TTM Success: Mike Blowers

The Yankees and Mariners have traded a lot, it seems. You’ve got modern day deals like Pineda, Ichiro, and Shawn Kelley all coming to NY in various deal, while the Yanks tend to send the M’s some spare parts from time-to-time, such as the recent Ben Gamel trade.

Then you’ve got the greatest deal ever, Tino Martinez and Jeff Nelson for Sterling Hitchcock and Russ Davis. Oh yeah, and there was some guy named Buhner before that.

I’m sure I’m missing a few, but I can easily recall the Yankees and M’s hooking up for trades over the last 30 years far more than I can most other teams, outside of maybe the Pirates taking all of the Yankees catchers.

Here’s one that backfired on the Yankees. It wasn’t franchise-altering or anything, but the Yankees sent a young Mike Blowers to Seattle for Jim Blueberg, a pitching prospect. Blueberg stalled out in AA, while Blowers played for M’s through 1995 (and a few more reunions afterward). He hit 23 HRs for the 1995 Mariners, the team that knocked the Yankees out of the post-season. Fate!

Blowers now works as a broadcaster for the M’s, where he signed three cards for me in about 6 weeks turnaround time.