Ichiro Just One of Worst Trades in Mariner’s History

If you've been a lifelong Mariners fan, you may know they probably have the worst luck in trades in MLB history.

While some teams have been bad for some time (Pittsburgh since the late 1980's, Houston Astros' last decade)  at least they started and finished with sub-par players. And Pittsburgh is turning things around. Anyway,  you can argue that no team in the modern era of baseball has EVER traded away more talent and future stars than Seattle. Since the club's inception in 1977, misguided scouting, desire for quick results, lack of vision to the future and an unwillingness to pay for talent means the Mariners have let enough players get away to fill at least two all-star teams. Granted, some of the moves were due to unhappiness on the part of the player, but why are solid performers unhappy? Answer: lack of money, lack of winning, lack of commitment by the organization to make winning happen. This list also includes players who were signed away as free-agents because the Mariners were not pursuing them once their contracts were up.

Inspired by Ichiro, here are the worst trades & giveaways the Mariners ever made -- in no particular order -- over the last few decades:

• Ichiro Suzuki - to Yankees
• Derek Lowe and Jason Veritek - to Boston
• David Ortiz (Big Papi) - to Twins
• Astrubel Cabrerra,  Shin-Soo Choo, and Omar Vizquel - to Cleveland
• Jamie Moyer  and Raul Ibanez - to Philadephia
• Ken Giffey Jr. - to Cinncinnati
• Dave Henderson - to Boston
• Carlos Guillen - to Detroit
• Mike Hamlin - to Houston
• Alex Rodriguez - to Texas
• Rafael Soriano - to Atlanta (now the closer for the Yankees)
• Adam Jones - Baltimore
• Tino Martinez - to Yankees
• Randy Johnson - to Arizona
• Adrian Beltre - to Texas
• Doug Pfister - to Detroit
• R.A. Dickey - to Mets

And that's all we could think of! For a fascinating read, pick up a copy of the book we gave away earlier in the season called, "Shipwrecked: A People's History of the Seattle Mariners." If you're a die-hard M's fan, it will make blood shoot out of your eyeballs. Have fun!