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Article: Has the sun set on Beltre in Seattle?(Sports)
- Article from:
- The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA)
- Article date:
- June 29, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 The Seattle Times. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Steve Kelley; Times staff Columnist
When free agent Adrian Beltre signed a five-year, $64 million deal with Seattle in December 2004, it signaled a radical change in the Mariners' philosophy.
The team and then-general manager Bill Bavasi were giving a signal to Seattle that they were going to be players in the marketplace.
The Mariners spent another $50 million on Richie Sexson that winter, telling fans they understood they no longer could merely open the gates at Safeco Field and expect 35,000 grateful patrons to pour through the turnstiles.
They had lost 99 games in 2004. Lou Piniella was gone. His successor, Bob Melvin, had ...