Bloomquist, third catcher
I thought I could manage not to comment on this fawning article with withering sarcasm and generally unwarranted hostility. I’ve failed.
Sub-headline:
Stellar utility player adds catching to his resume
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Willie Bloomquist
Objective: a challenging and interesting starting job with a major league team that utilizes my enthusiasm, versatility, teamwork skills, and perspicacity to help win a pennant
Work experience
2002-present: utility player, Seattle Mariners
Hit .245 in 188 at-bats in last season. During my time, I fielded every position except catcher, with a focus on on third base. My hard-nosed play helped to inspire the team to lose fewer games and I was praised regularly by my coaches for both my effort and attitude. Participated in mound conferences. As part of team community outreach efforts, I regularly met and interacted with the public for charity and marketing efforts.
In the second half of 2003, I was for a time the starting third baseman when Jeff Cirillo experienced an extended performance outage and before the return of Carlos Guillen, when I returned to utility duties.
In my 2002 debut season, I hit .455 in twelve games.
1999-2002: minor league second baseman, Seattle Mariners organization
Hit .281 over five minor league seasons. Named the #7 prospect in the Mariners organization in 2001, and the #10 prospect in 2000 by Baseball America, behind Joel Pineiro.
Baseball America wrote “If makeup were a tool, Bloomquist would grade out with a top-of-the-line 80. He’s a gamer who helps his club win by doing all the little things that don’t show up in the box score.”
Personal
Drafted by the Seattle Mariners twice, in 1996 and 1999.
Born in Bremerton, Washington
Graduated South Kitsap High School
Attended Arizona State University
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But wait, there’s more.
Bloomquist borrowed a catcher’s mitt from minor league catcher Rene Rivera and Tuesday morning started learning how to use it.
You catch balls in it. I can’t believe he’s got this far without knowing that a catcher’s mitt does the same thing as everyone else’s.
Then, in a couple of paragraphs on Ibanez, former emergency catcher:
“I have been the emergency catcher several times,” he said, “but I’ve never caught in a [Major League] game.”
He has, in 1999, with this very team. Isn’t there a fact checker on MLB’s staff, or… anything? Now, don’t argue that that’s a Bloomquist quote, as both preceeding and trailing paragraphs are entirely about Ibanez and it’s clear that it’s his when you read it.
I know it doesn’t matter that Bloomquist’s the utility catcher, and that in the even they called him in they would also likely be making a phone call to Tacoma to call up Wiki. It’s that I can’t stand this kind of fawning coverage, even if it seems sugary and harmless.
Comments
26 Responses to “Bloomquist, third catcher”
Derek,
Would you say that you are a Willie Bloomquist fan?
The following is a true statement: Jim Street is a dolt.
While I will not argue that Willie Bloomquist is a nice guy — which is something that I don’t think anyone can successfully do — I will nevertheless state that he is a below-average major league baseball player. He should be DFA’d—immediately!
In regards to Raul Ibanez, there should be no reason to remove the quote; it is a glaring example of his [Ibanez’s] and Street’s idiocy.
It is hard to like the Seattle Mariners, as they a club that has inane management, inept coaches, and imbecilic players. Conversely, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Seattle Supersonics (sans the moronic color commentator, Craig Ehlo), and the Washington Huskies are filled with people that should be respected by citizens in this region.
All in all, it should be our (i.e., true Mariners fans) hope that they lose at least a hundred and twenty games this year, so that the organization will be completely overhauled by the man from Japan…or John Ellis; therefore, every ignoramous, from Howard Lincoln to Allen Wirtala, will be fired!
The fact is that the “fawning coverage” is easier, I think, for a player who clearly has limited skills and survives on being the living embodiment of baseball cliches like local kid, hustle and bunting. We can sort of see ourselves or our kids doing this someday, and that’s part of the hook, plus whatever Mr. Bloomquist’s shortcomings might be, he certainly seems to be a decent human being.
I don’t know- I guess I’d be less nonplussed if the M’s were grooming Willie B. for a starting job (I know watching Jim Presley and Darnell Coles play and be awful while seeing Calgary box scores with EMartinez in them made my teeth grind). But the bottom line is slightly less than 50% of all major league baseball players are, by definition, below average major league players, and today’s Willie Bloomquist was yesterday’s Charles Gipson was the long-ago departed Domingo Ramos… and some years from now, another kid will hustle and play defense and scratch and claw for their chance to be in a major league box score and tell his grandkids he was a major leaguer. I’m not sure it’s really bad in the scheme of things to have the 25th guy on your club be a lesser talent, or to be sympathetic to the story that player presents as a writer. We don’t all get the hard blue glow of a Hall of Fame level of talent in what we do in life- sometimes we have to make do with being Willie Bloomquist.
re: #3
You’re right, in that Willie Bloomquist isn’t that bad a guy, considering most 25th men aren’t that good of ballplayers. Sad thing, though, is that he might be more talented than the last bench player to make the team this year, since Jacobsen is ‘injured’. But anyways, I’ve got more respect for a diligent guy like Bloomquist, then for a arrogant person like Bret Boone or a dementia-laden lux like Ryan Franklin. Why does Franklin think he ought to be a starter? C’mon Ry-Ry — (now there’s Mariner-esque nickname!) — you suck!
Actually, the teaser on the front page of the Mariners site described Willie as “superb”. I think “superb” is a few pips higher than “stellar”. This is the weirdest Willie article I’ve seen yet. I mean, even if you fancy the dirty-uniform, hustling personna that some want to see Willie dressed in, you can’t really think the man is a “superb” player in any role. Is he begging for help from the scribes?
Also, what is the theory of turning Bloomquist into a backup catcher anyway? Ibanez actually came up as a catcher — why should he be displaced on the depth chart? They can still send Willie out to the bullpen to warm up Villone even if he’s not catcher #3.
#2 — Does this mean Bob Blackburn isn’t calling the Sonics anymore?
Actually, the teaser on the front page of the Mariners site described Willie as “superbâ€Â. I think “superb†is a few pips higher than “stellarâ€Â.
I was quoting the page itself, and not the link lines.
#2 – Ibanez’s idiocy? That’s not very fair. Just cause he forgot that he caught a game like 6 years ago doesnt make him an idiot. I don’t remember everything I did in 1999.
“Idiot”? I agree, that may be brash and uncorroborated; however, we’ve got to say the guy is forgetful. Think of the relatively landmark things you have done in your life and when you did them for the first time, etc. Hey, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a Fela Kuti album, I have never driven a car, I have never ‘gotten to home base’. These are things you just don’t say if you haven’t done them, unless you are lying or really careless. Raul Ibanez must be exceptionally absent-minded if he can’t remember that he caught once in a Major League game, but that don’t necessarily mean he’s an idiotâ€â€he may lick differential equations in his spare time. If it were Jose Canseco saying “Hey, I have had several deep fly balls bounce off my head and out of the park, falling for a home run on many different occasions, but never in the Majors.†Now, that would prove forgetfulness, disingenuousness AND idiocy. As for poor Willie B: man, is he excoriated with great regularity here on the ol’ U.S.S. Mariner and I love it! That’s what we baseball fans do. We are grumps and sourpusses and faultfinders. On the fringes we heft our beers and tout the glory of the VORP. Bytheway, I don’t think we are duty-bound to like someone for their unrelenting effort alone. For me, a fan, supporting a team that consistently employs inferior talent ostensibly for the benefit of human interest is just insincere. I want ‘my team’ to win. I think, as has been pointed out many times, there are several players out there on the ‘scrap heap’ that could outperform Willie in their sleep. It is discomfiting to see teams like the A’s consistently fleece teams in trades and pick up nobodies from nowhere in order to field championship-caliber teams while the Mariners make commitments to players, though they try with all of their considerable might, who are terrible on the field. I consider myself relatively steadfast and diligent, however, I am terrible at math you do NOT want me designing, say, the airplanes you fly in, even if I stayed up every night trying to come up with new ideas. Even if I looked great in a pair of nerd-glasses and a pocket protector. And I would, indubitably.
Love the resume. Do you guys at USS Mariner offer a resume writing service?
Yes. We charge a ton of money, though.
Loved the writeup … just remember all these anti-Willie Bloomquist quotes just prove to some that we’re all a bunch of haters of NW tradition who probably moved up here for the express purpose of clogging the freeways and driving up the cost of real estate. 😀
Bloomquist’s resume consists of 1 line:
Personal: Graduated South Kitsap High School
I love how Street avoided mentioning any real statistics about Willie’s actual on-field performance (I’m sorry but # of ABs doesn’t really count). But I guess putting up .245/.283/.613 and .250/.317/.638 the past 2 seasons doesn’t qualify as relevant info for a baseball article.
Find another whipping boy, this one has grown old, tired and oh so passe.
I’m beginning to think this has gone beyond baseball and is rooted in some personal issue the writers here at USS Mariner have.
Did Willie piss in your cornflakes or steal your date or what? Did you go to HS with him and he made the squad and you didn’t?
I too would love to have a McLemore type utility player to have on the bench but there aren’t too many rolling around. There is something to be said for a guy who will willingly play any position for the team. Don’t you think he knows his place?
I commented yesterday (off-topic at the time, my apologies) on my opinion on this article. It feels like some type of weird propaganda, like I felt the first time I read the Straits Times in Singapore.
Anyway, I like Willie, but I think it’s OK to like someone on your team and still not pretend he’s something he’s not. I don’t dream of Willie being a starting infielder for the M’s. He is what he is — a journeyman, good hustle, utility player with speed that will have to fight to make any ML team he tries out for.
I liked Jim Presley back in 198X, but I wanted that Martinez guy to be the starting 3B for the big club because he was hitting .350+ and about to rot in Calgary. I still wanted my team to make the right decisions to get better.
If Willie can help the club by being the #3/#4 guy of 4 non-pitchers on the bench, great. If he is the one holding up Lopez or Bucky or someone else who has proved they belong in Seattle by their play in AAA, then make the roster move and get better.
I think the M’s proved they are willing to do that last year, even to local, nice guy favorites (Olerud). I liked Olerud too, but agreed with the move to give Bucky his chance.
a challenging and interesting starting job with a major league team that utilizes my enthusiasm, versatility, teamwork skills, and perspicacity to help win a pennant
Win a pennant? Is that all he wants?
Go home, boy. This game ain’t for sissies.
#13 …some personal issue…
I would venture to say that what rankles the USSMariner crowd more than Willie the Bloom’s sub-standard numbers is the fact that the conventional media adopts a shrill, sentimental, and entirely undeserved tone of voice whenever they speak or write of him. Outside this site, I seldom read anything about him that doesn’t sound like it should have the soundtrack of the Burn’s Baseball Docum. playing behind it.
I have little or no feeling about Bloomquist as 25th man, myself, until the sap machine starts spraying…then I too get critical, get irritated, get vicious.
It doesn’t make any sense to have your starting DH be your emergency catcher. If you ever need your emergency catcher it’s likely to be in a game when you pinch-hit for the regular catcher and then the backup gets hurt. In which case you need a guy on the bench — or playing in the field — to be able to put on the tools.
Yes, Ibanez could surely catch if needed but not if he’s the DH (without the pitcher having to hit).
I’m not a Willie-backer but if he can be the emergency catcher more power to him. As I have said before, the difference between Willie and whoever (Gil, Gutierrez, Leone, whatever) is likely to be insignificant to the team’s record, so if he’s a fan favorite or a Hustling Mediocre White Player (TM) what the heck.
I would venture to say that what rankles the USSMariner crowd more than Willie the Bloom’s sub-standard numbers is the fact that the conventional media adopts a shrill, sentimental, and entirely undeserved tone of voice whenever they speak or write of him.
Yes. My point here wasn’t to mock Willy, though it does do that, but to point out that when Street writes “add to his resume” that’s a lot worse than it sounds, and that this kind of fawning coverage is underserved.
I’ve written, here and elsewhere, about the difference between performance and personality: I don’t think Bloomquist is not talented, or he’s not a good guy, because he’s not a good baseball player. My only wish is that coverage of him could be uninfluenced by this aura of good juju he carries with him.
It really doesn’t matter in the slightest. In the extremely unlikely event that we actually have to use the emergency catcher, the fact that we’ll lose the DH slot for maybe an at-bat or possibly two is just not going to make a difference. The fact that WFB is the emergency catcher instead of Ibanez is kind of a non-issue. It does rankle to have yet another puff piece about WFB bob up in the local press, but at least it gets DMZ wound up, so there’s an upside.
In the extremely unlikely event that we actually have to use the emergency catcher, the fact that we’ll lose the DH slot for maybe an at-bat or possibly two is just not going to make a difference.
What is the basis for this statement? It might make a difference, it might not.
Let’s say the difference is between Ron Villone or Willie Bloomquist getting an AB in an extra inning game. Here are their career batting statistics:
Villone 131/141/179 1 BB/49 K
Bloomquist 264/319/345 34 BB/89 K
Certainly Willie isn’t the guy you’d most want to come up in extra innings with the game on the line, but I’d sure rather have him than Villone. Just to use Villone as an example. It certainly could affect the outcome of a game.
It’s pretty obvious that Willie gets waaay more media coverage than he deserves – given his true worth – but that’s doesn’t really bother me. What does bother me is the underlying notion that he is a valuable asset to the greater good of the team and that someday he’s going to realize a higher value. Assuming he’s more accessible than most players, maybe some media types figure that when all else fails, they can squeeze another interview out of Willie on a slow news day, after a couple of “go-to-hell’s” from other players. Perhaps, he’s a sort of media stopgap. In the meantime, though, we’ll continue to see Willie on the Mariners Caravan, hear him every Tuesday on KJR and read useless features about him in the daily fish-wrap.
“who probably moved up here for the express purpose of clogging the freeways and driving up the cost of real estate.”
No kidding. What’s with USSMariner nowadays anyway? You guys sound like a bunch of New Yorkers… Only the Mutts fans sound cool when making fun of their own players. Making fun of puff pieces if funny for a while, but I can think of much worse players then Bloomquist to have on a team.
No matter what football fans say, baseball is still sort of a team sport, and team oriented guys do nothin bad for an organization. Look at the patriots.
Either way USSMariner’s negativity and attempted wit is just coming off mean lately. If you guys keep it up you might end up creating a pro-Bloomquist backlash, if thats possible.
Great P-I column, Derek. How does it feel having your analytical piece opposite an article that’s about the guy who washes the uniforms? hehe. Well, at least you’re offering some balance on the serious side to the fluff in the P-I.
#4 AK1984 said: “he might be more talented than the last bench player to make the team this year, since Jacobsen is ‘injured’.”
just what is the basis for your belief that the Mariners are using Jacobsen’s knee surgery as an excuse not to play him?
Hurry while this is still the current link.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/uclickcomics/cx_ft_uc/latest
“or a dementia-laden lux like Ryan Franklin”
I’m not saying he was fantastic last year, far from it, I do believe though that every other guy on this team is getting a fair chance this season regardless of the awful 2004 season, shouldn’t Frankie be given that opportunity as well?