EVERETT – John Mayberry Jr. will always have a place in Seattle Mariners history.
No, Mayberry has never played for the Mariners. No, he hasn’t played against the M’s, either. And as the right fielder for the short-season Class A Spokane Indians, who’s less than two months into his professional career, he’s unlikely to do either any time soon.
But for the Mariners, Mayberry will always be known as the big fish who got away.
In 2002 Mayberry became the first ever first-round draft pick the Mariners failed to sign. And the Mariners are now left wondering what could have been.
“It was a very difficult decision,” Mayberry, currently in town for the Indians’ five-game series against the Everett AquaSox, said about not signing with the Mariners. “Postponing a major-league dream is not easy.”
Mayberry is a picture-perfect prospect. He has the physical tools: At 6-foot-6, 230 pounds he has a unique combination of power and grace. He has the bloodlines: His father, John Mayberry Sr., played 15 years in the major leagues for the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees and is a member of the Royals Hall of Fame. He has a track record: In three seasons at Stanford University he batted .312 with 28 home runs and 148 RBI. For those reasons the Texas Rangers selected him 18th overall in this year’s draft.
Those same factors prompted the Mariners to take Mayberry 28th overall in the 2002 draft out of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo., where he was a USA Today first-team All-American.
What followed was a long summer of negotiations that went down to the bitter end before Mayberry finally chose Stanford over the Mariners.
“I thought we’d get this done,” then-Mariners scouting director Roger Jongewaard said at the time. “We took him because he was a special player who slid to us (in the draft order). If he was just a 28th pick (quality-wise) it wouldn’t hurt that much. But we thought he was one of the top players in the draft. That’s what hurt.”
The Mariners never expected to have a chance at drafting Mayberry. However, teams picking ahead of Seattle were apparently afraid that Mayberry, who was also a strong student, was going to honor his scholarship to Stanford.
So when Mayberry fell to 28th, the Mariners decided to take a chance. It didn’t hurt that then-Mariners general manager Pat Gillick signed Mayberry Sr. to his first professional contract.
And Mayberry said he was receptive to the idea of signing with the Mariners.
“I was very excited,” Mayberry said about being drafted by the Mariners. “Pat Gillick had signed my dad out of high school and he and my dad had a good relationship, so I was excited.
“I went in with the attitude I’d see what happened and then weigh my options.”
However, there were two obstacles. The first was money. Reports at the time had the Mariners offering $1.5 million, while Mayberry was seeking $2 million. The second was sentiment within the family, particularly Mayberry’s mother, that he should pursue his education.
The negotiations dragged on through the summer, drawing comparisons to Alex Rodriguez’s protracted negotiations in 1993.
“They were just like anyone else’s negotiations,” Mayberry said. “It was just getting a feel of each side and what their intentions and ambitions were.”
The negotiations went down to the wire, with discussions not breaking off until Mayberry attended his first class on Sept. 25.
“Getting the opportunity to get a degree from Stanford University is something that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Mayberry, who’s one quarter shy of a degree in political science, about his decision. “And I figured if I played as well as I was capable of I’d be in the same situation coming out of college as I was coming out of high school.”
Mayberry’s decision was a bitter blow to the Mariners.
“We thought we could sign him,” Jongewaard said. “The dad wanted him to play ball and the kid wanted to play, but the mom wanted him to go to school. At one time, it looked like we had the mom convinced.”
It was a difficult decision for Mayberry to make. But he looks back now with no regrets.
“It was very difficult for me to turn down an offer from the Mariners and postpone my pro career because it’s something that I wanted to do my entire life,” Mayberry said. “But I got the opportunity to experience some things I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. I had the opportunity to play at Omaha and experience the College World Series. I had the opportunity to go overseas and play in Japan and Taiwan. So I have no regrets.”
Now Mayberry is finally getting started with the professional career that came close to beginning three years ago. He’s learning a new position after being a first baseman his entire life, and he’s also adjusting to the rigors of playing every day. Going into Sunday’s game he was batting just .182 in 24 games, but he’d also slugged four home runs.
And the summer of 2002 is just a distant memory.
“I don’t wonder, ‘What if?’” Mayberry said. “I think you make your decisions and you look forward. You do whatever you can to make the best out of the present and the future.”
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