Mariners Update

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, September 23, 2003

When Randy Winn raced around the bases for the 20th inside-the-park home run in Seattle Mariners history, it didn’t really remind Dan Wilson of the last Mariner to hit one.

That would be Dan Wilson.

So unusual is the play that Ichiro Suzuki said Tuesday he’d never hit one – not in Japan, not in the majors, never. Nor had Edgar Martinez.

“What would I need to hit one?” The Edgar asked, thinking. “A riot in the outfield.”

Winn got his in the simplest way possible – a shot to center field that caromed off the wall and toward shallow center field. By the time the Angels right fielder got to it, Winn was around third and moving.

How does it feel running 360 feet around a big league diamond?

“Into second base, I was in my ‘double’ mode, running hard,” Winn said. “When I saw it kick off the wall, I turned it up a notch.”

Racing toward third base, his back to the play, Winn saw third base coach Dave Myers waving him on to the plate.

“You’re already tired, so it can’t get much worse,” Winn said of that last 90 feet.

Wilson, who his inside-the-park home run in the Kingdome on May 3, 1998, remembers the experience a bit differently.

“In my case, both the left and center fielder went to the wall and missed it,” Wilson said. “So they’re both at the wall and the right fielder had to come over to get it.

“My first thought was that it was out, then I thought it was caught, and then I was still running and they were waving me home. When I got to third base, the piano jumped on my back.”

That is baseball talk for hitting the wall, staggering on wobbly legs. And Wilson remembers what got him to the plate – the Kingdome crowd.

“They picked me up,” he said.

What were his thoughts after crossing home?

“I thought, ‘Hey, I just added to my home run total without hitting a ball over the fence,’” he said.

John Olerud listened to Wilson’s description. Had he ever hit one?

“They stole one from me,” Olerud said. “I ran around the bases and scored and they said there had to be at least one error involved. I was robbed.”

Slow rollers: Designated hitter Edgar Martinez has at least one stolen base in each of the last nine seasons – and 31 steals in 47 attempts in that span. This year, The Edgar hasn’t even attempted a stolen base, although in Oakland last weekend he faked going.

“The whole dugout broke up,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He was smiling.” …

Remember the elderly woman in Oakland who asked Ichiro for a kiss? There were more such requests Tuesday in Anaheim, and while he shook hands, smiled and posed for pictures, he kept his lips to himself.

Larry LaRue