The Seattle Mariners: Fighting History with Vibes

Two years ago, the Seattle Mariners broke a 21-year playoff drought by making the AL Wildcard game, at the time, the longest streak across the four major North American sports leagues, as they look to make the World Series for the worst time ever.

It ended with a whimper.

While they eliminated the Toronto Blue Jays, the inevitable boogeyman, the Houston Astros, swept the M’s in the most twist-the-knife fashion possible, that included a 1-0 18-inning game in their only game in Washington.

This is a team that has had documentaries about how miserable the “so close, yet so far” level of curse it’s had to endure in all its success, with no glory.

There was the 116-game winning season with no World Series and countless iconic legends like Griffey Jr., A-Rod, Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, and even the more modern names like Ichiro and King Felix that never got to the crowning team success they deserve.

Following that King Felix era, we’ve been waiting for them to commit to winning and fielding a competitive ball club fully. Sure, they’ve made more trades than you can count with GM Jerry Dipoto earning the moniker Trader Jerry, and have had the occasional half measure by making one token major free agent signing like Robinson Cano or Nelson Cruz, but the reality is that for the past several seasons since breaking the curse in 2022, they’ve committed malpractice with their opportunities available.

The pitching staff that has improved year after year, with Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryan Woo, has been lauded as one of the deepest in all of baseball. Still, the lack of investment in hitting has been the subject of scrutiny. Justin Turner, who signed with the Cubs, openly asked, “Are you even trying?” When it came to their approach to adding offense in free agency this offseason, Dipoto even said the goal is to win “54%” of games.

Hitting in Seattle comes at a premium. Players like Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez, and Randy Arozarena have posted career-low numbers in Seattle previously, and it’s statistically the most difficult park to hit in, given the marine layer, the mound height, and park factor, yet the lack of investment in offense was not seen as a priority.

Seemingly until now.

PHOTO: Kyle Ross/Imagn Images

Cal Raleigh (AKA the Big Dumper) is somehow breaking the mold as the potential AL MVP in more ways than one. It’s already as challenging as it is to be an offensive-based Catcher, and he’s a switch-hitter that is already 1 homer away from history with the most homers in a single season by a catcher ever. With his kind of offense and the rotation the Mariners have, the opportunity to strike now and add names this deadline was a game-changer in their quest for the AL West. They brought back Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, and as the splash offensive adds of the deadline, they are all-in.

The reality of these additions is that while they haven’t taken off yet, a statement was made. Eugenio had his worst years in Seattle and was treated as a cult hero with a homecoming because of his reputation as one of the best locker room guys. Josh Naylor has stolen the most bases in the MLB since his acquisition. Despite his frame, don’t let it fool you! Naylor is also a personality built for October, slugging homers and barking at Gerrit Cole with the “rock the baby” motion and all.

These guys, the swagger of last year’s addition of Randy Arozarena, and the potential superstardom of Julio Rodriguez, who has gotten better in the second half of every single season as the franchise guy, make them feel ripe for an explosion as a clubhouse of great energy that can make a playoff run.

It’s a bet on camaraderie that made them break the mold as they try to run from the tiger of the 116 curse.

In the year where Ichiro Suzuki, the face of the franchise and beloved hero by so many that still actively takes batting practice and inspires new and old generations of fans, was elected into the Hall of Fame, it feels like “vibes” could potentially turn into something bigger than sports: magic.