HoRam's Big Day!

Horacio Ramirez joined a tiny Mariner club by not recording a single out in his start Saturday night. It was only the seventh time--in 4,882 starts by Mariner pitchers--that the starter was pulled before recording an out.

Let's take a walk down nightmare lane, shall we?

Frank MacCormack, May 3rd, 1977 @ Boston:

Bill Stein's three-run homer in the first gave MacCormack a 5-0 first inning lead, and here's what he did.

R Burleson Walk
D Doyle Wild Pitch; Burleson to 2B
" " Walk
J Rice Single; Burleson Scores; Doyle to 2B
John Montague replaces Frank MacCormack pitching

This was not only the end of MacCormack's day, but the end of his major league career. His twelfth major league game was the then-22-year-old's last. The M's ended up winning this game 10-8 on the strength of John Montague's relief.

John Montague, June 30, 1979 @ Milwaukee:

Montague, last seen relieving Frank MacCormack, was the one who needed help in this game.

P Molitor Home Run (LF)
D Money Double to LF
C Cooper Single to RF; Money Scores
G Thomas Home Run (LF); Cooper Scores
Rob Dressler replaces John Montague pitching

Bob Stoddard, June 7, 1983 vs. Texas:

You'd figure that when a team allows six runs in the first, at home, the crowd would thin out a bit. Thus, it's kind of terrifying to imagine what the Kingdome would've looked like after the first inning on this Tuesday night, considering that the crowd was only 5,284 to start with.

W Tolleson Single to LF
M Rivers Wild Pitch; Tolleson to 2B
" " Passed Ball; Tolleson to 3B
" " Single to RF; Tolleson Scores
B Bell Single to LF; Rivers to 2B
L Parrish Reached on E4 (Ground Ball); Rivers Scores; Bell Scores; Parrish to 2B
P O'Brien Home Run (RF); Parrish Scores/unER
Roy Thomas replaces Bob Stoddard pitching

Former Mariner Rick Honeycutt three-hit the M's on this night, they lost 10-0.

Mike Morgan, April 20, 1987 @ Minnesota:

Morgan started 411 games over 22 major league seasons. This is one of only two starts in which he didn't record an out.

A Newman Walk
R Bush Double to LF (Fly Ball to Deep LF); Newman Scores; Bush to 3B/Adv on E6 (throw to Hm)
K Puckett Fielder's Choice P; Puckett to 1B
K Hrbek Double to LF (Line Drive to LF Line); Bush Scores; Puckett to 3B
G Gaetti Home Run (Fly Ball to CF-RF); Puckett Scores; Hrbek Scores
R Smalley Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF)
Rich Monteleone replaces Mike Morgan pitching

This was Morgan's third loss in a row to start the season--his Jeff Weaver-esque start left him with a 10.80 ERA. The M's skipped him next time through the rotation, but when he started again on April 28th, began a Jeff Weaver-esque mini-revival, throwing three complete-game wins in his next five starts. He then finished the year with a Jeff Weaver-esque return to suckitude, finishing with 17 losses.

Rich DeLucia, July 5, 1992 @ Detroit:

After the M's got a 2-0 first inning lead on a Kevin Mitchell RBI single and a Jay Buhner sac fly, DeLucia, then 3-4 with a 6.11 ERA, tried to keep the Tigers at bay.

T Phillips Single to LF (Line Drive)
L Whitaker Walk; Phillips to 2B
T Fryman Walk; Phillips to 3B; Whitaker to 2B
C Fielder Single to LF (Line Drive); Phillips Scores; Whitaker Scores; Fryman to 3B
M Tettleton Single to SS (Pop Fly to Deep SS); Fryman Scores; Fielder to 2B
D Gladden Single to LF (Line Drive); Fielder to 3B; Tettleton to 2B
Juan Agosto replaces Rich DeLucia pitching; Skeeter Barnes pinch hits for Dave Bergman batting 7th

What's interesting about this to me--look how serious Sparky Anderson was about his platoon. With the lefty Agosto coming in for the righty DeLucia, Anderson pulled Dave Bergman from the lineup before he ever got an at bat. When you hear a manager say, as McLaren did earlier this year, that it's not kosher to pull a guy from the game until after his third at bat, consider that the fifth-winningest manager of all-time thought otherwise.

Bob Wells, May 22, 1995 @ Detroit:

Bob Wells was not so much the "Pride of Yakima, Washington" on this day.

C Curtis Single to 3B (Ground Ball to 3B)
S Fletcher Single to LF (Line Drive to Deep SS); Curtis to 2B
F Stubbs Walk; Curtis to 3B; Fletcher to 2B
C Fielder Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF); Curtis Scores; Fletcher Scores; Stubbs Scores
K Gibson Walk
T Fryman Single to CF (Line Drive); Gibson to 2B
Dave Fleming replaces Bob Wells pitching

This was Wells's second-to-last start of the year, after a loss next time out in Baltimore, the M's relegated him to the 'pen for the rest of the year. When you reflect that the M's probably needed to make the playoffs in '95 to save the franchise, looking at the rotation at the start of the year is mortifying: Randy Johnson, Chris Bosio, Dave Fleming, Bob Wells, and Tim Davis.

There was indeed "no quit, no quit, no quit all year long on this Mariner ballclub."

Horacio Ramirez, September 15, 2007 vs. Tampa Bay:

And here's HoRam, who may well have pitched his last game as a Mariner.

A Iwamura Single to LF (Ground Ball)
C Crawford Single to RF (Ground Ball); Iwamura to 2B
C Pena Walk; Iwamura to 3B; Crawford to 2B
B Upton Single to LF (Line Drive); Iwamura Scores; Crawford to 3B; Pena to 2B
Jorge Campillo replaces Horacio Ramirez pitching

Incidentally, Horacio Ramirez' $2.6 million salary is more than double the salaries of all the other guys on this list combined.

I'll have a column in the P-I tomorrow about the whole HoRam issue, and how starting him was more psychologically disastrous than anything.