Monday, 27 March 2017

Spring Training Team Profile: Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners


Established: 1977
Other Names:
None

2016 results: 86-76, 2nd in AL West

2017 Prediction: 3rd

World Series Titles: 0
Most Recent: N/A
Last World Series Appearance: None
Last Division Title: 2001

Ballpark: Safeco Field
Est: 1999

Best Season: 2001


                The Mariners set the record for most regular season wins when they were victorious 116 times in 2001. They broke the previous mark of 114 set by the 1998 New York Yankees. They won the NL West by 14 games over the second-place Oakland Athletics, but unfortunately, their regular season feats didn’t help them much in the playoffs. After winning the ALDS in a hard-fought, five-game series against the Cleveland Indians, the Mariners were eliminated in the best-of-seven ALCS by the Yankees in five games. Seattle has not qualified for the post-season since, the longest current drought in baseball. The 2001 team was led offensively by rookie Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez, John Olerud and Bret Boone. The pitching staff was anchored by Jamie Moyer and Freddy Garcia, while closer Kazuhiro Sasaki led the bullpen.

Best All-time Player: Ichiro Suzuki


                One can only wonder what kind of career numbers Ichiro would have put up had he started his MLB career several years before he did. But in his 12 years with Seattle, he put up enough to be considered the best player in franchise history. His first year was 2001 and he captured the AL Rookie of the Year Award as well as the League’s MVP prize as well. He collected 200 or more hits his first ten years in the league, including an MLB record 262 in 2004. He led the league in hits for seven years, but surprisingly only won two batting titles. He collected 2533 hits with the Mariners, good enough for a .322 batting average. He was a ten-time All-Star, won ten Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger Awards.

Best Player on the Current Roster: Robinson Cano


                It appears that Robinson Cano will never live up to the expectations that were expected of him when he signed his lucrative contract prior to the 2014 season. However, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t put up some decent numbers since arriving from the Yankees. He struggled with the long ball in his first two seasons on the West Coast (his average was still good, though) but he seemed to get back into shape last season by blasting 39 of them, while adding 103 RBIs and batting .298. For his career, combined with the Yanks and Mariners, Cano has a .307 batting average in 1374 games, 278 home runs, 1086 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. The seven-time All-Star has won two Gold Gloves and five Silver Slugger Awards.

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