During the mid 1990s Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson combined for some memorable wins. The long-armed hurler and the sure-handed catcher played in Seattle together from 1994-1998.
They will be the fifth and sixth members of the Mariners Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be on Saturday, July 28, 2012, prior to the Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals game.
Both players turned around an entire organization late in the 1995 season by helping the team overcome a 13-and-a-half game deficit to force a one-game playoff with the Anaheim Angles.
The team won 9-1 on the arm of Randy Johnson and made it into the playoffs.
From the Mariners website, a recap of that series:
After the Mariners lost the first two games of the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Johnson started Game 3 at the Kingdome and won 7-4. In Game 5, on one day’s rest, Johnson memorably strode in from the bullpen for a relief appearance. He pitched the 9th, 10th and 11th innings, giving up one run with six strikeouts. Johnson held off the Yankees for the comeback capped by Edgar Martinez’s double that scored the winning run. The Mariners won 6-5 in 11 innings, and went on to the team’s first-ever appearance in the American League Championship Series.
Wilson was one of the best defensive catchers in team history. He played 12 of his 14 Major League seasons for the Mariners and is ranked among the Top 10 in a bevy of Mariners offensive categories including:
• Games played (1,281, 5th)
• Hits (1,071, 6th)
• Extra base hits (308, 9th)
• Total bases (1,568, 8th)
• Doubles (207, 6th)
• RBI (508, 9th)
• At-bats (4,085, 7th)
• Runs (433, 10th)
From the Mariners website:
Wilson represented the Mariners on the 1996 American League All-Star team. He owns the Mariners career records for home runs by a catcher (including two inside-the-park home runs), and the Club’s single season records for catchers in RBI (83, 1996), and is tied with Miguel Olivo (2011) for home runs (18, 1996). Wilson ended his career with a .995 fielding percentage, at the time the highest for any catcher in American League history, and the sixth highest in Major League history. He is currently tied for first among A.L. catchers with Joe Mauer and A.J.Pierzinski.
The four current members of the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame are Alvin Davis (1997), Dave Niehaus (2000), Jay Buhner (2004) and Edgar Martinez (2007). The Hall of Fame was created to honor the players, staff and other individuals that greatly contributed to the history of the Mariners franchise.
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