FanPost

Howard Lincoln`s Watch 1992-2015

Ok, Howard, your run is done! I have been following the Seattle Mariners since their inception year in 1977 (Rupert Jones, Alvin Davis, etc.). However, the last 23 years have been ugly, with the exception of a couple of post season appearances. In 2001, the Mariners won 116 games and acquired Ichiro Suzuki, who won Rookie of the year and MVP. That team was eliminated by the NY Yankees in the second round of the postseason. Since then, the Mariners have not advanced past the end of the regular season.

A little history here. Howard is an attorney. He represented Nintendo, during the 1980`s, in several important legal cases involving ownership of gaming programs. He won the cases and was subsequently hired by Nintendo. In 1992, after initial resistance from MLB regarding foreign ownership, Hiroshi Yamauchi, founder of Nintendo, purchased a majority interest (51%) in the Mariners. Howard was installed as one of the executives representing the minority owners. Have you ever seen an attorney cry in public? I did, at a press conference in September, 1995. Howard, representing the Seattle Mariners franchise, threatened to move the team (sob), if a new baseball stadium was not built. This project was put to a public vote and it failed. However, the Washington State Legislature, baseball fans that they were, found a way around this voting thing, by forming a Public Facility District (PFD) in October, 1995. Through the miracle of increased sales taxes in King County, bonds were floated and Safeco Field was built, opening in mid-season, 1999. The construction cost overruns amounted to $100 million. Howard, representing Nintendo, refused to pay the extra costs. More lawsuits. After several years of legal bickering with the PFD, Nintendo relented and paid. In 2004, Mr. Yamauchi transferred his ownership in the Mariners to Nintendo. Fast forward to 2015...Howard remains as CEO of the Mariners. All other original executives are gone. Nintendo is a silent partner, and Howard is pulling all the strings. He even controls the price of beer at Safeco Field (I kid you not)!

If Howard is responsible for beer prices, then he definitely needs to take the blame for hiring the last two incompetent general managers, Bill Bavasi (2003-2008) and Jack Zduriencik (2008-2015). Zduriencik was signed to a 4 year extension in August, 2014, by Kevin Mather, one of Howard`s underlings. That has worked out well (not).

It is time to get the majority ownership of the Mariners back on American soil and bid Howard Lincoln farewell. John Stanton, local billionaire, and a minority owner of the Mariners, could be the leader in a buyout. Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo founder, passed away on 9-9-13. Just this past July, Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo, died of cancer. Two executives have been named as temporary leaders. The time is right to approach Nintendo. Minority owners, rise up from your competitive malaise. A beautiful ballpark and a juicy TV contract are not enough. WE NEED TO WIN!!

s/ Ziggy