If I Were To Collect: Seattle Mariners Edition

[The twenty-first in a series:  I’m picking one player that I associate with a team (whether they spent the majority of their career there or not) that I would strongly consider adding to my official want lists.  They may not always be superstars, or the most popular, and honestly they may not always be my favorite player from the team, but that’s what will make this fun, no?]

We’re taking a semi-prolonged break from the Gint-A-Cuffs scoring in part to wait on a couple of the point scoring rulings and in part to celebrate a rare milestone in baseball history.  As you are well aware, Ichiro recorded his 3,000th MLB hit last night (and a triple, at that).

That’s quite an accomplishment, but even more impressive considering that he joined the league at an older age and had amassed a very good total in the Japanese professional leagues.

So, even though this achievement took place in a Miami Marlins uniform, we’re going to look at this baseball club (now only minimally owned by Nintendo), because spoiler alert:  Ichiro can be found below.

This is the mini gold #/61

Felix Hernandez gets my vote here.  I know that may seem like an odd pick, but I tend to pick the guys that aren’t the biggest hobby favorites.  The ones that fly under the radar while still putting up a respectable career.  King Felix certainly falls into that category and is in a small market city, limiting his impact and prices.

I don’t know if I have this anymore – probably not

Current player runner-up:  Ichiro Suzuki

The newest Mr. 3000.  Does this really need any explanation?  His runner up status is just due to how massive this would be.  Still, it wouldn’t be nearly as crazy as this next guy.

I do still have this.  Would prefer to sell if you want to make an offer?

Retired player runner-up: Ken Griffey Jr

The newest Hall of Famer.  I should have tried to collect him as a kid, but even back then he was too expensive for my tastes.  It says something about the market back in the junk days that Nolan Ryan was easier than Griffey.  Maybe if I ever make 7 figures.

The Series So Far
Angels – (tie) Jim Abbott & Vladimir Guerrero
Astros
Athletics
Blue Jays
Braves – Steve Avery
Brewers – Bob Eucker
Cardinals – Jim Edmonds
Cubs
Diamondbacks – Randy Johnson
Dodgers – Jackie Robinson
Giants – Kevin Mitchell
Indians – Jim Thome
Mariners – Felix Hernandez
Marlins – Giancarlo Stanton
Mets – (tie) Darryl Strawberry & Dwight Gooden
Nationals/Expos – (tie) Marquis Grissom & Delino DeShields
Orioles – Adam Jones
Padres
Phillies – Mike Schmidt
Pirates –  Andrew McCutchen
Rangers – Nolan Ryan
Rays/Devil Rays – Evan Longoria
Red Sox
Reds – Eric Davis
Rockies – Carlos Gonzalez
Royals
Tigers – Alan Trammell
Twins
White Sox – Paul Konerko
Yankees