Buhner’s Short Shot Hurts Angels

As home runs by Seattle’s Jay Buhner go, it was nothing much, a two-run shot that landed a dozen rows into Anaheim Stadium’s left-field stands, about 380 feet from home plate.

It was nothing like the one Buhner hit last week in Yankee Stadium, the homer that went over the left-center field fence, over the famous monuments, over the Seattle bullpen and into a holding area for ambulances.

That ball traveled an estimated 479 feet and is considered the longest home run at the new Yankee Stadium.

Nor was Buhner’s homer against the Angels Friday much like the one he hit in Baltimore on July 20, a 463-foot drive that was eight feet shy of Harmon Killebrew’s Memorial Stadium record shot.

Buhner’s homer off Jim Abbott in the first inning paled in comparison to those previous blasts. But how far they go once they go over the wall doesn’t matter, except for such things as frequency of replay.

“Every once in a while, you get that perfect swing,” Buhner said. “The timing, the pitch, the rotation are all perfect. If I go up there and try to do it, I’ll never do it. It’s just like hitting a golf ball. The harder you try, the more room for error.”

Buhner drove in two of the runs and scored twice in the Mariners’ 4-3 victory Friday night.

With the homer, his 18th of the season, he took a step closer to the first 20-homer season of a career that has been stalled by injuries and slumps. Until now, he has never had more than nine homers in a major league season, and never played more than 60 games.

During the off-season, the Mariners were looking for a right-handed power hitter. They hoped Buhner, who hit 31 homers for the Yankees’ triple-A Columbus team in 1987, would fill that role.

Early this season, it didn’t look as if he would. He wasn’t playing much, averaging about 50 at-bats a month, and hitting just .200 near the end of May.

But in July, he pumped up the volume. Buhner had eight homers last month, more than any other Mariner. Buhner batted .253 during the month and drove in 15 runs.

Buhner also deserves some recognition for his play in right field; he has 11 assists this season.

Last season, Buhner, 26, played only 51 games, missing four months with injuries. He started the year on the disabled list with a severely sprained ankle. Returning on June 1, he hit a grand slam off Detroit’s Jack Morris in his first at-bat of the season. In one six-game stretch, he had four homers and eight RBIs.

But by June 17, he was back on the disabled list, after the ulna bone in his right arm was fractured when he was hit by a pitch.

Buhner came back Aug. 23, in a return that was a far cry from his season debut. He tied a major league record for strikeouts in three consecutive games with 10.

Those aren’t the type of performances anyone would want to get publicity for. Fortunately for Buhner, they don’t replay those as often as they do home runs over the monuments in Yankee Stadium.

“People are starting to say, ‘This kid is starting to show what we thought he could do,’ ” Buhner said. “But I can’t get too wrapped up in it.”