Seattle Mariners (1988–2001)
On July 21,1988,the Yankees traded Buhner to the Seattle Mariners along with two career minor leaguers (Rich Balabon and Troy Evers),in exchange for designated hitter Ken Phelps,a Seattle native. [16] [17] Buhner played in 60 games with the Mariners to finish the season,batting .224 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI. [14] He then split the next two seasons between the Mariners and their Triple-A affiliate,the Calgary Cannons. [7]
Buhner's career began an upwards turn in 1991,as he finished the season batting .244 with 27 home runs with 77 RBI in 137 games. [14] On July 25,1991,Buhner hit a massive 457-foot home run in Seattle's 6–5 win against his former team,the Yankees,at Yankee Stadium. [18] He would go on to have continued success against the Yankees throughout his career. [19] In an extra-inning home game against the Oakland Athletics on June 23,1993,he became the first Mariner to hit for the cycle. [20] Buhner began his cycle with a grand slam in the first inning,and hit a triple in the 14th inning to complete it;he subsequently scored the winning run on a wild pitch. [21] [22] Buhner became a free agent following the 1994 season and was pursued by the Baltimore Orioles, [3] but he chose to remain in Seattle,signing a three-year,$15.5 million contract on December 21,1994. [23]
In 1995,Buhner had a career season,batting .262 with 40 home runs and 121 RBI in just 126 games,helping the Mariners to their first American League West title. [14] In the 1995 American League Division Series against the Yankees,Buhner batted .458,and hit safely in every game,including three games with at least three hits. [24] In Game 4,he hit his first career postseason home run off Yankees pitcher Steve Howe,capping off a five-run eighth inning in Seattle's 11–8 win. He finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored,an RBI and a walk. [25] The Mariners went on to defeat the Yankees in Game 5,and advanced to the 1995 American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Indians. In Game 3 of the series,Buhner hit two home runs,including the game-winning three-run home run in the 11th inning against reliever Eric Plunk to give Seattle a 5–2 win and a 2–1 series lead. [24] [26] The Mariners,however,would drop the next three games,eliminating them from contention. Buhner played in all 11 of Seattle's postseason games,batting .383 with four home runs and 8 RBI. [24] After the season,he finished fifth in American League Most Valuable Player voting. [27]
Buhner had continued success in 1996,finishing with a .271 average and setting career-highs with 44 home runs and 138 RBI in 150 games. His 159 strikeouts also led the American League. [14] On July 2,Buhner was selected to the All-Star Game for the only time in his career. [28] On August 3,he hit his 200th career home run in Seattle's 9–3 win over the Detroit Tigers. [29] At the end of the season,Buhner won his first career Gold Glove Award. [14]
On February 7,1997,Buhner signed a two-year,$13 million extension with the Mariners,keeping him in Seattle through 1999. [30] On September 24 against the Anaheim Angels,Buhner hit a 484-foot,three-run home run for his 40th home run of the season,giving the 1997 Mariners the single-season record for home runs by a team with 258. The Mariners went on to win the game,4–3,giving them the AL West division title. [31] In 157 games,Buhner hit .243 with 40 home runs and 109 RBI while striking out 175 times to lead the majors. [14] In the 1997 American League Division Series,Buhner homered in Games 1 and 3,but hit just .231 in the series as the Mariners lost to the Baltimore Orioles in four games. [24]
On April 6,1998,Buhner injured his left knee while making a sliding catch in a game against the Yankees,causing him to undergo surgery. [32] [33] After missing two months,he returned to the Mariners lineup on June 11. [32] He was limited to 72 games,and finished the season batting .242 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI. [14] After the season,he underwent surgery on his right elbow,but returned in time for the start of the 1999 season. [34]
Buhner was again limited by injury in 1999 due to a stint of nearly two months on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. [34] In 87 games,he hit just .222 with 14 home runs and 38 RBI. [14] Despite playing in just over half of the season,his .388 on-base percentage (OBP) was second on the team behind Edgar Martínez. [34] On December 6,1999,Buhner signed a one-year deal to return to the Mariners in 2000. [34] On July 25,2000,Buhner hit his 300th career home run against the Oakland Athletics. [35] He went on to play in 112 games in 2000,batting .253 with 26 home runs and 82 RBI. [14]
On December 7,2000,Buhner signed another one-year contract with the Mariners for the 2001 season. [36] However,he did not play for the team in spring training due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot,and began the season on the disabled list. [37] He returned on September 1, [38] and played out the last month of the season,batting .222 with two home runs and 5 RBI in 19 games. [14]
While well known for his tendency to strike out,Buhner also developed a patience at the plate which allowed him to walk 100 times in a season twice (1993 and 1997) and to post a career OBP of .359. By the mid-1990s,he had developed into one of the premier offensive players in the game,hitting over 40 home runs in three consecutive seasons (1995,1996,and 1997),becoming just the tenth player to do so (and the first since Frank Howard in 1970);this feat has since been equaled by several other players. [14]
