In the big inning, there was Mike Schooler, certainly not the first Mariners closer to blow a ninth-inning lead but the one who did it often enough that his breakdowns became a local obsession for a time.
Schooler’s claim to fame — beyond his Alice Cooper “School’s Out” walkup music and the record-tying four grand slams he gave up in 1992 — was his incredulous remark about Lou Piniella after he was released in spring training of 1993: “All he cares about is winning.”
It’s instructive to remember that Schooler was one of the most successful late-inning relievers in Mariners history.