Which Seattle Star's departure hurt you the most?

DerekJohnson

DerekJohnson

Ken Griffey, Jr.

Of note, the Tartabull trade to Kansas City devastated me for several years. Back when I was a diehard Mariners fan.

Swaye

Ken Griffey, Jr.

DerekJohnson said:

Of note, the Tartabull trade to Kansas City devastated me for several years. Back when I was a diehard Mariners fan.

First two votes in for Junior. Great minds....

CFetters_Nacho_Lover

Janet Reno

I not much of a baseball fan and I was deployed in Bosnia when Junior left so I was kinda focused on other things like buying pirated CDs from Bosnians.

The only other one that comes close to hurting me was Payton but after the players strike in the mid-90s, I really didn’t give a fuck about the NBA.

DerekJohnson

Ken Griffey, Jr.

CFetters_Nacho_Lover said:

I not much of a baseball fan and I was deployed in Bosnia when Junior left so I was kinda focused on other things like buying pirated CDs from Bosnians.

The only other one that comes close to hurting me was Payton but after the players strike in the mid-90s, I really didn’t give a fuck about the NBA.

So... Psalm Wooching?

Swaye

Ken Griffey, Jr.

DerekJohnson said:

CFetters_Nacho_Lover said:

I not much of a baseball fan and I was deployed in Bosnia when Junior left so I was kinda focused on other things like buying pirated CDs from Bosnians.

The only other one that comes close to hurting me was Payton but after the players strike in the mid-90s, I really didn’t give a fuck about the NBA.

So... Psalm Wooching?

BleachedAnusDawg

Janet Reno

Where's the Shawn Kemp option?

RaceBannon

Don James

DerekJohnson

Ken Griffey, Jr.

RaceBannon said:

Don James

Him and Kemp were big misses on my part

theknowledge

Randy Johnson

RJ was a punch in the gut. The worst organization in baseball was told by their own doctors that his back was going to end his career. Second opinions? Nope. They wouldn’t extend him after that so he had a .500 half season of work to convince the team that he was damaged. After the trade to Houston he becomes the most dominant pitcher in baseball again. Goes 10-1 down the stretch. Leads them to the playoffs. Ten years of great pitching from him after that trade. He was a better player for longer than Griffey after they both left. We lost one of the three or four greatest center fielders and maybe the greatest left handed pitcher in major league history one after another. It was just so Seattle.

FireCohen

Ted Bundy

Joey

Gary Payton

Once Payton left I gave up on the Sonics



Obligatory

NEsnake12

Janet Reno

It never hurts as much when you think that the players best years are behind them. It takes some hindsight, but on this list only Randy Johnson really had any seasons better than his ones in Seattle after he left.

The one that hurts the most in hindsight is losing Durant/Westbrook when the Sonics left. Those Thunder teams from the early 2010's would've been electric to watch in Seattle

dnc

Ken Griffey, Jr.

ARod may have hurt me worse than any of these as it was kind of the accumulation of Randy and Griffey.

But Junior was by far the player I was most attached to.

dnc

Ken Griffey, Jr.

NEsnake12 said:

It never hurts as much when you think that the players best years are behind them. It takes some hindsight, but on this list only Randy Johnson really had any seasons better than his ones in Seattle after he left.

The one that hurts the most in hindsight is losing Durant/Westbrook when the Sonics left. Those Thunder teams from the early 2010's would've been electric to watch in Seattle

Good post. Most of the people who left Seattle and went on to stardom weren't stars yet when they left (like a million Mariner prospects mostly). Randy and ARod were the two superstars who continued to be superstars post Seattle, with Durant not really a superstar when he left but clearly headed that way. Westbrook certainly became bigger than anticipated (though his legacy has fallen apart of late).

theknowledge

Randy Johnson

dnc said:

ARod may have hurt me worse than any of these as it was kind of the accumulation of Randy and Griffey.

But Junior was by far the player I was most attached to.

Gillick actually used the money saved on ARod to build a pretty fun team. Ichiro, Boone, Javier, McLemore, Abbot and Moyer maybe? were all signed with ARod money. The losses of JR and RJ were much more brutal to my younger self. I thought it was all over. Forever.

dnc

Ken Griffey, Jr.

theknowledge said:

dnc said:

ARod may have hurt me worse than any of these as it was kind of the accumulation of Randy and Griffey.

But Junior was by far the player I was most attached to.

Gillick actually used the money saved on ARod to build a pretty fun team. Ichiro, Boone, Javier, McLemore, Abbot and Moyer maybe? were all signed with ARod money. The losses of JR and RJ were much more brutal to my younger self. I thought it was all over. Forever.

Definitely agree, but I didn't know that at the time ARod left. And I was convinced that, like Jr, he had generational, top 5 of all time type talent (obviously I didn't know he had help at the tim).

They acquired Moyer in 96, btw, but not sure when they resigned him. Spotrac only goes back to 03.

Alexis

Janet Reno

As Race said, Don James a huge number one. The entire Sonics team number 2.
If I had to use one of DJ's picks, it would be Payton, except in reality, every one of the choices on the pole forced their way out.

Fishpo31

I was in Seattle the day the Randy Johnson trade went down. Mom was in Virginia Mason, I was holed-up with my dad in the little hotel across the street (trigger FRANNY comps)...walked across to the bar in the Sorrento Hotel for a beer, they announce it on the game broadcast, and 15-20 minutes later, in come Woody Woodward and Chuck Armstrong. I was the only one in the bar, and I had some interaction with both of them previously. Woody made eye contact, and asked "How you doing?", to which I replied, "probably better than you guys right now"...they laughed, sat down, and started buying me beers.

At one point, Woody looked at me and said, "I just traded a guy with a bad back that didn't want to be here for THREE big leaguers (Freddie, Guillen, Halama), and everyone in Seattle thinks I'm a fucking idiot"...In the business, this trade is known as a draw...csb

I see similarities with Russ, in that it became obvious that he didn't want to be here, a big star traded for guy(s) that no one knows or cares about, and everyone loses their shit...time will tell.

dnc

Ken Griffey, Jr.

Fishpo31 said:

I was in Seattle the day the Randy Johnson trade went down. Mom was in Virginia Mason, I was holed-up with my dad in the little hotel across the street (trigger FRANNY comps)...walked across to the bar in the Sorrento Hotel for a beer, they announce it on the game broadcast, and 15-20 minutes later, in come Woody Woodward and Chuck Armstrong. I was the only one in the bar, and I had some interaction with both of them previously. Woody made eye contact, and asked "How you doing?", to which I replied, "probably better than you guys right now"...they laughed, sat down, and started buying me beers.

At one point, Woody looked at me and said, "I just traded a guy with a bad back that didn't want to be here for THREE big leaguers (Freddie, Guillen, Halama), and everyone in Seattle thinks I'm a fucking idiot"...In the business, this trade is known as a draw...csb

I see similarities with Russ, in that it became obvious that he didn't want to be here, a big star traded for guy(s) that no one knows or cares about, and everyone loses their shit...time will tell.

The Randy trade turned out terribly for the M's.

Guillen was far more fragile than RJ.

Fishpo31

dnc said:

Fishpo31 said:

I was in Seattle the day the Randy Johnson trade went down. Mom was in Virginia Mason, I was holed-up with my dad in the little hotel across the street (trigger FRANNY comps)...walked across to the bar in the Sorrento Hotel for a beer, they announce it on the game broadcast, and 15-20 minutes later, in come Woody Woodward and Chuck Armstrong. I was the only one in the bar, and I had some interaction with both of them previously. Woody made eye contact, and asked "How you doing?", to which I replied, "probably better than you guys right now"...they laughed, sat down, and started buying me beers.

At one point, Woody looked at me and said, "I just traded a guy with a bad back that didn't want to be here for THREE big leaguers (Freddie, Guillen, Halama), and everyone in Seattle thinks I'm a fucking idiot"...In the business, this trade is known as a draw...csb

I see similarities with Russ, in that it became obvious that he didn't want to be here, a big star traded for guy(s) that no one knows or cares about, and everyone loses their shit...time will tell.

The Randy trade turned out terribly for the M's.

Guillen was far more fragile than RJ.

On the surface, absolutely, I agree. But, at the time of the trade, RJ was 9-10 with a 4-plus ERA. Post-trade, he was 10-1, 1.28. (Yes, I googled it, I'm not THAT much of a nerd, LOL!). He was pissed since before spring training that they didn't make an offer to extend, and he bitched out. Medicals played a big role in that, and you win some and lose some. IIRC, they never would have gotten Sele in 2000, because he signed with Baltimore, and their doctors wouldn't sign off on it.