Seattle Mariners
The Mariners became Major League Baseball’s second attempt at expanding into the Seattle market in less than a decade, following the 1970 relocation of the Pilots and a subsequent breach of contract lawsuit by the city and the state of Washington.
The franchise began play in the 1977 season at the Kingdome, which would remain their home until replaced by Safeco Field in July of 1999.
Members of the American League West Division since their inception, the Mariners have won the division crown three times: 1995, 1997, and 2001. They were also an AL Wild Card team in 2000.
Those mid-90s teams were highlighted by the presence of the greatest player in franchise history, new Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr, as well as superstars like Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, and Edgar Martinez.
The winning continued into the early 21st century thanks largely to the addition of future Hall of Fame outfielder Ichiro Suzuki from Japan.
The Mariners have not only never won a World Series, they have never even played in one.
In 1995, the Mariners defeated the California Angels 9-1 in a tie-breaker playoff game to win the AL West crown.
Then down 2-0 to the New York Yankees in the ALDS, the M’s rallied to win in a dramatic fifth game walk-off. But those M’s were knocked out in the ALCS in six games by a powerful Cleveland Indians team.
In 1997 they were rushed out of the NLDS in four games by the Baltimore Orioles. In 2000, the Mariners swept the Chicago White Sox in three straight, but then lost a six-game ALCS to the eventual world champion New York Yankees.
The 2001 Mariners were perhaps one of the best teams of the 2000s. That club set the American League record and tied the MLB record by winning 116 games in the regular season.
The M’s then rallied from down two games to one to take two straight and edge the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS, but lost in five to the New York Yankees in the ALCS.