The Pirates acquired Quinones from the Mariners during the 1989 season with the hope that he would fill the hole at shortstop that had plagued them for years but released him a few months later. Quinones had an outstanding arm and the ability to make spectacular plays but showed himself to be an inconsistent player and unstable person. In 1988 he was the subject of controversy when he left the Mariners without consulting the team to attend the funeral of a relative in(N-h)h)h)Puerto Rico. He also demonstrated an unwillingness to play with a series of minor injuries that failed to reveal anything on X-ray examinations. Quinones started his career with the Red Sox and, despite being billed as Boston’s shortstop of the future, was traded to the Mariners in 1986 for Spike Owen and soon-to-be playoff hero Dave Henderson.
