POULSBO — The Mariner Moose was the hit of the show, the start of the baseball team's annual promotional caravan that began yesterday at Breidablik Elementary School.

But the Moose's hold on the public — young and old — could be threatened in time, if Bucky Jacobsen can do what he says he can.

If a repaired knee allows him to turn on inside fastballs the way he says it will, if it enables him to hit 35-40 home runs this season as he says he can, and if, of course, he remains humble and Bunyanesque as he says he has to.

Jacobsen won the fancy of Mariners fans last year with nine late-season home runs, but then came major knee surgery that aborted what little season he had, and then came the signing of millionaire thumpers Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre.

Sitting on a bus outside the Poulsbo school, waiting to talk to kids about avoiding drugs and building self-esteem, Jacobsen talked about a career that's almost begun.

"I got my foot in the door last season, that's all," he said. "And now it is time to kick the door down."

Jacobsen doesn't believe his performance last season — hitting .275 with nine homers in 160 at-bats — has earned him anything more than a chance in spring training.

But given where he's been — eight seasons in the minor leagues — a chance is all he has ever wanted.

The winter has been almost as eventful as the summer for Jacobsen. He had knee surgery and got married. In between, the Mariners spent $114 million to sign Beltre and Sexson.

"We needed a first baseman, and Sexson is a big, right-handed power hitter from the Northwest like me," Jacobsen said.

"And obviously, for personal reasons, when they signed Beltre the next day, it probably meant they weren't going to sign both Sexson and Carlos Delgado to play first base and DH."

With the retirement of Edgar Martinez, the designated-hitter job is open. There has been speculation that Raul Ibanez could be the DH if rookie Jeremy Reed plays center field and Randy Winn plays left.

But what if Reed doesn't prevail in spring training? Or what if Winn gets traded for more pitching? Or what if Bucky just knocks the cover off the ball in Peoria, Ariz.?

Jacobsen has a good chance to make the team, even on a bench that would probably include Dan Wilson, Willie Bloomquist, Scott Speizio, and someone like Jamal Strong.

Jacobsen didn't limp as he walked across the gym at the elementary school. But he isn't ready to play, either.

The knee operation was a big deal. It wasn't arthroscopic, it wasn't the kind that allowed Brandon Roy to play basketball for the Huskies three weeks after surgery.

They transferred cartilage in his knee to fill a worn area Bucky termed "a divot."

He knows it was a big deal because he has so much more strength in his right knee than he's had the past three years.

Strangely, at the same time Jacobsen was finally learning to hit, his knee was getting worse.

"Fastballs inside had always been my bread and butter," he said. "If you came inside with a fastball it didn't matter how fast you threw it, I was going to turn on it.

"But my knee wasn't allowing me to do that. I wasn't going to complain to anyone, I was finally getting the chance I wanted. But hitting that inside fastball last season became an issue."

He learned to hit a lot of other pitches and believes given a healthy knee — and a spot in the Mariners' new lineup — he could hit .280 this season, 35-40 home runs and drive in more than 100 runs.

"I don't know where I'll be in the lineup — I just want to be in the lineup," he said. "But, hopefully, I'd bat sixth behind the big-money guys and have an opportunity to drive in a lot of runs.

"You know, they'd want to pitch around me and think I was some rookie about to fold."

Jacobsen smiles when he talks about playing with Sexson and Beltre.

"I don't want to be involved with any kind of competition with them," he said, "but if halfway through the season we all make the All-Star team, then I'll beat them in the home-run derby."

Jacobsen said his knee isn't 100 percent healed yet.

"It used to be sore after a workout, now it is just tired," he said. "I can feel it getting stronger walking up steps."

The Mariners medical staff has asked Jacobsen to take it slowly. He said he will, as long as they let him hit.

"I don't have the luxury of 10 years in the big leagues or 300 home runs," he said. "I know the job isn't mine, but I know I can win it."

He said he might not be able to turn a double into a triple in spring training, but he knows he will be ready to swing the bat.

Bucky Jacobsen knows the ups and downs of life. As he says, he's still a guy from Hermiston, Ore. The day before his wedding, his wife's father died.

He and Jennifer recently bought a home at Snoqualmie Ridge.

"After eight years in the minor leagues, $300,000 (the major-league minimum) is a lot of money to us," Bucky said. "I can't imagine what $15 million a year is like."

A bust or a bargain. That's the season ahead for Bucky Jacobsen.

Blaine Newnham: 206-464-2364 or bnewnham@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists