Playoffs and Seattle sports teams generally don’t mix, but none more so than the Seattle Mariners. One playoff appearance in the last 23 years. Mariners fans can be forever grateful they didn’t get knocked out in the first round. Technically. At least the drought is over, right?
Seattle has developed a nasty habit of missing the playoffs in the last series of the year. In 2024, they were eliminated with three games remaining. It was a home series against the Oakland Athletics, who, naturally, they went on to sweep. In 2023 they were eliminated in Game 161, following ace Luis Castillo‘s worst outing of his young Mariners career. But this is nothing new, as they were also eliminated in Game 162 in 2021, Game 154 in 2018, and Game 162 in 2016.
A Disappointing Season Gets Worse for Seattle Mariners
Jerry Dipoto Attempts to Rebuild
Following their elimination at the hands of divisional rivals Houston Astros in the 2022 American League Division Series, Seattle’s ownership had another lackluster offseason. Kolten Wong was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers to shore up second base and Teoscar Hernández was brought in from the Toronto Blue Jays to add power to their outfield. Both were supposed to get star Julio Rodríguez some much-needed help. Unfortunately, the chasm left by Robinson Cano swallowed Wong up almost instantly. His time in Seattle was an utter failure. Hernández, however, was a decent corner bat for Seattle. He slashed .258/.305/.435 with 26 home runs and 98 RBI in his lone season with the team. His high strikeout approach didn’t gel with Seattle’s hitting philosophy, and he didn’t live up to fan expectations, causing him to walk at the end of the year.
Fast forward to 2024. Seattle finally managed to find success in their outfield with the low-risk, high-reward, instant fan-favorite Victor Robles, the lovable Luke Raley, and their big-name deadline acquisition, Randy Arozarena. Despite that. mixed with some ultra-clutch moments of J-Rod doing what J-Rod does, the new outfield wasn’t enough for Seattle to claw their way back into a post-season spot.
To make matters worse, there are and were a plethora of former Mariners in the postseason this year. Jerry Dipoto has always had an eye for trade, but you can see the extent of that when looking at playoff rosters.
American League
In the American League alone, at least seven former Mariners were fighting for a spot in the Fall Classic. These include RHP Will Vest for the Detroit Tigers, LHP Yusei Kikuchi, and C Cooper Hummel for the Houston Astros, IF/OF Adam Frazier for the Kansas City Royals, RHP Luke Weaver and LHP Nestor Cortes for the New York Yankees. LHP, and Seattle native Matthew Boyd for the Cleveland Guardians.
Boyd, Weaver, and Vest enjoyed the most success, all of them having ERAs under 3.00. Frazier hit .333, Kikuchi struggled in his lone outing, and Cortes rivaled another former Mariner, Robbie Ray, for one of the worst relief appearances in postseason history in Game One of the 2024 World Series.
National League
The National League is where the really big names lay. The San Diego Padres were the only former Mariner-less team in the field. The New York Mets had RHP Edwin Díaz, RHP Ryne Stanek, LHP Danny Young, C Luis Torrens, and OF Jesse Winker. The Milwaukee Brewers had LHP Wade Miley, RHP JB Bukauskas, and 1B/Seattle native Jake Bauers. The Philadelphia Phillies had RHP Taijuan Walker, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have UTL Chris Taylor, and OF Teoscar Hernández.
JESSE WINKER STARES HIS HOME RUN DOWN AS THE METS TAKE A TWO RUN LEAD IN THE 4TH 😱
(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/H12fNoAmbg
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 8, 2024
Díaz and Stanek, who were both amazing at times for the Seattle Mariners, both did their thing this postseason. Meanwhile, Winker had a great postseason, batting .318 with a home run. Bauers, who flopped in Seattle, had a great postseason and seems to have found new life in Milwaukee. The same can be said about Hernández. He is only hitting .205, but has two home runs with 8 RBI and is now fighting for the World Series title.
Jerry Dipoto is no stranger to trades, but is he sometimes too quick to pull the trigger? Based on this October, the answer seems to be yes.
Photo Credit: © Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
