The Seattle Mariners haven’t been to the playoffs in 15 years, but a 10-game improvement from 2015 to 2016 has their fans optimistic for 2017.
The Seattle Mariners are celebrating the franchise’s 40th anniversary in 2017. They came into existence along with the Toronto Blue Jays as an expansion team in 1977. While the Blue Jays have 22 winning seasons, seven post-season appearances, and two World Series titles, the Mariners have been less successful. They have just 13 winning seasons in 40 years, along with four post-season appearances. They have yet to make it to the World Series.
Even more frustrating for Mariners fans is that their four post-season appearances came in a span of seven seasons from 1995 to 2001. Outside of that stretch, they’ve experienced 33 years without making the playoffs, including the last 15 seasons. Not only have they missed the postseason for a decade-and-a-half, they have often been well out of contention heading into September.
Of course, there have been occasional seasons when the team gave their fans hopes, only to fall short. Last year was one of those seasons. The Mariners were within a couple games of a wild card spot in the final week of the season. They ultimately finished three games behind the Blue Jays and Orioles in the wild card race.
There is good news, though. Last year’s Mariners were 10 games better than the 2015 team. They also had the fourth-best run-differential in the American League and the best run-differential in their own division. If the Texas Rangers hadn’t been an incredible 36-11 in 1-run games, the Mariners could have won the AL West .The Rangers are not likely to repeat that record in 1-run games, so there’s a good chance they come back to the pack.
So, how do the Mariners look for 2017? As most baseball fans know, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has been very busy since he took over in late September of 2015. He’s made more moves than any other GM and has totally reshaped the Mariners roster. Let’s look at some of his moves leading into this season.