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In 1977 baseball came back to Seattle. Several teams had tried to establish clubs there, but had failed. This time the team, the Mariners, would stay.The Mariners came out with a 64-98 record. They struggled early on, like most expansion teams. This struggle went beyond the normal growing pains though, lasting until 1991.The Mariners had several talented players on the roster, like pitcher Gaylord Perry, first baseman Alvin Davis, second baseman Harold Reynolds, pitcher Mark Langston, and shortstop Spike Owen. The club just could not pull the team together.
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1991 marked the first time the Mariners finished above .500. The team followed the season with some ups and downs, but was building a team that could continually challenge in the American League West.
The roster of the ‘90s included talent like Ken Griffey, Jr., Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, and right fielder Jay Buhner. The club emerged in 1995 after falling 15.5 games behind the Angels. The team won the AL West and made its first post season appearance.
The Mariners beat the Yankees in the ALDS, but lost the Indians in the ALCS. The club finished second the following year and missed the playoffs, but then one the West again in 1997. The Mariners suffered an early exit, losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.
The lack of pitching depth caught up to the Mariners and they followed the 1997 season with two losing seasons. The Mariners then began to get better by subtraction of its major stars. Randy Johnson was traded for pitching in 1998, and Ken Griffey was traded in 1999. Alex Rodriguez was left as the lone superstar on the team.
The Mariners went 91-71, finishing second in the West and returning to the playoffs via the wild card. The club defeated the White Sox in the ALDS, but lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.
The offseason would see Alex Rodriguez leave for free agency. The now faceless franchise found its star in Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro was the opposite of Griffey and Rodriguez, he was a singles machine. The singles machine and the rest of the Mariners won 116 games in 2001.
That tied the record for most victories in a season with the 1906 Cubs. Like the 1906 Cubs, however, the Mariners could not turn the record season into a World Series, losing in the ALCS to the Yankees.
Since then, the Mariners have either put up great records in a highly competitive division and not made the playoffs or put up poor records.
The Seattle Mariners finished the 2007 season with a late season 2-15 collapse that lost them the wild card spot in the American League West. The high-priced starting pitching underperformed last season and the average offense kept the Mariners in the post season chase until late in the season and an impressive record against teams in their division, but the pitching will have to improve drastically for the team to contend this year.
The pitching problem looks to improve Felix Hernandez can continue his steady performance form last season as he heads the rotation. The strong addition of lefty Erik Bedard will strengthen the middle of the rotation that includes Migeul Batista and Carlos Silva. Jarrod Washburn, the one-time apparent ace of the staff sinks to fifth after a disastrous 2007 season. The bullpen might be a little thin, but the Mariners do have J.J. Putz as a solid closer and Sean Green as a good middle reliever.
The offense received a lift when centerfielder Ichiro Suzuki signed a five-year extension. First baseman Richie Sexson, third baseman Adrian Beltre, and left fielder Raul Ibanez provide power for the lineup. Sexson, though, needs to improve his dreadful average from last season. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt designated hitter Jose Vidro do not provide a lot of pop, but do make good contact.
The Seattle Mariners ninth year at Safeco Field will hopefully see a turn around from the slide at the end of the season last year. The team does return hit machine Ichiro and a young cast from a rebuilding effort. Soon the team may return to the 116-win form on 2001. Hopefully the schedule will be kind to them in 2008.
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