Archive for the ‘ Video Highlights ’ Category

Mariners Spring Training Intro Video

Something new for 2013 at Peoria Stadium is an intro video that runs right before the Mariners take the field. The video shows highlights from Mariners history, including a lot of current players, and pays tribute to the 20th Anniversary of playing Cactus League games at Peoria Stadium. You can watch the video below:

Smoak Bomb

One of the great things we are able to provide during spring training are video highlights that we deliver to Seattle and national TV stations through an FTP process. We are lucky to have six TV games (starting with March 4 game vs. Colorado), but sometimes it is tough to get a visual of what is going on down in Arizona.

A lot of people are talking about Justin Smoak’s hot start this spring (.556/5-for-9, 2 HR, 4 RBI). He hit a mammoth, game-winning 2-run home run yesterday in the 8th inning vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. Here is video (and audio) of the tape-measure home run:

Michael Saunders Plays Reporter

Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders may have a career after his current career, as a broadcaster. This morning he interviewed Mariners radio announcer Rick Rizzs about the upcoming 2013 season. As you can see, Michael has quite the personality and is a joy to be around (and to watch on the field)!

Mariners Photo Day Rewind

Here is a fun time-lapse video of the Mariners annual photo taken by Ben Mertens in the Mariners Marketing & Gameday Productions Department.

What Felix Means to the Mariners

This pretty much sums up how we feel about King Felix!

Mariners Spring Training Update – Day 1

Mariners players going through stretching drills o the first day of 2013 Spring Training. (Associated Press)

Mariners players going through stretching drills on the first day of 2013 Spring Training. (Associated Press)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 / 9 Days ‘til Cactus League Opener (Feb. 22 vs. San Diego) / 47 Days ‘til Opening Night (April 1 at Oakland) / 54 Days ‘til Opening Night in Seattle (April 8 vs. Houston)

Busy Day in Seattle with King Felix:
It was a special day back in Seattle as Felix Hernandez officially signed his seven-year contract extension making him a Mariner through the 2019 season. Those that get to be around Felix as much as we do not only know how great of a pitcher he is, but how equally great of a person he is. He treats us all the same, from the clubhouse staff to the PR staff, to his teammates, and we couldn’t be more proud to keep him in the family for at least seven more seasons. We included several photos from his news conference in Seattle, including the below photo when he was greeted by members of our front office after coming off the elevators. And here is the official news release that went out to the media this afternoon.

Felix Hernandez is greeted by members of the Mariners Front Office prior to his news conference.

Felix Hernandez is greeted by members of the Mariners Front Office prior to his news conference.

And you can view highlights from the news conference that took place at Safeco Field today in the below video (about as awesome as it gets in my mind):

Getting on the Field:
It was the day that we wait for all winter, when Pitchers and Catchers (along with several position players) took to the back field at the Peoria Sports Complex for the first official day of Spring Training. Pitchers ran through PFP drills (Pitchers Fielding their Position), catchers caught bullpens and coaches roamed all the fields. A total of 16 pitchers threw their first bullpens of the spring, including newcomers Jon Garland and Kameron Loe, and Washington native Jeremy Bonderman.

After a 20-minute meeting in the clubhouse, the players hit the fields around 9:30 am and were kept busy until almost noon. This will be the normal routine for the next week until the first Cactus League game is played on Feb. 22 vs. the Padres.

Manager Eric Wedge talked about the first day of workouts and the signing of Felix Hernandez:

And catcher Kelly Shoppach talked about his first day as a Mariner:

Weather:
Well, the time has come where you may not want to read the weather section of this blog. Because today was “Bottle-it-up” perfect in my mind. Blue skies, sunny, and just a little crisp in the morning. Temperatures were in the mid 60’s for most of the day. We keep hearing that 70-degrees should be waiting for us this weekend!

It was nearly a perfect day as the Mariners took the field for the first time in 2013.

It was nearly a perfect day as the Mariners took the field for the first time in 2013.

Another Roster Move:
The Mariners acquired minor league outfielder Abraham Almonte from the New York Yankees today in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Shawn Kelley. Kelley was designated for assignment when Kelly Shoppach was signed as a free agent.

Almonte, 23, spent last season primarily with Double-A Trenton in the Yankees organization. He hit .276 (88×319) with 47 runs scored, 17 doubles, 4 triples, 4 home runs, 25 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 78 games. The 5-9, 205-pound switch hitter was named an Eastern League midseason All-Star and ranked 5th in the EL in stolen bases (30-for-350. He also appeared in 7 games with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Yankees.

Tweet of the Day:

Quote of the Day:

“The quality and talent level of our pitching staff, from top to bottom, is solid. I can’t really put words to how far that has come. The depth of this group will create a lot of competition, especially for the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the rotation. It is our job as coaches to evaluate and make the best decisions. But I am really excited to see these guys take the mound.”
– Pitching Coach Carl Willis

North Carolina vs. Duke:
Besides being the busy day with the first day of on-field workouts, it was a stressful day for Pitching Coach Carl Willis. Willis is probably one of the bigger University of North Carolina basketball fans that I’ve ever met, and I witnessed him personally act like a little kid when he met Tar Heel legend George Karl. At time of this blog posting the Tar Heels trailed Duke by 5 points, so hoping this turns around. Somewhere Kevin Millwood (huge Duke fan) is probably texting Carl to torment him.

Happy Birthday Julio:
Outfielder Julio Morban turned 21 today and was all smiles when manager Eric Wedge found him in the clubhouse to wish him a Happy Birthday.

On Tap Tomorrow (Feb. 14):
Tomorrow will be a pretty similar day in terms of timing, with the team taking the field at 9:30 am for stretch (on Field #3). A total of 15 pitchers are scheduled to have bullpen sessions, and this group will be fun to watch: Charlie Furbush, Josh Kinney, Erasmo Ramirez, Joe Saunders and Tom Wilhelmsen. Top prospects Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen, Brandon Maurer and James Paxton are also scheduled to get some extended mound time in.

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Another King Felix Shutout

Felix Hernandez won his 9th consecutive decision last night, throwing a 5-hit shutout in the Mariners 1-0 win over the Twins at Target Field.

Here are some notable facts about the latest of King Felix gems thrown this season:

  • Felix recorded his third 1-0 shutout victory in the month of August. Only two other pitchers in Major League history recorded have three 1-0 shutout wins in a calendar month: Carl Hubbell for the Giants in July 1933 and the Braves’ Dick Rudolph in August 1916.
  • Is just the third pitcher during the divisional era (since 1969) to have four wins with the score 1-0 in a single season (all CG shutouts), joining Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins (1974) and Bert Blyleven (1976)…Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson also recorded four 1-0 shutouts in 1968.
  • Felix joined Mark Langston (September 1988) as the only pitchers in Mariners history with 3 shutouts in a month.
  • The shutout was his fifth this season (6/28 vs. BOS, 7/14 vs. TEX, 8/4 at NYY, 8/15 vs. TB, 8/27 at MIN), setting a Mariners club record for a single season…Dave Fleming (1992) and Randy Johnson (1994) held the previous record with 4 shutouts in a season.
  • Felix’s 5 shutouts are tied for the most in a season by an American League pitcher since 1989 (Bert Blyleven in 1989, Roger Clemens in 1992, David Wells in 1998).
  • All five of Felix’s shutouts were in a 12-start span beginning June 28…he is the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 1998 to record 5+ shutouts in 12-start span.

And here is a look at Felix’s statistics for the season and his some incredible numbers about his recent string of starts:

  • Has 16 starts where he has pitched 7.0 or more innings with 1 or fewer runs setting a club record (he had 15 in 2010 Cy Young season).
  • Has a current 9-game winning streak to tie his career-high…since June 17 he is 9-0 with a 1.40 ERA (17 ER, 109.0 IP), 100 strikeouts and a .183 opponents batting average…last loss was June 12 vs. the Padres.
  • In 5 starts in August went 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA (5 ER, 41.2 IP), including the 23rd perfect game in MLB history Aug. 15 vs. the Rays.
  • Heading into Tuesday’s games, leads the Majors in ERA (2.43), innings pitched (196.7) and 3rd in strikeouts (184).

And here is the highlight reel from Felix’s shutout vs. the Twins last night:

- JE

Tom Wilhelmsen on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk

Mariners closer Tom Wilhelmsen joined Chris Rose and Kevin Millar on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk to discuss his time away from baseball, his travels through Europe and even shows off a few of his dance moves. Enjoy the entertaining interview!

King Felix at Yankee Stadium

Felix Hernandez was once again dominant in a 1-0 win against the Yankees in New York on Saturday, tossing his 21st career complete game and his 7th career shutout.

“That’s probably the best start I’ve seen as a manager,” said Eric Wedge. “In a 1-0 ballgame, he knows one pitch can be the ballgame. That was just special stuff to watch today. What you saw today, you’re not going to see anything better than that.”

“The thing was, he was never in any bad counts, really. I think he had one or two walks,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “You look, he threw about a ball a hitter, so he was never in any bad counts.”

“He was better than us,” said Yankees captain Derek Jeter. “That’s pretty much all you can say.”

Here are a few notes on his performance courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info.

Here are some notes about Felix’s 2-hit shutout today in the Mariners 1-0 win at Yankee Stadium (statistical research help from ESPN Data Info, Baseball-Reference.com & the Elias Sports Bureau)

  • Became the 3rd pitcher since 1930 with two shutouts allowing 2 hits or fewer at Yankee Stadium (Jim Palmer and Billy Hoeft).
  • Tossed his second shutout at new Yankee Stadium (opened in 2009), as many as all NYY pitchers combined
  • Led the Mariners to their first 1-0 win vs. the Yankees on the road since May 17, 1991.
  • Recorded the first 1-0 shutout by a visiting pitcher at Yankee Stadium (new or old) since Greg Swindell Sept. 6, 1988.
  • Recorded his 3rd shutout this season to tie Brandon Morrow for the MLB lead.
  • With Felix’s third shutout this season (also: 6/28 vs. BOS & 7/14 vs. TEX) became the 10th Mariner in club history to record 3+ shutouts in a season (Johnson-3, Langston-2, Vargas, Garcia, Moyer, Fleming, Holman, Moore, Bannister)…7th career shutout tying Floyd Bannister for 4th all-time in club history.
  • Recorded his 5th career win in a 1-0 game setting the club record (Randy Johnson 2nd with 4 W)…2nd CG shutout in 1-0 game, both this season.
  • Is 5-2 with a 2.06 ERA (12 ER, 52.1 IP) in 7 starts vs. Yankees in New York, including 4-1, 1.13 (5 ER, 39.2 IP) with 2 shutouts at the new Yankee Stadium.
  • Is 6-0 with a 1.41 ERA (12 ER, 76.1 IP), 3 shutouts, 75 strikeouts, 14 walks, only 1 HR allowed and a .195 opp avg (53×272) over his last 10 starts (since 6/17). Lowered season ERA from 3.70 to 2.63 during stretch.
  • Was Felix’s 9th start this season with at least 8.0 innings pitched while allowing 1 or fewer runs (next closest are Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey with 5)…Felix had 13 such starts during his Cy Young season in 2010.

And how rare of a loss like this was it for the Yankees in their historic home stadium?

  • Just the 9th time in live ball era (since 1918) the Yankees have lost 1-0 at home with 2 or fewer hits and 1st time since June 1, 1978 (Jim Palmer 2-hit shutout).
  • Just the 2nd time in the past 50 years the Yankees have lost 1-0 at home with 2 or fewer hits.
  • Only the 2nd time to be shutout 1-0 in their new ballpark (298th game, last: 6/13/11 vs. CLE), and 10th time overall to be shutout in the new Yankee Stadium

Here’s a look at Felix’s game logs at Yankee Stadium:

- FA & JE

Welcome to Seattle Eric Thames

Eric Thames hit a game-tying 2-run home run in his Mariners debut last night.

Newly acquired outfielder Eric Thames made his Mariners debut last night vs. his former team (Toronto Blue Jays), and hit a towering 416-foot 2-run home run in the 5th inning to tie the game 3-3. The Mariners went on to beat the Blue Jays 5-3 to extend their season-high winning streak to 7 consecutive games and finished the 10-game homestand with a 8-2 record.

Thames became the 24th player in club history to homer in their Mariners debut.

Player Date Opponent
Juan Bernhardt April 10, 1977 California
Skip Jutze April 12, 1977 Minnesota
Leon Roberts April 9, 1978 Minnesota
Willie Horton April 4, 1979 California
Jeff Burroughs April 9, 1981 California
Al Cowens April 6, 1982 Minnesota
Bobby Brown May 8, 1982 New York (AL)
Jamie Nelson* July 21, 1983 Boston
Alvin Davis* April 11, 1984 Boston
Gary Matthews Sr. July 12, 1987 Boston
Eric Anthony April 4, 1994 Cleveland
Alex Diaz April 29, 1995 Detroit
Mark Whiten Aug. 16, 1996 New York (AL)
Rico Rossy June 21, 1998 Oakland
Matt Mieske April 7, 1999 Chicago (AL)
Domingo Cedeno April 12, 1999 Oakland
Greg Dobbs* Sept. 8, 2004 Cleveland
Richie Sexson April 4, 2005 Minnesota
Roberto Petagine April 3, 2006 Los Angeles (AL)
Kenji Johjima* April 3, 2006 Los Angeles (AL)
Ben Broussard July 29, 2006 Cleveland
Franklin Gutierrez April 6, 2009 Minnesota
Eliezer Alfonzo May 30, 2010 Los Angeles (AL)
Eric Thames Aug. 1, 2012 Toronto
* MLB Debut
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