MARINERS SPRING TRAINING: Wilson shows wallop
PEORIA, Ariz. – Seattle Mariners manager Mike Hargrove tells his young players that it’s too early in spring training to evaluate talent, so they shouldn’t try too hard to make a positive impression.
Mike Wilson did anyway on Tuesday.
The power-hitting outfielder got his first big league camp off to one of the biggest bangs possible in the Mariners’ first intrasquad game. He launched a mammoth home run over the 32-foot-high batter’s eye in center field to highlight a 3-0 victory by his squad.
To nobody’s surprise, pitching dominated the 4 1/2-inning game, which was scoreless until the top of the fourth when Kenji Johjima doubled and scored on a throwing error.
Wilson, who played for the Everett AquaSox in 2004, then hit a drive off pitcher Juan Sandoval to straight-away center field. Adam Jones drifted to the warning track and, as the ball sailed deeper, left fielder Raul Ibanez yelled, “Play it off the fence.”
Not a chance.
The ball cleared the tall fence – 410 feet from the plate – and bounced across a paved road several feet away.
“I was thinking triple,” Wilson said. “I wasn’t thinking of a home run going over the monster.”
After the “oohs” and “aahs” died down among those who saw the blast, a bit of baseball tradition broke out: Wilson became the target of wisecracks.
“That all you got?” coach Mike Goff chided as Wilson rounded the bases. “Six-hundred feet not enough for you?”
Wilson, a 6-foot-2, 215-pounder who’s built like a linebacker, hit 21 home runs with 81 RBI last year at Single-A Inland Empire and Double-A San Antonio.
Jeff Weaver and Jorge Campillo each worked a perfect inning to lead the nine pitchers used in the intrasquad game. Jesse Foppert, Aaron Small, Cha Seung Baek, Sean White and Matt Perisho also pitched a scoreless inning each.
Ichiro Suzuki showed his 200-hit-a-year form right away, going 3 for 3. New designated hitter Jose Vidro got two hits.
“These games are not fun to play in, believe me,” Hargrove said. “There’s nothing on the line at all.”
Maybe, but maybe not. There are young players in every camp hoping to make a positive first impression and the Mariners, while nobody seemed overwhelmed, are no exception.
“You’ve got to remind them all the time that they’re not going to make the club the first two or three weeks of the spring,” Hargrove said. “The last thing we want them to do is go out and injure themselves early trying to impress. There’s no reason to impress other than by their work ethic. There’s always one or two in every camp who never listen, but these guys seem to have taken it to heart for the most part.”
Notes
Pitcher Mark Lowe had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to clean up scar tissue which had built up since surgery in October. Dr. Lewis Yocum performed the surgery in Los Angeles, and Lowe is expected back in Peoria today to continue his rehab. … The Mariners announced four signings: pitchers Mark Lowe and Jake Woods, and infielders Bryan LaHair and Oswaldo Navarro. Eight remain unsigned – Felix Hernandez, George Sherrill, Eric O’Flaherty, Travis Blackley, Rene Rivera, Jose Lopez, Mike Morse and Jeremy Reed. The Mariners control all of those contracts and they will either be signed or have their contracts renewed by March 2. … Hargrove won’t say where the starters will pitch in the rotation, but he agreed that veteran right-hander Jeff Weaver “probably is not a fifth starter.” … Utility player Mike Morse started at third base in the intrasquad game, but Hargrove said he’ll get plenty of action in the outfield, too. “I told him to spend most of his time taking ground balls,” Hargrove said. “Ground balls are more difficult than fly balls.”