The Bavasi Legacy Lives On

What do Rafael Soriano, Omar Vizquel, Shin Soo Choo, Alex Rodriguez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Derek Lowe, Matt Thornton, Jason Varitek, Yuniesky Betancourt, Carlos Guillen, Freddy Garcia, Raul Ibanez and even Mike Hampton all have in common?  They were all at one point or another farmhands of the Seattle Mariners, the team that ended the 2010 season with the worst record in the American League, and the second worst record in all of baseball. 

King Midas in Reverse: Former Mariner GM Bill Bavasi

Thank you, Bill Bavasi, among others. 

And speaking of the M's, they're going to have a real public relations dilemma in a few years. 

The team has not retired a single uniform numbers to date (outside, of course, of Jackie Robinson's #42), though it stands to reason at some point in the not-too-distant future they'll bestow that honor on both Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey, Jr. 

The M's problem, however, lies in the two players presumably next in line after Edgar and Junior.  

There's little doubt the team will retire Randy Johnson's #51 at some point in the not-too-distant future.  The Unit dominated baseball for over a decade while playing in the Kingdome. That's clearly not a problem. 

The problem is that #51 is currently being worn by an active Mariner player.  And that current M just happens to be Ichiro Suzuki, who by this time next season, or maybe the season after that, might be regarded as the single greatest Mariner of all time.