The Seattle Mariners are a Major League Baseball team based in Seattle , Washington . They are in the West Division of the American League. The team came into existence in 1977 as an American League (AL) expansion team. From 1977 to 1988 Seattle went through seven managers and dozens of starting lineups, finishing no better than fourth place in the West Division. The club's history up until the 1990s was quite poor, without a winning season until 1991. The early history of the team during the 1970s and 80s is characterized by perennial non-achievement. Major league baseball returned to Seattle in 1977 when the Mariners joined the AL along with the Toronto Blue Jays. Seattle 's early teams featured outfielders Ruppert Jones , Leon Roberts, and Lee Stanton and infielders Bruce Bochte and Dan Meyer. Mike Parrott and Enrique Romo led the pitching staff. In 1980 the Mariners lost 103 games and finished the season in the last place. The team faced declining phase as they could not achieve laurels in these seasons. The Mariners continued to attract new talent throughout the 1980s.
Second baseman Harold Reynolds, an outstanding fielder, joined in 1986, and Scott Bank head, third baseman Edgar Martinez and pitcher arrived in 1987. Power-hitting right fielder Jay Buhner and pitcher Erik Hanson joined the team in 1988. The Mariners finished last or next-to-last in their division in 10 of their first 13 seasons, and did not record a winning season until 1991. Fort the first time in club history the Mariners ended the season above .500 making a score of 83-79. Despite the impressive year the Mariners decide to fire Manager Jim Lefebvre at the end of the season. The Mariner's fortunes began to turn for the better in 1994. The team had added a core of strong players built around center fielder Ken Griffey, Jr., pitcher Randy Johnson and designated hitter Edgar Martinez. The Mariners reached the playoffs for the first time in 1995 with a late-season comeback. Johnson won the AL CY Young Award after posting an 18-2 win-loss record and leading the majors with 294 strikeouts and a 2.48 earned run average (ERA). In the 1966 season the Mariners missed their playoff session but Rodriguez captivated AL battling title. In the next session in 1997 the team won as many as 90 games and captivated the division title for a second time.
The team has a losing record in 1998and 1999 season. The team struggled to end the season 1998 in third place with a losing record of 7 6-85. The season 2000 was a return to respectability for the Mariners, as they won the Wild Card. They finished half a game behind Oakland Athletics, as they played only 161 games. Gaylord Perry RHP won Hall of Fame honor in the year 1982-1983. The Seattle Mariners have won three American League West Division titles (1995, 1997, and 2001) and have won one Wild Card in 2000 (AL). Alvin Davis 1B, Kazuhiro Sasaki RHRP, Ichiro Suzuki won the Rookie of the Year in 1984, 2000 and 2001 respectively. |
