On the morning of July 31st 1996, the Seattle Mariners traded outfielder Darren Bragg for left-handed pitcher Jamie Moyer, who, by some unholy alignment of the planets, became one pf the greatest pitchers in Seattle Mariners history. But the following year, the Mariners more than returned the favor...
On the morning of July 31st 1997, the Seattle Mariners had 60 wins and 47 losses. They were also a half game ahead of the Anaheim Angels in the American League Western Division Standings. The Mariners had superstars like Ken Griffey Jr, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Randy Johnson & a young Alex Rodriguez. But there was a problem: the Seattle Mariners bullpen was crap. Yes, that is a pretty simple reason for why the Mariners record at that point wasn't 67 and 40. The bullpen had cost the team [at least] 15 games up to that point. The Mariners were desperate for a good relief pitcher [with the word "good" being used very loosely here]. They had a few options to deal with this problem:
1) They could wait until the bullpen figured something out but will run the risk of missing out on the playoffs
2) They could acquire future Hall of Fame relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman from the San Diego Padres for future star Jose Cruz Jr. & yes this was a possibility because the Padres were way out of contention at that point in the season.
3) They could do something completely stupid & more Mariner-esque. That being trade promising young catcher Jason Varitek, who they had just called up on the 30th of July but had yet to use him in a game and/or Derek Lowe, a promising young pitcher who impressed Manager Lou Piniella with his knowledge & work ethic.
So what did the Mariners do? They of course chose Option 3! I mean what did you expect? They are the Mariners...
But if you thought this was the only stupid part of this story, you are clearly wrong...
The Boston Red Sox only wanted Derek Lowe because they already had a catcher in the Major Leagues, named Mike Stanley & they had a promising young catcher themselves in Steve Lomasney [whose career was tragically cut short due to an eye injury in 2000]. The Red Sox just wanted to get rid of mediocre [at best!] relief pitcher Heathcliff Slocumb's $9 million salary. But, of course the Mariners went full-on stupid & included Jason Varitek in the deal!
As expected, Jason Varitek & Derek Lowe became stars in Boston, with both being key players for the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox. Derek Lowe threw a no-hitter versus Tampa Bay in 2002 & Jason Varitek was named the Captain of the Red Sox in 2005. Slocumb, on the other hand was released by the Mariners after the 1998 season. So, in other words, the Mariners got screwed over...AGAIN!!
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