New Mariners 1B Ryon Healy wants a long career in Seattle

Mariners first baseman Ryon Healy wants to have a long career in the Pacific Northwest.

“Playing in Seattle was kind of a pipe dream,” Healy told 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton and Gee Scott during an interview at Safeco Field on Thursday. “I don’t want to just go there and just play a couple seasons. I don’t want it to be a stepping stone. This is a place that I would love to see my picture on the wall for years. It feels homey for me. It’s something I want to earn.”

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Healy, who the Mariners acquired in a trade from the Oakland A’s earlier this offseason, also talked about the team’s roster and how he first came to love playing baseball. Here are a few additional highlights from the interview.

• Seattle’s starting lineup has a ton of depth. “Initially when you look at a lineup like this, you’re like, well don’t let Nelson (Cruz) and Robbie (Cano) beat you. But then all of a sudden they’ve got seven other guys on the lineup that can beat you too,” Healy said. “Talk about a professional lineup top to bottom with the amount of veteran leadership that you have and the mix of young core that have had success with Ben Gamel, Mitch Haniger. Just a lot of positive things that are all coming one through nine.”

• All the talk about Healy’s hitting skills are warranted. He’s been practicing with his dad since he was three years old. “Hitting was just something I always did. It started on the beaches of Ventura County with my dad. He’d have a Wiffle ball and he would hit it as far as he could and I’d go chase it down and then I would hit. It started with pinto beans in the garage. I had a little broomstick and he would flip me beans,” he said. “It was just, ‘This is what you gotta do. You’re always going to hit.’ Every time I can grab a bat and hop into a batting cage I’ve got a smile on my face. I’m excited to be there.”

• Healy, a former Oregon Duck, actually likes Seattle weather. “Going to school at Oregon, the rain and the cold, it’s comfortable,” he said.

Listen to the full interview with Healy here.

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