Buhner for the Hall

SeattleMariners.com has a story about Jay Buhner being on the ballot for Cooperstown. The story starts exactly the way I would have started it:

It's rare when a baseball trade becomes part of a sitcom, but the swap between the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees midway through the 1988 season sure did.

During an episode of the "Seinfield" in 1996, Frank Costanza asks George Steinbrenner: "What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?! He had 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs last year. He's got a rocket for an arm. You don't know what the hell you're doin'!"

Then-Mariners general manager Dick Balderson certainly knew what he was doing when he acquired Buhner from the Yankees for left-handed hitter Ken Phelps and two Minor League pitchers.

Phelps spent the remainder of that season and part of the next for the Yankees, hitting 17 home runs and driving in 51 runs in 292 at-bats. Buhner spent the remainder of that season, and the next 13, becoming one of the Mariners' most popular and productive players.

He hit 307 home runs and drove in 951 runs for Seattle, and provided clubhouse leadership that helped the franchise reach unprecedented heights from 1995, when the Mariners captured their first American League West championship, through 2001.
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When teammates needed a pat on the back, he was there with a soft hand. When someone needed a kick in the pants, he was there with a hard boot.

"Jay was very productive, obviously," former Mariners manager Lou Piniella said, "but he was a leader in the clubhouse. Having someone like Jay around makes it easy for the manager, it really does. When you have a bit of a problem that you don't want to correct yourself, you just go over and whisper in his ear and he would take care of it."

Though the Mariners never have retired a uniform number, Buhner's No. 19 remains off-limits to any other player. As a tribute to his impact on the franchise, the Mariners inducted him into their Hall of Fame on Aug. 24, 2004, joining former first baseman Alvin Davis and broadcaster Dave Niehaus in the exclusive club.