I dedicate this blog entry to my newborn niece Madeline Marie Winston, who was born on Wednesday, September 9th, 2015.
On December 10, 2008, the Seattle Mariners pulled off a surprising 3-team trade that sent star closer J.J. Putz to the New York Mets & promising 3rd baseman Luis Valbuena to Cleveland in a trade for a then unknown outfielder named Franklin Gutierrez and first baseman Mike Carp. The Mariners fan-base was angry, as Putz had been a fan favorite and Valbuena was a good prospect with a bright future. Jack Zduriencik, who had been hired as the Mariners GM just two weeks before, said that the trade would not have gone through had Gutierrez not been a part of it. On June 5th, 2009, he made an incredible game saving catch against Minnesota, although the Mariners would lose that game 2-1 in extra innings. The late Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Dave Niehaus gave Gutierrez the nickname "Death to Flying Things" from then on. (For those of you who don't know, "Death to Flying Things" was a nickname for 1890's outfielder Bob Ferguson, who was an incredible defensive outfielder and had the reputation of having the strongest and most accurate arm of his time). Here is an example of what Franklin Gutierrez can do when healthy...
See what I mean? He battled injuries and illness from 2011-2014 and now, in 2015, he's back and better than ever, as shown in this video...
http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/9781914/v298987283
No comments:
Post a Comment