The Associated Press
Mariners catcher Dan Wilson has earned the respect of his teammates by letting his work speak for itself.

Wilson 'quiet, solid, overlooked'

Veteran Mariners catcher keeps up on the little things that count most

LARRY HENRY, FOR THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Monday, March 25, 2002

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Tom Lampkin was on his way to the ballpark the other day when he pulled up alongside an old friend and former teammate. As they waited for the stoplight to change, he and Dan Wilson sat there chatting for a moment.

With the Mariners playing a night game, Wilson had the morning off and rather than sleeping in, he was taking his children to a Krispy Kreme shop. "It wasn't about the donuts," he said. "It was about the experience of going there with them."

"What a dad," said Lampkin, the M's backup catcher a year ago and a San Diego Padre today. And he wasn't being sarcastic.

In the Seattle Mariners clubhouse, Dan Wilson is held in high esteem. As a ballplayer. As a teammate. As a man. As a parent.

"This may sound corny," said bench coach John McLaren, "but I don't know if I can say anything bad about the guy." Not even when Wilson gently needles him.

McLaren is famous for his line, "Hey, you got a minute?" On a day the roster was being cut, McLaren's job was to go to players and tell them the manager wanted to see them. "Hey, you got a minute?" he would say.

So every time McLaren would walk through the clubhouse, burdened with the duty of fetching a guy so he could be told he was about to be sent to the minor leagues, Wilson would whisper, "Hey, Mac, you got a minute?"

Quiet, subtle humor. This is Dan Wilson, the man who has crouched behind the plate as the Mariners starting catcher for the last eight years.

Quiet but solid as the proverbial rock. This is Dan Wilson, husband, father of four. Quiet and perhaps somewhat overlooked.

"I've had about five catchers catch me in my career," said Randy Johnson, the former M's pitcher and now the ace of the World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks, "and the two catchers I've probably enjoyed throwing to the most are Damian Miller (of the D-Backs) and Dan Wilson.

"They both have a lot in common. They're both highly unappreciated for what they do. Neither of them will probably ever hit (Mike) Piazza or Pudge Rodriguez kind of numbers, but they do all the little things."

Piazza hits more home runs in two seasons than Wilson has so far in his career, but the New York Mets catcher might trade some of his power to be able to throw out runners or dig balls out of the dirt like Wilson does.

"He blocks balls as well as I've ever seen it done," Johnson said after pitching six strong innings in a 10-3 victory over the M's in a Cactus League game Friday afternoon, "and he works extremely hard at it."

But it isn't just the blocked balls or the throwing arm or the work ethic that earn Wilson respect among his peers. It is also the complete professionalism he brings to his job.

"As a catcher, you have to deal with a whole pitching staff and you try to respect each guy for what he does, if you're going to be good at it," said Jamie Moyer, the little lefty who went 20-6 last season. "Danny's very good at it -- catching, handling (pitchers), respecting and understanding what each guy can do."

Moyer is aware of the care and concern Wilson brings to his family, and the pitcher sees his batterymate bringing those same feelings to his pitching staff. "It's almost like we were his kids, to a certain extent," said Moyer, who is seven years older than Wilson. "And there are probably some kids he's closer to than others in that group."

The senior member of the pitching staff also turns a compassionate eye towards his catcher. "I care about what Danny does, personally," Moyer said.

"I care about him hitting. I care about how he feels. I care when he gets a foul tip off the kneecap. It's not an easy position."

As Lampkin can attest. "He's caught 100-plus games for several years," he said of Wilson. "That's a lot of catching, a lot of toll on your body."

Lampkin's respect for Wilson goes way beyond catching. "He was a positive role model, as a husband and a father," Lampkin said. "I got to know him well and he was one of the big influences in my life, more off the field than on."

On road trips, they would get together with John Olerud, another family man, after games and talk. "We were three different people," Lampkin said, "and each of us added something to the group that the other two didn't.

"You need those types of support groups being away from your families. It's just a matter of where you want to find them."

Wilson has such respect on the team that when he went through a slump a couple of years ago, Lampkin said there were actually players praying for him to get a hit. "You hate to see good, solid guys struggle," Lampkin said.

"That's something to have teammates pulling for you like that."

Wilson finds strength in his own faith, which helps keep his life balanced.

"Sparky Anderson once told me, 'If you can keep from getting too high or too low, you'll do all right,' " Wilson said.

Dan Wilson has done better than all right. He has defended superbly, he has hit decently. He has been a good teammate and a strong leader.

"I loved playing against him and he's even better as a teammate," said Mark McLemore. "He plays the game hard, he plays it right. For me, if a guy comes into second base and tries to take me out, I have absolutely no problem with that. But there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. Danny does things the right way. He doesn't try to show anybody up, he just plays the game hard and to the best of his ability. You have to admire that. At least I do."

Mariners glance

- Sunday: Mariners 6, Cubs 3.

- Today: Colorado vs. Seattle, noon.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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