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Not to say that the Mariners haven't had some decent shortstops--on the contrary, they've had arguably the best defensive shortstop of all-time (Omar Vizquel), and unarguably the best offensive shortstop of all-time (Alex Rodriguez).
But A-Rod and Little O were both homegrown, as were Spike Owen and Yuniesky Betancourt, the only other men who've lasted more than two years as our starter at short.
When the M's have gone outside the organization for a shortstop, the results have been disastrous.
To wit:
Mario Mendoza: Acquired in a 1978 trade with the Pirates, his feeble hitting inspired a derogatory bit of baseball lingo: "The Mendoza Line," another term for a .200 batting average.
Rey Quinones: The centerpiece of a 1986 trade that sent Spike Owen and Dave Henderson to Boston, Quinones once, according to Kirby Arnold's Tales from the Seattle Mariners Dugout, refused to suit up for a game, saying, "I'm so good that I don't need to play every day." The talented Quinones was out of baseball at age 25.
Rich Aurilia: One of Bill Bavasi's first free-agent signings, Aurilia hit just .241 and displayed all the fielding range of a polyp. Bavasi got rid of him just three months into the '04 season.
Lots of bad mojo for newly acquired Jack Wilson to overcome--not that we believe in such things.
Wilson should do fine. He's been a consistently average hitter in nine seasons as a starter, which is about all you can hope for from a shortstop. He's aggressive at the plate, seeing an average of 3.49 pitches per plate appearance (just a shade above Adrian Beltre's 3.47). Wilson has some power, but it's doubles-power, not the home-run variety. He's had as many as 41 doubles in a season, and is on a pace to get more than 30 this year. Wilson has just five homers over the past two seasons.
Wilson is better known for his defense, which comes with a recommendation from as authoritative a source as Omar Vizquel. The 11-time Gold Glover today told MLB.com's Jim Street: "I think [Wilson's] one of the best shortstops in the game right now. [...] Every routine play that can be made he makes, and he also can make some pretty awesome plays. He's fast and can turn double plays. They (Mariners) got a good one."
Jack Zduriencik cited Wilson's clubhouse leadership as a reason for making the trade. He's certainly expressed a desire to win, sometimes attacking club management for not showing the same desire for success that he did. After the Pirates traded Nate McLouth last month, Wilson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he was "beyond, beyond tired" with the Pirates trades. Added Wilson: "It's just hard for guys who have been here and seen these exact same trades happen and seen it absolutely do nothing. I've been here nine years. I've seen two or three of these trades every year and still haven't had a winning season."
Maybe you'll get a winning season here, Jack!
Some personal notes on Wilson: He's 31, he was born and raised in the L.A. suburbs (Thousand Oaks, which is fairly nice as L.A. suburbs go). He's married to a Julie, and they gave all three of their kids "J" names as well--son Jacob (age 7), and daughters Jaidyn (age 4) and Jersi (age 1). He's been nominated for baseball's humanitarian award twice, and was once voted the Pirate player most cooperative with the Pittsburgh media.
Wilson will make his debut as the M's starting shortstop today when the M's take on second-place Texas in Arlington. Game time is 5:05 p.m. PDT.
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Carlos Guiellen was solid.