Kelley: How John Wetteland helped save baseball in Seattle

Sure, sure…while baseball did nothing to save Wetlands! (and thank soggy heavens for that…!)

For Wetteland, 1995 was his year of living dangerously. He was the Yankees’ closer, pitching in his first postseason. It was a learning experience for him and one thing he learned was that he couldn’t get Mariners hitters out.

It was Wetteland who gave up the game-winning home run to Griffey on Aug. 23, the moment that started all of the Mariners’ magic. And it was Wetteland who gave up Martinez’s grand slam that won the fourth game of the ALDS.

“Like I said, glad to help,” Wetteland said, smiling good-naturedly.“What was my earned-run average in that series?” Wetteland asked. “About 45?” (Actually, it was 14.54.)

...“That was a very rough time for me,” said Wetteland. “Whenever I pitched against the Mariners it was a personal nightmare. I think I beat myself going into that series, because you can’t pitch with that kind of a mindset.

“I was a power pitcher, and if you’re a dominant pitcher, you have to feel dominant and when a certain amount of players on a team kind of get your number early, it can really affect you. I talk to pitchers all the time about getting to the point where you beat a hitter before you ever throw a pitch. Well, the reverse happened to me.”