#26 Juan Bernhardt

One month before your 17th birthday you sign a free agent deal with the New York Yankees in 1970. You would be of top of the world thinking you hot the lottery right? I'm sure that is how Juan felt too. You don't think you will be in the Bronx the next day, but you would have high hopes. Juan would start the journey in 1971 working his way up through the Yankees minor league system. It was a slow climb for Juan to come up through the minors before seeing time with the AAA Syracuse Chiefs in 1976. Thanks to an injury, the Yankees brought Juan up to the big club in July of 1976 and he would spend the month with the team only to finish the year back in Syracuse. Thanks to a bit of luck, Juan was left unprotected by the Yankees and was the 10th pick by the Mariners in the 1976 expansion draft. The Mariners would have Juan on the Opening Day roster for the 1977 season.

 He would get his first chance with the new team on April 10th and put his name in the team record books. Juan hit the first home run in team history off Frank Tanana of the California Angels. Juan would see time in 1977 and in 1978 at Designated Hitter, 3rd Base, and 1st Base. He would stay with the team all season in 1977, but was split between Seattle and the AAA San Jose Missions in 1978. Juan would be a pinch hitter on April 8, 1979 getting a single and being pinch ran for. That would be the last action Juan would ever see in the majors as he would be sent to AAA with the Spokane Indians. Juan would be dealt to the Chicago White Sox in July 6th that year and would spend the rest of the year with the Iowa Oaks. In 1980 Juan decided to play with the Tabasco Planteros in Mexico. For the next two years in 1981 and 1982 he would be a player/manager with the Campache Piratas. Juan would start 1983 with the Piratas but without the mam\nagging duties, and would finish that year with the Aguascalientes Rieleros. Baseball can be a cruel sport with Juan seeing his time done at the age of 30 with much promise that just never materialized.

#18 Joe Lis/ Kevin Pasley, 1st Base/ Catcher

What do you do when you are consummate AAAA player? You the guy that's too good for AAA, but can't cut it as a major leaguer. That would be the ultimate description for a guy like Joe Lis. After bouncing up and down with the Philadelphia Phillies for a few seasons, Joe was able to try his hand with the Minnesota Twins. He was not able to find consistent time with the Twins due to an influx of better players, so Joe took his game to the Cleveland Indians. Sadly, Joe found it hard to translate his AAA ability to the big leagues. The break that Joe was probably hoping for came when the Seattle Mariners used their 23rd pick in the expansion draft to bring Joe to Seattle.  It didn't really come to be for Joe in Seattle as he only played in nine games in the first month, but did make his first attempt as a catcher on April 13th. Joe would last see the big leagues on May 8th and would play in Iowa and Toledo the rest of the 1977 season. Joe would take his talents to the Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan for 1978, only to come back to the AAA Evansville Triplets for one last go. Joe would go on to coach the American Legion team from Evansville and would be followed by his son Joe Jr, who went from making it to AAA to coaching. Joe would also start the Joe Lis Baseball School in Indiana. Sadly, an original Mariner would sail his final voyage when at the age of 64, Joe succumbed to prostate cancer in 2010.

 

 



Since Joe didn't get but nine games as a Mariner with the #18 uniform, you would think that if you were Kevin Pasley  you might not want the number next. Kevin was a catcher whose career path had kind of similarly mirrored Joe's. Kevin was a decent player in the minor leaguers coming up through the Dodgers organization out of high school in the Bronx. Kevin was given spot chances to shine in the end of a couple of seasons, but having star players in front of you at the position doesn't help your cause. After being named one of the "Dodgers players to watch" in 1977 by Baseball Digest, Kevin spent most of that season back with the AAA Albuquerque Dukes for the team. Finally on September 8th, the Mariners would purchase Kevin's contract form Los Angeles. Kevin would only see four games for the M's in '77, but would find his way into 25 games behind the plate for the M's in the 1978 season. For his coup de grace, Kevin would homer for last MLB hit on October 1, 1978 off the Texas Rangers' Fergie Jenkins. That is of little consequence except that only two players have homered in their last hit and had their number retired. Those two would be Ted Williams, and Kevin Pasley. Of course the only reason Kevin's # was retired was because somehow he wore #4 for the Dodgers but it was retired for Duke Snider who was with the team in Brooklyn and Los Angeles from 1947 through the 1962 season. Kevin would bounce around through many AA and AAA teams for seasons from 1979 through 1982 before finally hanging up the spikes.

Three of the four guys on this card would all see time in Seattle, with only Don Werner being the only one that didn't wear a Mariner uniform. How is that for prophecy on Topps' part??

 

#7 Dan Meyer, 1st Base

With the 9th overall pick in the expansion draft, the Mariners would select Dan Meyer from the Detroit Tigers. While he would never be the power hitter that we see at first base nowadays, Dan was firmly entrenched as the everyday starting man at 1st. After playing at 1st in 1977 and 1978, Dan would move to split time between 3rd base and the outfield for his next three seasons of 1979 through the 1981 season. After the strike shortened season of 1981, the Mariners decided to trade Dan to the Oakland Athletics in December of that year for pitcher Rich Bordi. Dan would spend parts of the 1982 through 1985 seasons playing part time mostly as a designated hitter in Oakland. Dan would sit out the 1986 season, only to try and come back for three games with the A San Jose Bees in 1987.

 

 

 

 

#5 Don Mincher, 1st Base