... player in their run for the 2004 and 2005 titles. In 1996, desperate for left-handed power, the Seattle Mariners coughed up Ortiz, opting for 28 games of Dave Hollins, a Minnesota Twins third ... offensive event, the home run. Third, the Mariners were playing their games in the Kingdome, a park that boosted offense at the cost of bludgeoning pitchers. The games the M’s played there were ... even have been in that race.” But they were, and it was Phillips, the GM thinks, that put them there after they got him from the Tigers for Chad Curtis. “He is the single most in uential and...