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O’Neill sees Safeco as ‘motivator’ at ceremony
- Updated: October 2, 2016
SEATTLE — Tyler O’Neill was at Safeco Field on Saturday night to receive the first Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners Minor League Hitter of the Year award, soaking up the stadium he’d someday soon like to call his home.
But the 21-year-old Canadian is realistic about his timetable, knowing he’s still working his way up the ladder after an outstanding season for Double-A Jackson.
“I just wanted to come into Double-A and prove to everybody I belonged there,” O’Neill said of his Southern League MVP season. “Now [next] year, I want to be in Tacoma and do the same thing there.”
If he does, it’ll only be a matter of time before the Mariners beckon, given his prodigious numbers this year as one of the youngest players in the Southern League. He put up a .293/.374/.508 line with 24 homers and 102 RBIs in 130 regular-season games at Jackson, then was a force in the postseason as well as he hit .448 with three homers and nine RBIs in seven playoff games.
O’Neill is headed to Phoenix on Wednesday to prepare for the Arizona Fall League, but was enjoying his stopover at Safeco first as he was one of six Minor Leaguers honored before Saturday’s game against the A’s.
“This is great,” O’Neill said, glancing around the 45,000-seat stadium. “We don’t …
