The Seattle Mariners season capped off on Sept. 29 with a 6 to 4 win against the Oakland Athletics. Their win extended the Mariners’ 3-game streak to 4, the first 3+ win streak since August.
Throughout September, the Mariners roster had experienced various other accomplishments. As a whole, they went 16 to 10. They ranked second in wRC+ (128), third in OPS (.780) and fourth in batting average. Batter Julio Rodriguez found his groove, accumulating a batting average of .328 with 39 hits, 7 HR, 22 RBIs and 24 runs scored in 26 games. On the other end, pitcher George Kirby had a great performance, achieving a 4 to 1 record with an ERA of 3.00 and 26 strikeouts in 5 appearances. Additionally, Logan Gilbert led all innings pitched in the AL, becoming the first Mariner since Félix Hernández in 2010 to achieve this feat.
Despite the team’s recent success throughout September, it wasn’t enough to muster the team into a playoff spot. They were one win short of entering the postseason.
The Mariners season had its fair share of positive moments, mainly from the team’s pitching core. As a group, the pitching core ranked first in BAA, (.220), first in WHIPS (1.08) and tying first in ERA (3.49) with the Atlanta Braves. Additionally, they ranked 9th in strikeouts (1,416) and last in saves, further solidifying themselves as one of, if not the best, pitching groups this season.
Furthermore, the Mariners also found themselves successful in developing their newer pitchers, specifically Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller. Woo, a second-year player returning from previous injuries, completed the season strong with a 9 to 3 record with an ERA of 2.89 and 101 in 22 appearances. Miller, another second-year player, ended his season with a 12 to 8 record with an ERA of 2.94 and 171 strikeouts in 31 appearances this season. Throughout the second half of the season, both players combined for a 2.54 ERA with 145 strikeouts and walks. Additionally, they held batters to a .561 OPS.
Mariners fans, rejoice! You can expect to see more of Woo, Miller and the rest of the pitching core return next season. In an interview with the Seattle Times, the Mariners President of baseball operations, Jerry Dipoto, implicitly addressed that the team plans to avoid trading the pitching core. However, he isn’t entirely against the idea if it means improving the core.
“Our pitching is how we’re built, I love our rotation. I think we have the potential for a dynamic back end of our bullpen months from now…but we’ll go into the offseason over whatever ideas might make us better.”
The outfielding trio, composed of Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena, and Victor Robles, had a solid performance near the end of the season. Throughout September, the trio had a combined OPS of .895. Accompanying the trio is catcher, Cal Raleigh, who had a solid outing throughout this season. He led the most homers for catchers with 34 and became the first in his position to reach 100 RBIs. In addition, he holds the most innings as a catcher this season with 1,122.
Despite some success, the season was plagued with difficulties. In particular, the batting wasn’t great and fans were disappointed with their performance. Overall, the batting core ranked first in strikeouts (1,625), 29th in team AVG. (.224), 15th in OBP (.311) and 22nd in OPS (.687). Through their first 128 games, the Mariners accumulated a batting average of .216 and a 28% strikeout rate, averaging 10 strikeouts a game.
Rodriguez, the Mariners’ star player, heavily underperformed throughout most of the season. Overall, he accumulated an OBP of .325, an OPS of .734, a WOBA of .321 and a BA of .273. However, things turned around for Rodriguez in July, acquiring a BA of .375 with 18 hits and 4 homers. Rodriguez would suffer an ankle sprain around this time — note that this portion of the season was crucial for the Mariners in terms of playoff contention. He’d eventually return on Aug. 11 and coasted to the end of the season with a solid run.
On paper, the Mariners had arguably the best starting batting lineup in team history. What caused their underperformance? Some believe that their performance can be credited to poor organizational leadership.
Prior to the season, the Mariners hired Brant Brown, who had fair success as the hitting coach for the LA Dodgers and the Miami Marlins. With Brown as hitting coach, the Mariners hoped to succeed and bounce back from their previous season, where they also faced difficulties. Instead, previous hardships carried over. According to the Seattle Times, a Mariners insider told reporters that the organization viewed Brown’s coaching as “extreme.” Several hitters also felt the team’s overall plans were too convoluted and rigid, overwhelming the players throughout the process.
Eventually, the hitters began to overlook Brown’s coaching. It was evident that his style of coaching did not match well with the team, especially with Rodriguez. So on May 31, Brown was relieved from his duties as the team’s hitting coach. For the remainder of the season, former Mariner and Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez assumed the role of hitting coach. Coincidentally, the Mariners performance at bat began to steadily improve with Martinez guiding the core.
Additionally, the Mariners relieved manager Scott Servais on Aug 21. This was during the midst of a two month period that had seen the Mariners go from 10 games up in the AL West, to 5 games back with a 21 to 33 record. Servais was immediately replaced by Dan Wilson, who won his first ever match in a grueling comeback against the San Francisco Giants.
The Mariners season could best be described as dissonant. On the pitch, the team dominated and arguably had the best group in the league. At bat, the team showed major inconsistencies in all areas, especially within the first half of the season. With the Mariners finding a groove near the end of the season, they’ve shown that they’re capable of exceeding current expectations. As we’re entering the offseason, we can only hope that the team can learn from their errors and make adjustments within the organization.
