Tuesday Top 10: Greatest M's plays

There sure are a lot of them in the Mariners' relatively short history, but today's Top 10 is my version of the greatest plays in the team's history. The idea behind these was what individual plays really stand out, not to be confused with the top greatest moments in Mariners history, like the record-breaking wins of 2001, etc.

With that in mind, here are my best individual player moments:

10. Junior goes full-tilt into the wall to make catch, breaks wrist: Until you've played baseball -- and outfield at that -- you really can't appreciate how remarkable it is to see a player go full speed into the wall to make a catch. It's next to impossible to not have the instinct to let up, but Junior's catch on May 27, 1995 robbing Kevin Bass' seventh-inning fly ball to deep center proved the Kid was willing to do anything to help his team in that magical year. The Ms won that game over the Baltimore Orioles 8-3, but on the play Griffey fractured his wrist and was out for three months. One of the greatest catches I've ever seen.

9. Mike Cameron robs Jeter's home run: Cameron's snagging of a Derek Jeter home run from over the fence was a fitting introduction to Mariner fans still reeling from losing Junior, as it occurred on April 7, 2000, Cammy's first season with the Ms. I can remember it as if it was yesterday -- Cameron scales the wall and robs both Jeter and a drunk guy in the beer garden in perfect position awaiting the souvenir.

8. Ichiro throws out Terrance Long: Much like the previous play, this play was really Ichiro's introduction to (in this case MLB) that he wasn't just a slap-hitting Japanese speedster, he also had arguably the most lethal arm in baseball, something not everyone may have known. The play occurred in April 2001 -- right at the beginning of Ichiro's first season with Seattle and from that moment on, few tested his arm. The throw came in Oakland when Long was trying to stretch a ground-ball single from first to third when #51 threw an absolute bullet from mid-right field on a frozen rope to a waiting David Bell right on the bag for an easy tag. Said Ichiro on the throw: “The ball was hit right to me. Why did he run when I was going to throw him out?” My thoughts exactly, Wizard.

7. Felix Hernandez grand slam at Shea: Impressive because a) He was the AL first pitcher to hit a grand slam in 37 years and the only Mariner pitcher to ever go deep, b) Felix was an AL pitcher that never got ABs, and c) it was off Johan Santana. Unfortunately for Ms fans, it typified the team's offensive struggles as the June 23 highlight was only one of a handful last season.

6. Griffey Jr. & Sr. go back-to-back: A moment that had never happened before and probably won't ever again due to the stars that have to align. The Griffeys had already become the first father-and-son tandem to play on the same big league team, and on September 14, 1990 in Anaheim, Senior came to bat in the first inning with a runner on base and none out. He sent a Kirk McCaskill pitch over the fence in left-center field for his third home run of the season. There to greet him at home plate was the on-deck batter, Junior. "That's how it's done, son," Senior said. Junior stepped to the plate and hit a ball to almost the exact same spot in left-center for his 20th home run of the season, becoming the first father/son tandem to go deep back-to-back.

5. Carlos Guillen's bunt to win ALDS: October 6, 2000. Guillen lays down a magnificent bunt in the bottom of the ninth to score Rickey Henderson with the winning run to defeat the the White Sox 2-1 and sweep the series and advance to the ALCS.

4. Mike Cameron's fourth homer of the game: On May 2, 2002 in Chicago, Cameron tied a Major League record when he hit four home runs in one game. Interestingly in his fifth and final at-bat, he hit it to the warning track, just missing what would have been the MLB record.

3. "The Catch": April 26, 1990, Yankee Jesse Barfield hit a Randy Johnson offering that traveled deep to left-center field, destined to become his 200th career home run. But Junior sped to the fence, leaped, and made a sensational catch. It left those watching in suspense until he took the ball out of his glove and showed the umpire it was indeed an incredible home-run-robbing catch. The image of Griffey sprinting off the field wearing the famous grin of his is indelible.

2. Ichiro's 258th hit: October 1, 2004. Ichiro gets his 258^th hit of the season to break George Sisler's 84 year-old single-season record for most hits, driving a 3-2 pitch up the middle off Texas pitcher Ryan Drese. It is widely considered the most important historic achievement ever by a Seattle Mariner. Ichiro would end the season with 262 hits total.

1. Edgar's double: Not much suspense here, the shot heard around Seattle is widely thought as the greatest moment in Mariners' history and one of the tops in the city's history for all teams. The Mariners would go down 0-2 in New York, and when the series went back to Seattle the Ms would battle back to win the next two games to force a decisive fifth game. That game would go into extra innings with the Yankees taking a one-run lead in the 11^th inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Gar would win the game for the Mariners with the game-winning double to drive in Junior, giving the Ms the series win 3-2 and a spot in the ALCS.