Mariners’ Buhner opts to retire

Associated Press

SEATTLE – Jay Buhner, the Seattle Mariners’ right fielder for 14 years, plans to retire at age 37 because of a series of injuries.

Buhner, the 10th player in major league history to hit 40 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons, said he would make a formal announcement as early as this week.

“I’m done. I need surgery just to retire, on my left shoulder, which froze up on me, and on my left knee,” he said, limping out the door of his home suburban Issaquah. “In fact, I’m headed out to get an MRI on the shoulder. It’s hell to get old.”

Neither Buhner nor his agent could be reached immediately by telephone today.

He had not formally told the team of his decision as of this afternoon, Mariners general manager Pat Gillick said. But Gillick said he was not surprised by the retirement report, and the team already had been talking to Buhner about a coaching or other non-playing position.

“Jay’s been there through thick and thin, and Bone has just been a guy who’s a gamer,” Gillick said. “He’s a player, and he’s somebody you need in the clubhouse. If a player is starting to slack off a little bit, he’ll hear from Bone.”

The decision was widely expected after Buhner missed nearly 500 days, close to three full seasons, with four major injuries in the past four years.

Buhner’s clubhouse antics included vomiting on command. His performance on the field featured a career .255 batting average – rising to .310 in postseason play – with 310 home runs and 965 RBIs.

After one three-strikeout game, he said: “They can get me three times. I only have to get them once.”

Buhner hit 40 homers and drove in 112 runs in 1995, 44 homers with 138 RBIs in 1996, and 40 homers with 109 RBIs in 1997.

Buhner earned his “Bone” nickname for his shaved head. He inspired promotions known as Buhner Buzz Night, in which the Mariners offered free admission to those who got their heads shaved outside the ballpark.

“We’ll miss Jay, day in, day out,” manager Lou Piniella said. “We were obviously a better offense and defense with him out there on the field, but more than that we were an immeasurably better team just with him around.”

Ken Griffey Jr., a close friend, called Buhner “my baldheaded brother with a different mother.” They were Mariners teammates for 11 years before Griffey demanded a trade to Cincinnati.

“Now, everyone in Seattle is going to feel the way I have for two years,” Griffey said. “I have missed Jay more than I can say.”

Buhner was hoping for a comeback in 2001, but reinjured his left foot in his first at-bat during spring training. But he had only 45 at-bats, and hit .222 with five RBIs.

“If I had tried to come back again, the only thing I could have done was pinch-hit, and that was questionable, too,” he said.

Two weeks ago, the Mariners offered Buhner salary arbitration, a move that could cost the club about $1.5 million, a 20 percent cut from his salary this year.

“We don’t expect him to use the offer,” assistant general manager Lee Pelekoudas said at the time. “But there’s no way we don’t give Jay the courtesy, not after all the years he’s been with us, not after all that he means to our organization and our fans.”

Buhner was born in Louisville, Ky., grew up in the Houston area and was Pittsburgh’s second-round pick in the secondary draft phase in January 1984. He broke into the big leagues with the New York Yankees in 1987 and was traded to the Mariners the next year.

He said he was torn between the wishes of his three children, who want more of his time, and teammates who want him back on the field.

“I know it’s going to be rough missing the game and the spirit of the clubhouse, but I’ll get to spend a lot more time with the kids,” Buhner said. “I’ll get to get on with life.

“It’s time. You can work and practice and overcome slumps and injuries and all sorts of troubles. But when it’s time to go, when it’s time to ride into the sunset, you go.

“I’ve had guys calling and asking me to go one more year.”