Do I really need to tell any of you who have read my columns for these last 20 years how much I love it when a long-time minor league veteran finally gets called up? My signature “happy dance” has, fortunately, never been caught on Flipcam but … well, just think of those old cartoons of Snoopy dancing around with his ears flapping (minus the ears part).

This week’s happy dance was brought to you courtesy of the Seattle Mariners, who on May 9 purchased the contract of outfielder Mike Wilson from Triple-A Tacoma when they designated Ryan Langerhans for assignment.

That move capped a 10-year journey for the power-hitting Wilson, all of which has been spent as a member of the Mariners organization.

Wilson’s debut was worth waiting for and did not lack in drama or excitement.

What appeared, at first, to be destined to go into the books as a simple footnote where he pinch-hit for fellow rookie Carlos Peguero (who was also recalled that day from Tacoma but who made his own big league debut several days earlier), it didn’t quite end up that way.

After popping out in his first big-league at-bat in the seventh inning of a May 10 game at Baltimore, Wilson remained in the game in left field. Though the former second-round pick from 2001 is known more for his prodigious power potential than his defense, it was the latter that earned him a potential web gem in the bottom of the ninth inning when his outfield assist nabbed Orioles baserunner J.J. Hardy at home, preserving a 5-5 score and sending the game into extra innings.

The game would end up going 13 innings, giving Wilson a few more at-bats as he effectively played half of the game in left field for the Mariners. In the top of the 13th, he collected his first big league hit, a broken-bat single which scored Jack Wilson with the then-go-ahead run, making it 6-5.

The lead would not hold up, as the Orioles scored two in the bottom of the inning to win it, 7-6, but it was still a pretty stellar debut, from which Wilson took away the ball and the broken bat.

“I’m going to send it to my mom, and she’s going to put it in the trophy case or something,” WIlson was quoted as saying in an MLB.com article by Jeff Seidel, adding re: the broken bat, “We’ll tape it up.”

Wilson’s 6-foot-2 245-pound build reflects his high school football prowess, but when the Mariners drafted him in 2001 out of high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he committed fully to baseball.

In his 10 years with the Mariners, he spent some of that time on the 40-man roster but never got the call before this. In the later part of that span, he twice was granted minor league free agency but always re-upped with Seattle.

A .261 career hitter in the minors coming into 2011, he was hitting .381 with four homers and 14 RBI at Triple-A Tacoma prior to his promotion, and posted a few seasons in which he topped the 20-homer plateau.

MICHAEL WILSON
OF, Seattle Mariners
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-2/245 BORN: June 29, 1983
ACQUIRED: Selected in the second round of the 2001 draft out of high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Tacoma May 9 when OF Ryan Langerhans was designated for assignment
DEBUT: May 10 in a 7-6 13-inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles: Pinch-hit for LF Carlos Peguero in the seventh inning and stayed in the game in left field. Went 1-for-4, popping out in his first at-bat and driving in a run in the top of the 13th inning to score Jack Wilson with the go-ahead run before the Orioles scored two in the bottom of the inning to win. He also registered an outfield assist at home plate in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the tie and send the game to extra innings.

JAVY GUERRA
RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-0/205 BORN: Oct. 31, 1985
ACQUIRED: Selected in the fourth round of the 2005 draft out of high school in Texas
PROMOTED: Recalled from Double-A Chattanooga May 15 when P Blake Hawksworth went on the DL
DEBUT: May 15 in a 4-1 loss to the Diamondbacks: The last of four pitchers, he allowed one hit and struck out one in one scoreless inning.
NOTES: Guerra finally reached the bigs after seeing a promising career stalled by a series of injuries, including Tommy John surgery in 2005 and shoulder and hamstring issues which abbreviated his 2010 campaign. Armed with four solid pitches in a fastball in the mid-high 90s, a hard slider, a changeup and a curveball, he was clearly back in form at Chattanooga this season with a 1.06 ERA in 14 games in relief prior to his promotion with three saves abd 15 strikeouts in 17 innings, limiting Southern League hitters to a .145 average. In 2010, though limited to just 28 games with the Lookouts, he had a 2.48 ERA in 29 innings. He’s posted a 2.60 ERA with 16 saves between Class A Great Lakes and Chattanooga in 2009, fanning 84 in 69 innings.

COLE KIMBALL
RHP, Washington Nationals
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-3/225 BORN: Aug. 1, 1985
ACQUIRED: Selected in the 12th round of the 2006 draft out of Centenary College in N.J.
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Syracuse May 14 when P Brian Broderick was designated for assignment.
DEBUT: May 14 in a 1-0 loss to the Florida Marlins: The last of four pitchers, he tossed one scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.
NOTES: With a 4.50 ERA in five pro seasons, Kimball moved from a starting role to relief in 2009 and after a brief stumble found his niche. He posted a 6.36 ERA in 39 games out of the pen at Advanced A Potomac in 2009 but return there in 2010 for a 1.82 ERA in 19 games which prompted a promotion to Double-A Harrisburg, where he continued to thrive with a 2.33 mark in 38 more games. After a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League and a 1.13 ERA in six games at big league spring training, he had been unscored upon in 12 games, a span of 13 1/3 innings, at Triple-A Syracuse prior to his promotion, notching five saves.

AMAURY SANIT
RHP, New York Yankees
B/T: R/R H/W: 5-8/205 BORN: July 4, 1969
ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent out of Havana, Cuba, in August 2008
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre May 12 when IF Ramiro Pena was sent down.
DEBUT: May 12 in an 11-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals: The second of three pitchers, he allowed three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out two.
NOTES: That’s not a typo. The 31-year-old Cuban-born Sanit is a stocky guy. Signed in 2008, he had combined for a 4-7 record and 4.56 ERA in 73 games dating back to signing with the Yankees and this spring was 2-0 with a 4.96 ERA in eight games for Scranton, including two starts, walking six while fanning 24 over 16 1/3 innings.