Day Forty Seven: Russell Branyan

Russell Branyan was the always almost just about there kind of guy. He came up during the incredible years of Cleveland's organizational savvy and luck of the late 90s and early 00s. It is crazy to think how many ridiculous players started their careers with Cleveland during that time. Of course you had Manny and Albert Belle, but also Kenny Lofton in a savvy early 90s trade, and of course Carlos Baerga (a personal favorite). And then it's easy to forget that Brian Giles was also a young star for them and Richie Sexson too. Russell Branyan was the last in this first sequence of amazing hitters. And you could tell that he had a whole lot of talent right away. In those early years he was either going to hit the ball out of the stadium or strike out badly. And unfortunately, unlike early sluggers like Cody Bellinger that we have gotten to see now, Russell was the much more common type of guy who never quite left that all or nothing approach behind. Mariners fans of the early 00's will remember Russell as a strikeout victim in the very scary lineup that almost took out the M's in the 2001 Division Series. I got to go to game one of that series and although the Mariners lost, it is noteworthy because it was the only time I have ever physically witnessed a pitcher get faster and stronger as the game goes on (often a key commentary talking point but usually more anecdotal than anything else). Bartolo was hitting 101 in the 7th that day. He struck out 10 and made easy work of the vaunted Mariners lineup. Branyan had a hit in game 3 of that series (wow, looking at the box right now I am seeing that Cleveland beat the Mariners 17-2 that day) but not much else. Anyways, I just wanted to talk about the first edition of Bartolo when he threw the ball ridiculously fast and hard. But back to Russ Branyan.

When Russell Branyan came to the Mariners after a handful of journeyman years almost being able to hit lefthanded pitching but never really being able to play every day. And that was the guy who showed up in 2009.

2009 was a brutal year for me as a human being, but it was a great year to be out at the ballpark. 2008 had been so utterly awful that the expectations were literally at zero for most of the fanbase. So when Don Wakamatsu (a decidedly likable guy who is still in the game) took the Mariners on a mystical ride it was nothing but fun. Griffey was so entertaining and Ichiro looked like he was having fun again. And the Mariners were winning games through a combination of luck and weirdly good hitting. Jose Lopez had a great year and finally, after all those almosts, Russell Branyan was filthy.

It was an absolute pleasure to watch Russ work that year. He was probably the first (only?) lefty to realize that all you had to do was just yank the ball really hard down the rightfield line to get a homer in Safeco. For whatever reason, no lefthanded slugger for the Mariners (plenty of opposition lol) has been able to capitalize on that short porch. It was made for Griffey and he had some great early season heroics, but the meat and potatoes of the dog days was Russ the Muss. Lossom and I went to more games in the first month of 2009 than we had in the entire 2008 season. And we just kept plugging away out there in the VIP Lounge watching the Mariners launch FunkBlasts and Felix pitch ridiculously well. It was an excellent summer of baseball watching. And it was the last summer I would spend wishing I wasn't drinking. Which is a pretty cool thing. So it was a special summer filled with nights spent with Lossom, who got sober after his final deployment, and then breaking off on my own to do things I wish I hadn't after the game. But those game nights sure were great.

Because the 2009 Mariners were so much like Russell Branyan. They were surprised to find themselves doing well. And they enjoyed the hell out of it. They are the last full season of the Mariners that I truly loved. The last time that the Mariners didn't feel like a horrorshow filled with goons and creeps. March of 2019 felt like 2009. And like 2019, the stats weren't real in 2009. The Mariners were not a good ballclub and they faded really hard in September. And that was the only year that Russell the Muscle hit 30 HR in his career. But goddamn it was a great season. Some guys don't even get one of those years, but Russell put in his dues and was rewarded with a season where lefties didn't utterly humiliate him. But it was back to the usual in 2010 and the Mariners scuffled, firing Wak as a scapegoat for problems that weren't his fault. But that 2009 season will always sit there with Don Wakamatsu's name on a 85 win team that statistically should have only won 78. That is a big bump. And watching them all through that summer that bump was noticeable and the charm didn't wear off until the sunny days were fading into autumn. Thanks Russell Branyan for giving us all that one great year. We really enjoyed it.