Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik today announced that the Mariners have signed outfielder Ryan Langerhans to a Major League contract for the 2010 season.Langerhans was non-tendered on Dec. 12, becoming a free agent. With today's transaction, the Mariners 40-man roster is now at 39 players.
SEATTLE -- Mariners defensive replacement Ryan Langerhans was preparing to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning Tuesday night when veteran teammate Mike Sweeney gave him an unsolicited pep talk.
"C'mon, man! Just pop the tape in the VCR and hit play!" the former Oakland Athletic said to Langerhans.
Langerhans channeled the vision of his last big hit in a similar situation, then nailed a pitch from Oakland's Craig Breslow for his second game-ending home run as a late-game substitute in three weeks that sent scrappy Seattle to a 4-2 victory against the Athletics.
Franklin Gutierrez's singled with one out in the 10th off Breslow (5-7), who is tied for the most losses among major league relievers. It was Gutierrez's fifth hit and seventh time on base in the two games he has been leading off whileIchiro Suzuki rests a tight calf muscle.
Then Langerhans, who entered for defense the inning before, smacked a 2-2 pitch into the first row of seats beyond right field. His winning home run landed in almost the same spot as his two-run shot in the 11th inning on Aug. 7, when he entered in the seventh inning and then beat Tampa Bay.
Guess who was the first to meet Langerhans screaming "I told you so!" amid his latest mobbing at home plate. Yep, Sweeney's grin was as big as his advice.
"When I crossed the plate, he was beaming," said Langerhans, who spent two games with Oakland in 2007 between stints with Atlanta and Washington.
No comments:
Post a Comment