Cliff Lee hogged all the attention today, and understandably so.  Now it’s time to say goodbye to Mark Lowe, who didn’t have the impact on the field that Cliff had this season, but has been a Mariner for longer and has been a lot of fun to have around. 

Lowe dazzled in his first taste of big league baseball in 2006, setting a club record with 17.2 scoreless innings to start a career.  A triple digit fastball and devastating slider helped him strike out 20 during the stretch and made him an absolute delight to watch.  Sadly, Lowe went down with an elbow injury immediately after the streak ended and missed most of the 2007 season.

While the injuries derailed Lowe he still managed to be an effective reliever for Seattle, but he is perhaps best loved for being one of the leaders of that goofy bullpen crew.

I know I just re-posted this the other day for no apparent reason, but here is a classic Lowe moment:

More recently, Lowe’s claim to fame was his introduction of the battle helmets in the bullpen.

Motivated by the Spartan movie “300″ the Mariners’ relievers aren’t so much film geeks as they are a group that has rallied around a warrior mentality.

“We all stick together and we’re all there for each other,” said Mark Lowe, who started it all. “It kind of symbolizes our mindset.”

Lowe downloaded “300″ on his laptop during a road trip early this season and became infatuated with the movie. He talked with bullpen coach John Wetteland, a military buff, and a we’re-in-this-fight-together approach took hold.

Or, as Lowe put it, “Being the idiots that we are, we’ve taken it to extremes.”

(link)

It started with one helmet and then multiplied from there.

(from Section331.com)

He also gave a humorous performance in one of the Mariners’ commercials this season, seen here.  “That is so true.”

Get well soon, Mark.  Here’s hoping you can make a few Rangers fans laugh between bringing the heat.

What are your favorite Mark Lowe moments?