Some Notable (and Outlandish) Mariners Statistics from 2013

September 22, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners celebrate their 3-2 victory against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners may not have impressed too many people this past season (and that dead horse has been kicked pretty thoroughly), but since MLB baseball is now “officially” officially over, it’s worth going back once again to 2013 and examining some of the statistics.

The M’s record in 2013 may have looked relatively similar to their record in 2012, but this year’s team actually put together some starkly different stats in certain areas — both individual and team— in comparison to last season. In some categories they were essentially the same. And some stats were just plain odd. Let’s take a look.

1. The 2013 M’s slugged 188 homers. Only one other team in all of baseball hit more, and that was the Baltimore Orioles with 212 ( interesting note: Mike Morse, after being traded to the Orioles managed to hit zero homers). That mark of 188 is also 39 better than 2012, and so the M’s can put that one in the ‘win’ column. They may have been lowly, but the M’s were swinging out of their cleats in 2013, and fans should credit them for doing at least that.

2. Out of all pitchers in the league with at least 20 innings pitched this season, Seattle closer Danny Farquhar had the tenth best strikeout-per-nine rate in the league. His mark of 12.77 K/9 puts him in the elite tier of strikeout men; some of his companions were: Aroldis Chapman, Greg Holland, and Jason Grilli. Score another one for the M’s.

3. Seattle’s team batting average in 2013 was .237. In 2012 their average was .234. You can’t win ’em all.

4. The M’s stole a combined 49 bases in 2013 — 55 less than last year. Only two team’s in all of baseball stole less: the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. If the M’s were attempting to emulate a winning team this past season they knocked it out of the park on the base-baths…some of the other emulating needs work.

5. Apparently, this season Mariners batters had an aversion to getting hit by pitches. As a team they only took 31 pitches on the chin (or in other places). This probably isn’t the M’s fault, but only one other team in all of baseball, the Colorado Rockies, was worse.

6. The oldest player to see the playing field for the M’s this season, 42-year-old catcher Henry Blanco, was legally able to buy alcohol before starting pitcher Taijuan Walker was even born.

7. In 2013, as a team, the M’s made 72 errors, good for second best in all of baseball. For all the talk surrounding some of the player’s poor defense ( Nick Franklin and Brad Miller), the M’s were stingy on the field this past year. Chalk it up in win column folks.

So, the M’s may have finished this season with a whimper, but in the end it’s baseball. If you love baseball there’s always a silver lining. The M’s may have lost plenty this year, but they did give fans a lot of leather souvenirs, played lock-down defense and had a closer with a penchant for strikeouts.

Now, it’s only October, and I’m already ready for the 2014 M’s to start filling up the stat sheets.