Seattle Mariners Approaching Bad History Not Seen in the Last 100 Years of Baseball
The Seattle Mariners have two goals for the rest of the season: Play well enough to make the playoffs, and play well enough to avoid becoming an incredibly sad stat in baseball history.
The M's enter play on Friday night at 64-64, which is good enough to be 5.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West. They also enter play on pace to make that undesirable baseball history.
Per @OptaSTATS on social media:
The Mariners currently have the lowest ERA (3.53) and lowest batting average (.216) among all AL/NL teams this season.
The last team to finish a season ranked as such were the 1937 Boston Bees.
The Mariners currently have the lowest ERA (3.53) and lowest batting average (.216) among all AL/NL teams this season.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 23, 2024
The last team to finish a season ranked as such were the 1937 Boston Bees. pic.twitter.com/YAvghHA8JA
The Boston Bees are the current Atlanta Braves. They started as the Boston Braves but changed their name briefly before changing back. They eventually became the Milwaukee Braves before moving to Atlanta.
Regardless, the M's find themselves in this position because of incredible pitching paired with the worst offense in the league. The Mariners strike out more than anyone in baseball and don't hit for enough power to compensate for it. Furthermore, the team's core players like Julio Rodriguez and JP Crawford have taken big steps back this year. Key additions like Mitch Garver, Mitch Haniger and Jorge Polanco have largely struggled as well.
With the team's offense the main culprit, the M's have dropped 20 of their last 53 games. They've fallen to 5.5 games back in the American League West after holding a 10.0 game lead on June 19. They fired manager Scott Servais on Thursday.
The team returns home on Friday night to take on the San Francisco Giants. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. PT.
RELATED SEATTLE MARINERS CONTENT:
NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the Mariners firing Scott Servais, hiring Dan Wilson and Jerry Dipoto getting to stay on the job. Furthermore, we are joined by Ty Buttrey, who played most of this season at Triple-A Tacoma. He shares his opinion on Servais, the organization and the state of baseball as a whole in an enlightening conversation. CLICK HERE:
LONG OVERDUE? One former Mariner says the firing of Scott Servais should have happened earlier. CLICK HERE:
DAN is the MAN: Dan Wilson has been given the job, permanently? CLICK HERE:
Follow Inside the Mariners on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE:
BRADY FARKAS