1)His name is “Raúl Javier Ibañez”. I like all the squiggles and stuff in that name.
2)His name sounds awesome on an echoing PA.
3)He has to be one of the calmest guys in all baseball. Really level headed and cool. Every team needs someone like that.
4)He gives great interviews. Not the “Crash Davis” kind either. He actually talks in non-cliché and can be pretty amusing.
5)He’s still productive and if used properly can come up with key hits.
6)When he homers you can yell “RaaaaaaaUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLL”. Can’t yell that enough, if you ask me.
7)His fielding is…never mind
8)Some of that sage, baseball advice is going to be “this guy will throw you a breaking ball in the dirt if he gets ahead right away. Watch for that if you’re 0-1″. What young hitter couldn’t use that advice?

Good luck on the Mariners, Raul. Lookin’ forward to seeing you play another season. So’s my dog. She howls whenever I go into a protracted “RaaaaaaaUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLL”.

As much as NY was ready to move on I think it’s just as likely he wanted to go back to Seattle. He’s got a history there and he might want to retire a Mariner.

Bottom line, while you’re correct, it’s not easy to replace that kind of hitting in big situations off the bench.

There are things a player can tell a peer that will be received much differently than if a coach tells him. It happens to everyone. Would you rather have a friend point something out to you (“you’re giving away at bats. Try this when you go up and the game seems out of reach.”) or a coach who may seem more threatening.

We’ve all seen teams who seem to mature, or learn how to win. Often it’s because younger players mature into their true abilities. What we can;t measure is how often that is aided by having an older player–even one who can’t play 150 games a year anymore–work informally with him on things other than technique. 90% of this game s half mental, you know.