

[Rennie Stennett]

Ted Williams said about Rey Quinones, don't mess with his swing, he'll hit .285 the rest of his career. I remember Rey left and went home and never returned. Does anyone remember why ?

[Zito75]

Ted Williams said about Rey Quinones, don't mess with his swing, he'll hit .285 the rest of his career. I remember Rey left and went home and never returned. Does anyone remember why ?


I remember him leaving, but the M's had Omar in the wings.

I think I'll start an 80's thread in the M's forum... ;)

[Aa3rt]

I remember Rey left and went home and never returned. Does anyone remember why ?

Rey was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 21, 1989 in a multi-player swap. Three months and one day later (July 22, 1989) he was released by the Pirates. Where he went from there I have no idea.

Career record here:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=quinre01 (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=quinore01)

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

Quinonez was traded for Mike Dunn who was a wash for the Mariners. He (Quinonez) had all the talent in the world but no desire to use it. Ted Williams did say that he had a hall of fame swing.