In October 2001, the Mariners were on Cloud 9 after just completing a record 116-46 season, tying the Chicago Cubs for the most wins in MLB history. Now, they are in the American League Championship Series, only four wins away from making their first trip to the Fall Classic and claiming their first American League Pennant in their history. They were coming off a five game Division Series victory against the Cleveland Indians, and now, they square up against the Evil Empire, the New York Yankees. All things considered, the Mariners were feeling pretty good about their chances. However, they were easily defeated in five games, shocking the baseball world as one of the best teams in baseball history was beaten relatively easily. Ever since, the Mariners could never get back to the post-season.

In Spring Training 2021, the Mariners were in the midst of a full scale rebuild. Many experts, such as Nick Tucker from Diamond Digest, thought that the amount of positional holes and lack of free agent signings in the offseason would have held the Mariners back from contending for the playoffs. Tucker predicted that the Mariners would finish the season at a substandard 75-87 record, ending up in fourth place in the American League Western Division. He explained that “it’s really difficult to see a way this team finishes with much more than 75 wins. The Athletics, Astros, and Angels are all in much better positions to make a playoff run than the current iteration of the Mariners.” Also, Brian Rudd of USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire projected the Mariners over under win total at a meager 72.5 games won. Mercedes Tinder says she looks to the season with “a lot of anticipation. The team was looking strong, but at the same time we finished pretty poorly last year.” 

Even though the Mariners did not make big moves in the offseason, they still did pick up a few veteran ball players. They ended up signing former Mariner James Paxton, left handed pitcher, and Keynan Middleton, right handed pitcher, a former member of the Los Angeles Angels. Additionally, the Mariners were able to swing a deal with the Texas Rangers, acquiring right handed pitcher Rafael Montero. In exchange, the Rangers received 17-year-old prospect Jose Corniell and a player to be named later as well. Taking everything into account, the Mariners offseason was comparatively unfruitful. However, the Mariners were expecting reinforcements from their top prospects from the Minor Leagues in Jarred Kelenic, Logan Gilbert, Cal Raleigh, and potentially others. Not too long into the season, the Mariners did call on Kelenic and Gilbert in May, and called up Raleigh in July. However, all  struggled mightily when they were first called up. Junior Vinny Scalzo says, “I was not expecting them to be ready right away.,” He continues, “Anyone so young is going to struggle, and have their ups and downs.” Recently, Kelenic has grown more comfortable into his new role and shown better results, improving his batting average from an atrocious 0.096 in June, to a much improved 0.176 average. Gilbert, Raleigh, and Kelenic’s numbers may not look pretty overall, but deeper statistics and other factors may point otherwise. They have all contributed in some capacity, and have helped the Mariners get to where they are now.

Unfortunately, the Mariners did not get off to the best start injury wise. Kyle Lewis was out with a knee injury and would not return for the remainder of the season. Additionally, newly acquired starting pitcher James Paxton was sidelined in the second inning of his return, tearing his UCL, a ligament on the inner side of the elbow which secures the elbow joint, and needed Tommy John surgery. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “Tommy John Surgery, more formally known as ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, is used to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament inside the elbow.” They also say, “A UCL reconstruction surgery involves harvesting a tendon from your own body, or from a donor, and attaching it to act as a new UCL.” Unluckily, this would end his 2021 campaign as well. However, that would not stop the Mariners from surprising the baseball community by having a solid first half of the season, in third place at the time. At the trade deadline, the Mariners General Manager Jerry DiPoto traded away right handed pitcher J.T Chargois, for veteran Tampa Bay Rays Closer Diego Castillo. Also, the Mariners traded away breakout star Closer Kendall Graveman, in exchange for third baseman Abraham Toro, and right handed pitcher Joe Smith. Finally, they acquired starting pitcher Tyler Anderson from the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for minor league prospects. This added talent helped the Mariners make their second half push toward October. 

Some of these moves, especially the trade of Graveman, caused turmoil in the locker rooms and from Mariners fans. Many were angry at DiPoto for trading their best reliever in Graveman for two, in their opinion, “subpar” ball players. The Castillo trade did quiet them down because he was going to become the closer in replacement of Graveman, but since the recent breakout of Toro and decent outings from Joe Smith, they have more or less been appeased. Senior Ike Moore says, “Dipoto was smart because we were not looking for rentals at that point, more of players with long term contracts.” The Mariners had a decision, they could have gone after rentals, players on a short term contract that would most likely leave at the end of the year, or we could have gone after players on longer term contracts. In this case, we leaned toward the ladder.

Unfortunately, the Mariners’ run to the playoffs fell short after tying the Red Sox with a weekend to go, and then losing two out  of three games. Yet, this provides a great opportunity for the Mariners young ball players to get needed experience. “It’s really exciting with a young core,” says junior Carter Cripe, “even if they don’t do so well, it’s fun to watch and see them learn and grow.” This experience of stressful games, for young players, provides needed stress. When these young players experience meaningful games in the future, they will be able to handle the stress because of their past experiences. And even though they fell short, this will prove vital to the development of the Mariners young corps.

This team has exceeded all expectations and no one saw it coming. I also asked Scalzo what he thought was the biggest key to the Mariners success. “Obviously the bullpen is key, but I think the clutch moments with the bats has been the biggest key for us.” The Mariners bullpen has been historically good this season, with breakout stars such as Casey Sadler, Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, and Kendal Graveman. They have all played a major role in the Mariners’ success. The Mariners lineup including J.P Crawford, Mitch Haniger, Ty France, Kyle Seager, etc. have all had career years, producing just enough to give the Mariners an opportunity to compete. I also asked Moore what player has been the most impactful. He says, “It has overall been Ty France, whether he is getting clutch hits or making a good play at first, he has been so under the radar.” The Mariners had to play their best baseball, and there had been some rust around the edges at the end. According to an article by Mariners writer Daniel Cramer , he says, “As such, Servais is taking more notice of that daily report, especially given that his highest-leverage relievers, Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider, have looked susceptible for the first time since the All-Star break.” The Mariners were so inconsistent throughout the season, and the last series of the year proved it. They dropped two games to the Angels, with a much worse year than Seattle. Even though the Mariners were not able to make the playoffs this year, with some offseason additions and the young players coming up from the Minors, the Mariners could make some noise in the AL West in years to come.