Things got so bad in the Seattle Mariners clubhouse during this discouraging season that one player reportedly threatened to “knock out” outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, the team’s highest profile player.
A “clubhouse insider” quoted in Thursday’s edition of the Seattle Times said: “I just can’t believe the number of guys who really dislike him. It got to a point early on when I thought they were going to get together and go after him.”
The story went on to say that coaches and then-manager John McLaren, who was fired on June 19, intervened when one player was overheard talking about wanting to “knock him out.”
PHOTO: AFP
A meeting was called to clear the air.
Pitcher J.J. Putz said he didn’t remember any such incident and said there was no meeting to talk about it.
“It’s very troubling if it was a player who said that,” Putz said. “People have a lot of differences of opinion on a lot of things, but to say something like that in the paper and not fess up as to who it is, whoever said it is a coward.”
Suzuki, who got off to a slow start, reached 3,000 hits combined in Japan and the US on July 29. He achieved 200 hits on Sept. 17 for the eighth straight season, matching a Major League Baseball record.
But rumors persist that some players believe he is selfish and more interested in his hit totals than the team’s success.
Mariners manager Jim Riggleman also said he doesn’t remember any such clubhouse turmoil centered on Suzuki, nor a meeting to deal with it.
Riggleman said the real reason for the malcontent this season is simply the weariness of losing. The Mariners, with a US$117 million payroll and big expectations, have lost 100 games for the fourth time in club history, and the first time since 1983.
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