Mariners half decade ranking a case of what could have been

Canadian media outlet the Score has unveiled their halfway decade rankings for all 30 MLB clubs, and the Mariners didn’t fare very well.

It’s fair to characterize supporting the Seattle Mariners as a tough experience for fans, pretty much ever since the team began playing in 1977. This isn’t helped by only making the playoffs on five occasions in their 48 years of existence to date.

Such is the perfect storm of being a Mariners fan though, that even when things go right they still go wrong, as per the lack of luck which follows this franchise. One prime example of this is the 2001 team, which equalled the all-time Major League record of 116 regular season wins, but failed to even make it to the World Series. (In this respect, they are the only one of the 30 current clubs to have never played in the pinnacle event of baseball.)

This lack of luck (and/or justice?) extends to having some of the best talent in the history of baseball, in Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki. Both were absolute dead certs to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame at the first time of asking, but were denied being unanimous elections due to three and one voters respectively, who inexplicably decided to leave them off their ballots.

A ranking reflective of missed opportunities

In case you’re wondering, all of this came to mind due to reviewing the Score‘s MLB franchise rankings for the halfway point of this decade. The Mariners were included in the second instalment of the three-part series, being ranked 17th out of the 30 franchises.

In one respect this makes sense, when you consider the Mariners have only made the playoffs once so far in this decade. On the positive side, at least that qualification in 2022 ended what was at the time the longest active postseason drought in the Majors (and indeed the four major North American pro sports leagues as a whole), which had dated back to that glorious 2001 season.

However, when you delve a little deeper, it really is a case of what could have been with the Mariners over the past five seasons. Consider that their record of 380-328, which equates to a .537 winning percentage, is actually eighth-best in the Majors over the time period in question.

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A case of so close but yet so far for the Mariners

Consider that the Mariners have had two seasons of 90 wins in this span, as well as 88 and 85 victories in 2023 and 2024 respectively. (They were 27-33 in the Covid-impacted 2020 season.) They missed the playoffs by two games in 2021, and one game in each of the past two seasons, for the very definition of unlucky.

At the same time, as per the Mariners’ penchant for not always helping themselves, you can argue they did well to even be so close on a regular basis for the playoffs. That’s because they have also ‘only’ spent $518 million over the past five seasons, which ranks just 20th among all 30 Major League teams.

In this respect, just as having even an average lineup last season would have helped the Mariners’ elite rotation in more than likely making the playoffs, the same extends to funds. If ownership was only prepared to spend the Major League average over the past five seasons, we would be confident of the team having at least one more playoff appearance, if not more.

Mariners can’t afford to waste an elite rotation

What’s most frustrating about all of this, is in relation to the aforementioned rotation, which is arguably the best in the Majors right now. There is some considerable concern that the organization is wasting a golden but limited window to take advantage of this, especially when you consider that once a team makes it to the playoffs, stellar starting pitching is at a premium.

Never mind that the Mariners’ rotation ranked first in the Majors as a collective last season in ERA, WHIP, fewest walks and opposing team batting average. Even individually you would back most of them on any given day against whatever the opposition has facing them, such is the talent of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo.

Overall, we entirely understand why the Score ended up ranking the Mariners at number 17, but in reality it could and really should have been higher. Fans can only hope this organization doesn’t end up wasting this rare opportunity with their starting rotation, which has the chance to do something truly special if given just a little bit more financial support.

What is your opinion of how the Score has ranked the Mariners? Just right, too low, or perhaps even too generous? Let us know in the comments section below.