Manager Mike Hargrove said early in spring training that Willie Bloomquist is a victim of his own versatility.
He’s such a good all-around player, able to play all infield and outfield positions and come off the bench in the late innings, that Hargrove is reluctant to make him a starter at any one spot.
Bloomquist could have competed, and maybe won, the second base job but Hargrove said he needed him as a utility player. Bloomquist could have taken over in center field when Jeremy Reed broke his wrist, but Hargrove wouldn’t do it because he would need Bloomquist at other times, in other positions.
Influenced by former Mariners bench veterans Mark McLemore, John Mabry and Greg Colbrunn, Bloomquist learned how to prepare himself as a late-inning pinch-hitter, pinch-runner or defensive replacement who might find himself at first, second, third, shortstop, left, right or center field. Last year, he even was designated the team’s emergency third catcher although, thankfully, he wasn’t needed.
“Willie works at it,” Hargrove said. “You see a lot of utility players, they’ll take a lot of ground balls at the position they like to play, then they’ll go and just put their time in taking balls at other positions. Willie works with a purpose everywhere he goes. There’s not a piece of his game he doesn’t take real seriously and try to improve it.”
Bloomquist, who graduated from South Kitsap High School and starred at Arizona State, enjoys getting his uniform dirty and barely dusts it off when he does.
“You know you’re going to get his best shot that day,” Hargrove said.
Bloomquist’s work ethic and ability to steal a base when the Mariners absolutely needed one – Bloomquist has 34 major league steals and has been thrown out five times – finally won Hargrove over about halfway through last season.
“It probably took until the All-Star break to learn what he’s all about,” Hargrove said. “Physically, you could see what he could do, but all the subtle parts of his game, I didn’t really start appreciating what he could do until about the All-Star break.”
Bloomquist caught Hargrove’s eye about the time he became a starter at second base on July 3 last year when the Mariners designated Bret Boone for assignment.
He batted .317 from July 3 to Aug. 20, raising his average from .197 to .278. He finished with a .257 average after going 4-for-33 in an eight-game stretch in late August, including 0-for-14 in a three-game series at Texas. Then he strained his left hamstring on Aug. 29 and missed the rest of the season.
The Mariners rewarded Bloomquist with a two-year contract in the offseason, something rarely done for a utility player.
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