What the hell is Raul Ibanez on???

[seahawksfan234]

Seriously I blasted this signing when the Mariners brought him back, but he is now tied for the Mariners lead in home runs with 12.

In May he hit .297 with 7 HRs and so far in June he already has 2 HRs in two games.

He's actually turning out to be fairly useful, I figured he had nothing left in the tank and that Yankee stadium compensated for his diminished power. Looks like I was wrong. He's 41 years old and he just keeps going...

Raul is an easy guy to like so I'm happy for his success and I'm happy I've been wrong about him so far. I certainly expected worse. He has 12 home runs so far and I honestly didn't expect him to reach 12 home runs for the entire season.

 

[dude82]

He was one of a few guys the team signed that some people responded to by asking what the hell the Mariners were thinking. I don't think they were thinking Raul would get as much playing time as he has and have 11 homeruns by early June, but I'm sure they thought he had enough in the tank to be a solid 4th outfielder/DH and plenty of knowledge/experience to impart a little wisdom on the kids.

Between Ibanez, Bay and Chavez, the "what the hell were the Mariners thinking" guys have done pretty well for themselves so far.

 

[octagondd]

and if we can get Morse back and hitting like he did in April, then Seager, Morales, Morse, Ibanez doesn't look too bad. Get Saunders back on track and you have a number 2 hitter behind Chavez.

 

[wazzu31]

He was one of a few guys the team signed that some people responded to by asking what the hell the Mariners were thinking. I don't think they were thinking Raul would get as much playing time as he has and have 11 homeruns by early June, but I'm sure they thought he had enough in the tank to be a solid 4th outfielder/DH and plenty of knowledge/experience to impart a little wisdom on the kids.

Between Ibanez, Bay and Chavez, the "what the hell were the Mariners thinking" guys have done pretty well for themselves so far.

Jack hit on Millwood, and in the spring at least Garland....maybe he should stick with the Pat Gillick philosophy of signing veterans nobody wants instead of worrying about the farm system.

 

[Banned 10x]

Another HR tonight

 

[blade]

Seriously I blasted this signing when the Mariners brought him back, but he is now tied for the Mariners lead in home runs with 12.

In May he hit .297 with 7 HRs and so far in June he already has 2 HRs in two games.

He's actually turning out to be fairly useful, I figured he had nothing left in the tank and that Yankee stadium compensated for his diminished power. Looks like I was wrong. He's 41 years old and he just keeps going...

Raul is an easy guy to like so I'm happy for his success and I'm happy I've been wrong about him so far. I certainly expected worse. He has 12 home runs so far and I honestly didn't expect him to reach 12 home runs for the entire season.

Whatever he is on, I wish he would share it with Smoak and Shoppach and Saunders

 

[blade]

Seriously I blasted this signing when the Mariners brought him back, but he is now tied for the Mariners lead in home runs with 12.

In May he hit .297 with 7 HRs and so far in June he already has 2 HRs in two games.

He's actually turning out to be fairly useful, I figured he had nothing left in the tank and that Yankee stadium compensated for his diminished power. Looks like I was wrong. He's 41 years old and he just keeps going...

Raul is an easy guy to like so I'm happy for his success and I'm happy I've been wrong about him so far. I certainly expected worse. He has 12 home runs so far and I honestly didn't expect him to reach 12 home runs for the entire season.

Morse and Morales, the two sluggers brought in to rescue the offense, have combined for 19 homers in 391 at bats.
Ibanez and Bay, the two after-thoughts who were brought in without guaranteed jobs, have combined for 19 homeruns in 264 at bats.

Baseball - always a bit on the strange side in Seattle.

 

[wazzu31]

Morse and Morales, the two sluggers brought in to rescue the offense, have combined for 19 homers in 391 at bats.
Ibanez and Bay, the two after-thoughts who were brought in without guaranteed jobs, have combined for 19 homeruns in 264 at bats.

Baseball - always a bit on the strange side in Seattle.

Then Kyle Seager....and Bueller, Bueller?

 

[seahawksfan234]

Ibanez is at 17 home runs so far. I have to reiterate how much of a surprise this is for me. All common sense would have indicated that he would have been cut by this time. He played in a hitters stadium last year, another year older etc.

He's a good guy and I'm happy he is performing but his 17 HRs in 57 games is beyond shocking to me. It is so shocking that I don't even know if I can give Z credit for the signing because of how unexpected it is. Wish the best for him but Raul's performance really is an interesting surprise.

Do any of you stat guys know the record for most home runs hit by a player in a season 40 or older? Both for MLB and the Mariners alone? Sort of curious.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Maybe I've lost my mind or gone full retard but I can't see the edit button on the post.

Answered my own question by reading this on mariners.com for anyone who is interested:

He's just the 11th player in Major League history to hit 15 or more home runs at age 41 or older. The record for most homers in a season by a player 41 or older is 29 by Ted Williams in 1960.

I think Raul has a solid chance at hitting 29. If he can hit 17 HRs in 57 games, it would not be a stretch to think he could hit the remaining 13 to break the record in the 84 games the Mariners have left.

 

[Tapey]

hes at 20 and just like 1 or 2 games over the mathematical half way mark.

 

[octagondd]

10 more to get the record and 80 games remaining. If they had a old timer's All Star game, he would get the most votes.

 

[geneh_33]

Ibanez is an "up and down" kind of player. When he's playing well few are better. When he is playing badly few are worse. Just hope that he continues to have more ups than downs and the Mariners will like him.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Do any of you stat guys know the record for most home runs hit by a player in a season 40 or older? Both for MLB and the Mariners alone? Sort of curious.

I don't know...Barry Bonds was porkin em over the fence at a ripe ol' age...Does that count? Or do we have to throw him in the pile as Pete Rose too?

 

[octagondd]

I read that Ted Williams holds the record for a 41 year old at 29 HRs, but not sure what the 40+ record is. I imagine Bonds must be up there when he was 40.

 

[Logicallylethal]

Whatever he is on he needs to share it with Montero, Smoak, and Ackley

Nah honestly though...I don't think Raul is on anything. He's always been this streaky kind of hitter. It's not like he's hitting .330 with 20 hrs...he's hitting like .240...the power surge is there...but Raul has always been known to get hot during stretches during the season. Now if he finishes with 40-50 then I would have to take a step back and re-evaluate the situation lol

 

[blstoker]

I read that Ted Williams holds the record for a 41 year old at 29 HRs, but not sure what the 40+ record is. I imagine Bonds must be up there when he was 40.

Bonds got hurt the year he turned 40 and hit only 5 HRs that year (14 games) and would not top 28 again. The record for 40 or older is 34 by Darrell Evans in 1987.

 

[cezero]

Ibanez has looked the same since I saw him playing in Tacoma back in 95. He's just a genetic freak. Super athletic.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[seahawksfan234]

Ibanez has looked the same since I saw him playing in Tacoma back in 95. He's just a genetic freak. Super athletic.

That's more than genetics my friend.

Love the guy but you can't deny he's likely on something.