SEATTLE MARINERS
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.
The John Clayton Memorial Fund
Benefitting the Multiple Sclerosis Society
| Date | Starting Pitcher |
|---|---|
| Monday, March 20 @ 1:10 pm | Brewers' Brandon Woodruff RHP vs. Mariners' Logan Gilbert RHP |
