By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Lou Piniella will miss Jay Buhner’s competitiveness. Any manager would.
Rick Griffin will miss his hell-bent dedication to come back from injuries. To a trainer like Griffin, Buhner was a dream patient.
What Piniella and Griffin will miss most of all as the Seattle Mariners’ veteran outfielder slides into retirement won’t be just his passion for the game but also his compassion for others.
“He’s got that gruff exterior, but he’s got a very warm interior,” Piniella said. “In a way I’m sad about this because I’ve been so used to seeing him in the clubhouse. But in a way I’m happy too, because there comes a time and place where these types of decisions have to be made.”
Griffin, one of Buhner’s best friends, has come to love both the tough side and the soft heart.
“He’s really a caring person. He cares if somebody is struggling,” Griffin said. “Some guys will see a player struggle and they will turn their back and don’t want to say anything. Jay talks to them in a caring way and helps them get through it. He has an ability to help guys see the other side of what’s gone wrong.”
Whether it was another outfielder who struggled or a pitcher, it didn’t matter to Buhner. He never followed the position player-pitcher caste system that exists in many players’ minds.
“He’s there for everybody,” pitcher Paul Abbott said. “To Jay, you’re wearing a Seattle Mariners uniform. When a person goes through a bit of a down time, that’s when Jay will come over and give words of encouragement. He knows how difficult the game is and keeps it in perspective, which a lot of guys don’t.”
“He’s undoubtedly one of the most caring players I’ve ever been around,” Griffin said. “They always give the Roberto Clemente Award (for civic responsibility), and I can’t believe Jay hasn’t been nominated. Jay can talk to anybody, to a president of a large corporation or a guy who’s got a $5-an-hour job. He’s a good listener and he can communicate with people on any level.”
Abbott had a feeling he was losing Buhner as a teammate not long after the season ended.
“We were talking on the phone and he was going over all the things he had planned after the season,” Abbott said. “He was talking about things he was going to do in May and I said, ‘Wait a minute, you’re going to be with us in May.’”
Abbott also will miss the dinners on the road. When Buhner rounds up a dinner party, nobody but him picks up the bill, and these aren’t hamburgers he buys.
“He’s the guy who’s inviting everybody on the team to dinner,” Abbott said. “He greets everybody the same way every day, with a big smile, a big handshake and a big hug. They say there are people in this world who you can’t measure the size of their heart. Jay is one of them.”
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