It started with a simple enough request.
The mildly facetious refrain from Jeff Sullivan became a consistent reality over the next 11 seasons. Save the Seattle Mariners, Kyle Seager, it seems nobody else will. He struggled immensely out the gate, going 3-for-27 with three walks and eight strikeouts in his first nine games, including a brief demotion. In his first game he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against Jered Weaver, igniting a defining rivalry that stretched through much of the last decade. Yet ultimately, he was a solid rookie, portending a career that had stretches of stardom interspersed among solid season after solid season.