Jilted once in their quest to bring back a former coach to occupy the third-base coaching box, the Seattle Mariners are close to hiring another with a direct link to the biggest moment in franchise history.
The Mariners met Monday night with Sam Perlozzo, the man who waved home Ken Griffey Jr. with the winning run on Edgar Martinez’s double to beat the New York Yankees in the 1995 AL Division Series.
Perlozzo, fired in June as manager of the Baltimore Orioles, spoke with Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi by phone Monday night. Bavasi and members of the front office are at the general managers meetings this week in Orlando, Fla.
M’s manager John McLaren had considered Perlozzo as bench coach last month as he was assembling his staff for the 2008 season. McLaren instead chose Jim Riggleman for that job.
McLaren seemed to have settled on Larry Bowa, the Mariners’ third-base coach in 2000, for a return to that job next year. Bowa, third-base coach the past two years for the Yankees, had delayed responding to the Mariners’ offer, saying he had personal issues to work out.
McLaren had expressed confidence that Bowa would accept the Mariners’ offer once his issues were worked out, but that changed Monday.
Joe Torre, the former Yankees manager who was introduced Monday in Los Angeles as the Dodgers’ new manager, said Bowa would be his third-base coach next year.
With that, the Mariners have returned their focus to Perlozzo, who has said he would welcome a chance to be the third-base coach again.
Perlozzo, 56, was involved in what’s considered the greatest moment in Seattle sports history in the 11th inning of the deciding Game 5 of the 1995 Division Series at the Kingdome.
With the Mariners trailing by a run, Martinez doubled into the left-field corner, easily scoring Joey Cora from third base to tie the score. Griffey, on first base, never broke stride as Perlozzo waved him to the plate, and he scored to win the game and the series, sending the Mariners into the AL Championship Series.
Tuiasosopo honored: Matt Tuiasosopo was named player of the week in the Arizona Fall League after a torrid week offensively with the Peoria Javelinas.
Tuiasosopo, a third baseman from Woodinville who the M’s drafted in the third round in 2004, batted .421 last week with eight hits in 19 at-bats and seven runs scored. He entered Monday batting .315 in 15 fall league games.
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