As a Seattle native, I love the guy to death and he’s right up there with Jr., Felix, and Edgar as my all time favorites. One thing I think that is interesting is how divisive he was among Mariner fans. There was always a decent amount of fans that thought he was selfish for not hitting more home runs or for not walking enough and that he was a clubhouse cancer who refused to speak English despite being very fluent in it. This was even more pronounced in the media. While there were certainly some who appreciated his greatness, many of the talking heads and writers seemed to focus on his flaws a lot more than you’d think for a player of his caliber.

I’ve always been baffled by this attitude that many Mariners fans had while he was so universally admired outside of Seattle but trust me — this attitude exists. I suppose it has something to do with just being that close to a player who really is unlike any we’ve ever seen.