A Postion-By-Position Comparison Of The 2013 M’s To The 2001 M’s…

Sep 27, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Fireworks explode over the left field stands of Safeco Field concluding fan appreciation night against the Oakland Athletics. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Merely including the 2001 M’s and 2013 M’s in the same thought, let alone the same sentence, is ridiculous.

But if an ultimate standard or benchmark for success exists within the M’s organization, it’s the 2001 squad that won 116 games during the regular season — which is tied with the 1934 Chicago Cubs for the most wins in a season.

The 2001 M’s inhabit a place that few other teams have ever come close to reaching. It should be the franchise’s goal every single season, regardless of personnel and regardless of payroll, to win 116 games (unless of course there’s a prospective heir to Ken Griffey Jr. entering the draft in the coming season, in which case the M’s should start Aaron Harang and Blake Beaven every other day).

Expecting to win 116 games every year, especially for a franchise that can only boast 11 winning seasons in its 37seasons of existence, is just as ridiculous as the premise of this article.

But once a team experiences a 116 win season, any season in which they do not reach that mark will always leave something to be desired — unless of course the team wins a World Series, which therefore so far precludes the M’s from the discussion.

Regardless of the futility of reveling in the past, at the end of each season the M’s and their fans should take a moment to remember the 2001 M’s, and also to compare the current team and their exploits to the exalted ones.

The reason for this isn’t to find more ways to lament the M’s current plight, but instead to show the imperfections of the current team, and where specifically the team needs to shore up loose ends.

The 2001 team was —during the regular season— perfect, and what better way to gauge imperfection than to compare it to perfection.

So, without further delay, let’s once again revisit the 2013 M’s, but this time through the lens of 2001. Hopefully you’re not prone to nausea.

Catcher:

2001 Games AVG. OBP. SLG. HR RBI

Dan Wilson 123 .265 .305 .403 10 42

2013 Games AVG. OBP. SLG. HR RBI

Mike Zunino 52 .214 .290 .329 5 14

First Base:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

John Olerud 159 .302 .401 .472 21 95

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Justin Smoak 131 .238 .334 .412 20 50

Second Base:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Bret Boone 158 .331 .372 .578 37 141

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Nick Franklin 102 .225 .334 .412 12 45

Shortstop:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Carlos Guillen 140 .259 .333 .355 4 53

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Brad Miller 76 .265 .318 .418 8 36

Third base:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI
David Bell 135 .260 .303 .415 15 64

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Kyle Seager 160 .260 .338 .426 22 69

Designated Hitter:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Edgar Martinez 132 .306 .423 .543 23 116

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Kendrys Morales 156 .277 .336 .449 23 80

Right Field:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Ichiro Suzuki 157 .350 .381 .457 8 69

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Mike Morse 76 .226 .283 .410 13 27

Center Field

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Mike Cameron 150 .267 .353 .480 25 110

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Michael Saunders 132 .236 .323 .397 12 46

Left Field:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Al Martin 100 .240 .330 .382 7 42

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Raul Ibanez 124 .242 .306 .487 29 65

Utility:

2001 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Mark Mclemore 125 .286 .384 .406 5 57

2013 G AVG. OPB. SLG. HR RBI

Dustin Ackley 113 .253 .319 .341 4 31

Starting Rotation:

2001 Games Innings Wins/Losses ERA

Freddy Garcia 34 238.2 18 6 3.05

Aaron Sele 34 215.0 15 5 3.60

Jamie Moyer 33 209.2 20 6 3.43

Paul Abbot 28 163.0 17 4 4.25

John Halama 31 110.1 10 7 4.73

2013 Games Innings Wins/Losses ERA

Felix Hernandez 31 204.1 12 10 3.04

Hisashi Iwakuma 33 219.2 14 6 2.66

Joe Saunders 32 183.0 11 16 5.26

Aaron Harang 22 120.1 5 11 5.76

Erasmo Rameriz 14 72.1 5 3 4.98

Top Reliever:

2001 Games Innings Wins/Losses ERA

Arthur Rhodes 71 68.0 8 0 1.71

2013 Games Innings Wins/Losses ERA

Yoervis Medina 63 68.0 4 6 2.91

Closer:

2001 Games Saves ERA

Kazuhiro Sasaki 69 45 3.24

2013 Games Saves ERA

Danny Farquhar 6 16 4.20

The Verdict: Nothing really needs to be said. The 2001 Mariners were superior in nearly every way. The only exception is the top two starting pitchers on the 2013 squad — Hernandez and Iwakuma. Though the game has supposedly progressed in recent years to be more ‘pitcher friendly,’ both of the 2013 staff aces would have been the top-two aces on 2001 staff. Hurray. Besides that, Seager actually put up better numbers at third than Bell did, which when considering the lineup protection bell had speaks to how good Seager actually is — M’s fans should be pretty happy with his production so far and the fact that he’s ours for awhile. But in closing, this little expose really just goes to show that the M’s are a shadow of what they have been. They may be rebuilding, but at the moment the M’s are nowhere close to fielding the personnel necessary to be considered elite. But as M’s fans, we can always hold onto the memory of that one season when we ruled regular season baseball like few others ever have, or ever will.

Schedule