Seattle Mariners

History

The Mariners were created as a result of a lawsuit. In 1970, in the aftermath of the Seattle Pilots' purchase and relocation to Milwaukee (as the Milwaukee Brewers) by future Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig, the city of Seattle, King County, and the state of Washington (represented by then-state attorney general and later U.S. Senator Slade Gorton) sued the American League for breach of contract. Confident that Major League Baseball would return to Seattle within a few years, King County built the multi-purpose Kingdome, which would become home to the NFL's expansion Seattle Seahawks in 1976. The name "Mariners" was chosen by club officials in August 1976 from over 600 names submitted by 15,000 entrants in a name-the-team contest.

The Mariners played their first game on April 6, 1977, to a sold-out crowd of 57,762 at the Kingdome, losing 7–0 to the California Angels. The first home run in team history was hit on April 10, 1977, by designated hitter Juan Bernhardt. That year, star pitcher Diego Seguí, in his last major league season, became the only player to play for both the Pilots and the Mariners. The Mariners finished with a 64–98 record, echoing the record the 1969 Pilots once held. In 1979, Seattle hosted the 50th Major League Baseball All-Star Game. After the 1981 season, the Mariners were sold to California businessman and future U.S. Ambassador to Spain George Argyros.

During the 1992–93 offseason, the Mariners hired manager Lou Piniella, who had led the Cincinnati Reds to victory in the 1990 World Series. Mariner fans embraced Piniella, and he would helm the team from 1993 through 2002, winning two American League Manager of the Year Awards along the way.

The 2001 Mariners club finished with a record of 116-46, leading all of Major League Baseball in winning percentage for the duration of the season and easily winning the American League West division championship. In doing so, the team broke the 1998 Yankees American League single-season record of 114 wins and matched the all-time MLB single-season record for wins set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs. At the end of the season, Ichiro Suzuki won the AL MVP, AL Rookie of the Year, and one of three outfield Gold Glove Awards, becoming the first player since the 1975 Boston Red Sox's Fred Lynn to win all three in the same season.

On October 22, 2008 the Mariners announced the hiring of Jack Zduriencik, formerly scouting director of the Milwaukee Brewers, as their general manager. Weeks later, on November 18, the team named Oakland Athletics bench coach Don Wakamatsu as its new field manager. Wakamatsu and Zduriencik hired an entirely new coaching staff for 2009, which included former World Series MVP John Wetteland as bullpen coach. The off-season also saw a litany of roster moves, headlined by a 12-player, 3-team trade that included sending All-Star closer J. J. Putz to the New York Mets and brought 5 players—including prospect Mike Carp and outfielder Endy Chávez from New York and outfielder Franklin Gutierrez from the Cleveland Indians—to Seattle. Many of the moves, like the free agent signing of Mike Sweeney, were made in part with the hope of squelching the clubhouse infighting that plagued the Mariners in 2008. It also saw the return of Seattle favorite Griffey Jr. The 2009–10 offseason was highlighted by the trade for 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee from the Philadelphia Phillies, the signing of third baseman Chone Figgins and the contract extension of star pitcher "King" Félix Hernández.

On June 2, 2010, Griffey Jr. announced his retirement after 22 MLB seasons.

On August 9, 2010 the Mariners fired field manager Don Wakamatsu along with bench coach Ty Van Burkleo, pitching coach Rick Adair and performance coach Steve Hecht. Daren Brown, the manager of the AAA affiliate Tacoma Rainiers, took over as interim field manager. Roger Hansen, the former Minor League catching coordinator, was promoted to bench coach. Carl Willis, the former Minor League pitching coordinator, was promoted to pitching coach.

The Mariners hired former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge as their new manager on October 19, 2010.

On November 10, 2010, Dave Niehaus, the Mariners' play-by-play announcer since the team's inception, died of a heart attack at the age of 75. In memory of Niehaus, Seattle rapper Macklemore wrote a tribute song called "My Oh My" in December 2010. He performed the song at the Mariners' Opening Day game on April 8, 2011.

On April 21, 2012, Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox threw the third perfect game in Chicago White Sox history against the Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle. It was the 21st perfect game in MLB history. On June 8, 2012, the Mariners starting pitcher Kevin Millwood and five other pitchers combined to throw the tenth combined no-hitter in MLB history and the first in team history. The last combined one occurred in 2003, when six Houston Astros no-hit the New York Yankees in New York. The six pitchers used in a no-hitter is a major league record. On August 15, 2012, Félix Hernández pitched the first perfect game in team history, shutting down the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 at Safeco Field. It was the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history. The Mariners became the first team in Major League Baseball to be involved in a perfect game two times in one season.

On August 28, 2015, General Manager Jack Zduriencik was relieved of his position by the team. On September 28, 2015, former GM of the L.A. Angels of Anaheim, Jerry Dipoto, was hired as the new General Manager. On October 9, 2015, manager Lloyd McClendon was fired, and the search for a new manager was begun.

On April 27, 2016, Nintendo of America issued a press release stating it would sell most shares it held of Seattle Mariners ownership to First Avenue Entertainment limited partnership. Nintendo retained a 10% ownership of the team after the sale was completed in August 2016.

Uniforms

The Mariners donned their current uniforms in 1993. White jerseys and pants are worn for most home games, while gray jerseys and pants are worn on the road. In 2011, the team brought back an alternate "Northwest Green" jersey that was previously part of the uniform set from 1994 to 1996 to be worn during Friday home games. A navy blue alternate jersey is worn for occasional road games; other variations of a navy jersey had been used as home alternates prior to the reintroduction of the Northwest Green jersey.

A navy blue cap that features a ball and compass "S" logo is paired with the home white, road gray, and navy blue jerseys. A variation of this cap with a Northwest Green brim is worn with the home alternate jersey.

In January 2015 the team announced a new alternate uniform to be worn for Sunday home games. This cream-colored "fauxback" uniform features the current logo and lettering style in a royal blue and gold color scheme, a throwback to the original team colors. Unlike the rest of the uniform set, the back of the jersey does not display the player name. The cap features the current cap logo in the throwback colors.

Spring training

The Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, has been the Mariners' home spring training facility since 1994. The complex is shared with the San Diego Padres. On March 25, 2013, in a 16-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, the Mariners broke the team record for total home runs during a spring training season with 52.

Season records

This is a partial list listing the past 20 completed regular seasons. For the full season records, see here.

Baseball Hall of Famers

The following elected members of the Baseball Hall of Fame spent part of their careers with the Mariners.

Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame

Seattle Mariners former chairman and CEO John Ellis announced on June 14, 1997 the creation of a Mariners Hall of Fame. It is operated by the Seattle Mariners organization. It honors the players, staff and other individuals that greatly contributed to the history and success of the Mariners franchise. It is located at the Baseball Museum of the Pacific Northwest in Safeco Field.

Retired numbers

Official team policy states, "To be eligible to have one's number retired, the former Mariners should have either a.) been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and been in a Mariners uniform for at least five years, or b.) come close to such election and have spent substantially his entire career with the Mariners. Eligibility shall not commence until after the former player has been voted on once for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which for all practical purposes, means six years after retirement."

Ken Griffey Jr.'s number was retired at the beginning of the 2016 season, with the retirement ceremony taking place on August 6, 2016. Griffey had been elected to the Hall of Fame in January of that year.

Edgar Martínez, who wore number 11, played his entire major-league career in Seattle and first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2010. His best Hall of Fame voting count was in 2017, when he received 58.6% of the vote (75% is required for induction). On January 24, 2017, the team announced they will be retiring Martínez's #11 on August 12th. Number 11 was not issued to anyone else between Martínez's retirement as a player in 2004 until his return to the Mariners as hitting coach in 2015.

Currently, only one other player has definitively met the requirements to have his number retired: Randy Johnson, who played 10 seasons with the Mariners (1989-1998) and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015.

Despite not officially retiring their numbers, the team has not reissued the numbers 19 (Jay Buhner) or 51 (Ichiro Suzuki) to any uniformed staff since they left the team. Number 51, worn by Randy Johnson, was withheld from players from 1998 until 2001, when it was issued to Ichiro Suzuki upon his request after wearing it for his entire career in Japan. It has presumably been taken out of circulation again, following Ichiro's 2012 trade to the Yankees coupled with Johnson's 2015 election into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Number 14 (Lou Piniella) was not given to any uniformed personnel between Piniella's 2002 departure and 2015, but it was issued to third-base coach Manny Acta for the 2016 season.

Jackie Robinson's number 42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball on April 15, 1997.

Uniform number 00 is presumed off-limits, as it has been worn by the Mariner Moose since 1997 (outfielder Jeffrey Leonard was the last player to wear 00 for the M's, in 1990). From 1990 to 1996, the Moose wore the last 2 digits of the year of the current season.

Rally Fries

Rally Fries are a baseball tradition started by Mariners broadcaster Mike Blowers in 2007. During a game against the Cincinnati Reds, a fan tried to catch a foul ball along the right-field line but in turn spilled his tray of french fries along the track. While chatting on the air and seeing the mishap, Blowers' partner, Dave Sims, suggested that he should send a new tray of fries to the fan. Blowers agreed, and sent his intern to deliver a plate of fries to the man.

At the Mariners' next game, fans made signs and boards asking Blowers for fries as well. Coincidentally, every time the fries were delivered, the Mariners seem to score or rally from a deficit, and thus the "Rally Fries" were created. This became so popular with the fans that signs were even seen when the Mariners were the visiting team, although on August 1, 2009, Blowers established that he only gives out fries at home games.

Generally, Blowers will select a person or a group of people that appeals to him, whether it is through fans wearing elaborate costumes or waving funny signs and boards. The fries are usually delivered from Ivar's, a Seattle-based seafood restaurant with a location at Safeco Field. The amount of fries given out varies with the size of the winning group of fans. The winners are generally selected around the 5th or 6th inning, although potential candidates are shown in almost every inning beforehand.

King's Court

As the 2011 season progressed, the Mariners marketing staff came up with an idea to encourage the growing fanbase of star pitcher "King" Félix Hernández. Every Hernandez start at Safeco Field is now accompanied by the King's Court, a designated cheering section for fans to sing, chant, and cheer while donning yellow T-shirts and K cards that are supplied by the team.

The King's Court is both a personal rooting section for Hernandez and trend-setter for Safeco Field. The team encouraged fans to dress like Larry Bernandez, Hernandez's alter ego from a Mariners TV Commercial, or show up in wacky costumes, rewarding the best with a ceremonial turkey leg.

The Supreme Court is a special occurrence when the King's Court is extended to the entirety of Safeco Field. The first Supreme Court was Félix's first home game following his perfect game in 2012. Since then it has occurred each year at Félix's first home game of each season.

Radio and television

The Mariners' flagship radio station is KIRO-AM (710 ESPN Radio), which previously broadcast Mariners contests from 1985 to 2002. Former flagship stations include KOMO-AM (2003–2008), and KVI-AM 570 (1977–1984). Television rights are held by Root Sports Northwest. In years past, Mariners games have also appeared in Seattle on over-the-air stations KING-TV, KIRO-TV, KTZZ-TV (now KZJO), and KSTW. Selected Mariners games are also available on Canadian television, due to an agreement between Root Sports Northwest and Rogers Sportsnet Pacific.

Since 2013, Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith have called games on the radio. The television broadcasts are anchored by play-by-play announcer Dave Sims and color commentator (and former Mariners player) Mike Blowers. Seattle radio personality Matt Pitman hosts the post-game show on the Mariners' radio network, along with clubhouse reporter Shannon Drayer. Spanish-language radio broadcast duties are handled by Alex Rivera on play-by-play and former second baseman Julio Cruz providing color commentary.

The Mariners' broadcast team for 2010 featured Dave Niehaus and Rizzs—back for their 32nd and 23rd seasons with the club, respectively—as well as Sims and Blowers. For the first three innings of each game, Niehaus worked the television broadcast with Blowers while Rizzs and Sims handled radio duties; after the third inning, Niehaus and Sims traded places. Niehaus, who had broadcast for the Mariners since their inaugural season of 1977, died on November 10, 2010. For the 2011 season, Dave Niehaus' duties in the broadcast booth were filled by a collection of former Mariners broadcasters such as Ron Fairly, Ken Levine, and Ken Wilson; and former Mariners' players such as Dave Valle, Dan Wilson, Jay Buhner, and Dave Henderson.

Tom Hutyler has been the Mariners' public address announcer since 1987, first at the Kingdome, and presently at Safeco Field. While KOMO 1000 AM was the Mariners' flagship radio station, Hutyler occasionally hosted the post-game radio show.

Season records