A Tribute to Jason Vargas

By Patrick

Jason Vargas said five words to me. "Sure thing," and "No prob buddy." Strangely, that was enough to make him my favorite Mariner. When I had a chance run in with him and his family at the Interbay Red Mill, I didn't know whether to ask for his autograph or not. It's not like Jason Vargas is the most recognizable guy. He looks pretty regular in person. He's like six feet tall maybe, and looks like a pretty regular Italian-American guy nearing thirty. It's hard to say whether a guy like Jason tries to blend in or enjoys being recognized, since back in early 2011 when this happened, he was still the number three or four starter.

But he signed my little napkin, and that still remains tacked to the corner of my Mark McLemore poster in my bedroom (side note: after the Ichiro trade, I official have zero posters of current Seattle athletes. McLemore, Mike Cameron, Griffey, Jamie Moyer, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Shaun Alexander, and Matt Hasselbeck are all gone). Jason Vargas has been my favorite Mariner since, and that's why I was a little said after I left Safeco last night, knowing that Jason may have thrown his last pitch in a Mariner uniform.

If that was the last time Jason Vargas pitches for the Mariners, I'll be proud of him. Before the season, everyone doubted that Jason could make the transition to consistent top of the rotation type starter. He has his great ups, but also had his awful downs. He needed to develop a certain sense of consistency. With the exception of one start, he has allowed between one and five runs in every start in 2012, compared to 11 outside that range in 2011. Jason Vargas earned the title Mr. Consistency. 

And that consistency boosted his numbers. In 2011, even with all of those incredible shutout starts, Vargas still went just 10-13 with a 4.25 ERA. Now, with all of his new found consistency, Jason set a new personal best for wins in a season. At the end of July. Yeah, consistency is a good thing. Jason is 11-7 with a 3.76 ERA in 2012. He has yet to take the hill and allow zero runs in a start. Yet, his numbers have dwarfed that of last seasons', when he did that five times. Again, Mr. Consistency.

If that was the last time Jason Vargas pitches for the Mariners, I'll be bummed out. We watched Jason develop into a viable major league pitcher for four years. His transition from borderline back end guy to sometimes great sometimes awful, to steady mid-rotation starter has been a rare opportunity to smile over the past four years. Plus who doesn't love seeing that teal throw back shirt every five days?

If Jason truly is done with the Mariners, he won't be remembered as a super starter, because he really wasn't. But outside of Felix, Vargas has given Mariner fans and players a constancy over the past four years that doesn't exist a lot of times in a rebuilding process. Going into this season, the rotation consisted of Felix and who knows what else. At least as we near the trade deadline, the rotation has morphed into Felix, Vargas, and who knows what else. 

Regardless of whether Jason Vargas throws another pitch in a Mariner uniform, I'll always remember him as the guy who came out every five days and worked hard, never missed a start, always ate innings, and seemed to pitch pretty well in the end. It will be a shame if Jason gets moved by the deadline, because he could really help young lefties like Paxton and Hultzen learn what it's like to be a mayor leaguer. I'm going to miss you Jason. Go M's.