Cliff Lee made his sparkling debut in a Seattle Mariners uniform Friday night, throwing seven shutout innings vs. the Texas Rangers.
The next day, statisticians revealed that Lee's was the longest shutout debut by a Mariner since 1990. That was when Kennewick High graduate Russ Swan pitched eight shutout innings at Tiger Stadium.
The game was June 9, 1990. Swan's fans no doubt remember that the left-hander took a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
Todd Goodenough, a colleague at the Herald in those days, was a high school buddy of Swan's, and more than once those of us on the sports desk heard Goodenough's end of confabs via the phone with "Chief" that season. It's difficult to believe that was 20 years ago.
Sadly, Swan left us four years ago.
So I went into the Herald's archives and pulled out the story that Herald sports editor Jeff Morrow wrote about the memorial in Kennewick for "Swannie."
It appeared in the Herald on May 4, 2006...
Baseball was a major part of Russ Swans life.
So it was only fitting Wednesday that the St. Josephs church choir and organist played the Charge! musical snippet during Swans memorial service processional.
That was followed by a rousing rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
It was a perfect ending to an hour-long service in which an estimated 200 friends and family attended to remember Swan, who died last week in Las Vegas.
Swan, 42, was found unconscious with head injuries after he fell down a flight of stairs in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., on April 18.
He was transferred to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he spent the next nine days there before he eventually died April 26.
The 1982 Kennewick High School graduate pitched parts of six seasons for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians.
But the Reverend Wilmar Zabala said that while baseball was a big part of Swans life, His passion was for the people in it and around it. The players, his family, the fans, the kids. He had a great passion for life.
Steve Farrington, one of Swans high school and American Legion coaches, hired Swan as his pitching coach when Farrington was the head coach at Washington State University.
Russ was like a son, Farrington said. Ill always remember him smiling. I remember his first game (with the Giants when he was called up in 1989). They showed him on TV. He was smiling because he had that inner confidence. He worked his tail off to get (to the major leagues).
Farrington recounted a phone call from Swan when the left-hander was starting out in the minor leagues.
Coach, I got fined for not throwing inside, he said, Farrington remembered. Then he said, They wont fine me twice.
Farrington said Swan had so much passion for the game, and he shared that with his pitchers when he coached. Farrington then pointed out the many former WSU players who were in attendance as evidence of their love for Swan.
Long-time friend Leo Price grew up with Swan playing baseball, and they maintained a friendship for well over 20 years.
Price remembered visiting Swan when the Mariners played the Oakland As. Price, living in the Bay Area at the time, had his newborn son, Kyle, with him.
Russ wanted to hold him and have his picture taken with him, Price said. Then he reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a baby present, an outfit, that he had for Kyle. Most athletes were full of themselves. Not Russ.
In recent years, Swan had coached his son Kelly, and had helped start the Lake Havasu Baseball Academy.
It started as one team, but has turned into seven, Price said. He had a dream of turning Lake Havasu City into a baseball mecca like the Tri-Cities is.
Now, Price said, Swan is coaching kids in heaven.