Bobby Ayala Named “Special” Consultant

Photo courtesy ESPN.com

In a surprise announcement Wednesday, team President Chuck Armstrong named former reliever Bobby Ayala a “special” consultant to the Mariners organization.

“We’re excited to give Bobby this opportunity to relive the glory day he once spent in a Mariners uniform,” Armstrong said.  “We expect him to have an impact at all levels in the coming year, and have already had him offering advice this week to our young pitchers as they report here in Peoria.”

New rookies Michael Pineda and Dan Cortes have already gleaned much from the former big leaguer this week.

“He’s a nice enough guy,” Pineda reflected.  “His biggest concern for me was my breaking pitch.  He said it moved too much and would be hard for the catcher to see approaching the plate.”

“Bobby’s a workhorse,” said an exhausted Cortes.  “We ran drills all afternoon on diving out of the way of slow rollers to the mound.  With his help, I’ll be a dominant figure out of the ‘pen, although I’m not sure I can eat as many calories as he recommended daily.”

Armstrong has created a regular role for Ayala at Safeco Field, so fans will have a chance to meet the former bullpen mainstay any time.  He’ll be manning the Auntie Em’s Pretzel stand near the entrance to section 321 on the first base side during all home games.