Seattle Mariners 2018 season review
The Seattle Mariners got off to a terrific start in 2018 but then fell flat and missed the playoffs for the 17th year in a row.
Might as well get this out of the way. By rule, when writing a review of the Seattle Mariners season, it must be mentioned that they haven’t made the playoffs since 2001, back when Ichiro was in his rookie year in the major leagues. Another season was just added to the streak. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about 2018.
Historically speaking, the Mariners just had one of the best seasons in their history. They were 89-73, which is the sixth-most wins in the 42 seasons they’ve been in existence. It was also their most wins in a season since 2003. Not only was it one of their best seasons ever, it was also about eight wins better than pre-season expectations. Back in March, the Mariners looked like a team that would straddle the .500 mark.
At the time, an American League team starting with a .500 projection could foresee a few things going right here or there and expect to be in the race for the second wild card spot. It looked like a win total in the mid-80s would be enough to be in the thick of things down the stretch. The Mariners were in the mix with the Blue Jays, Twins and Angels looking like their strongest competition for a seat at the postseason table.
The top of the league looked predictable. The Astros would win the AL West, the Indians would win the AL Central, and the Red Sox and Yankees would battle it out in the AL East, with the other taking the first wild card spot. That’s exactly what happened. The Astros won the West, the Indians won the Central, the Red Sox won the East and the Yankees were the first wild card.
What nobody knew was how good the Athletics and Rays would be. Both were generally expected to finish below .500. Instead, the Rays won 90 games and the A’s won 97, to take the second wild card. The Mariners, despite their 89 wins, finished eight games out of a playoff spot.
While their ultimate finish was both impressive and disappointing at the same time, the Mariners’ 2018 season was a wild ride. We’ll get to that shortly. First, let’s look at the moves they made last offseason.