Seattle Mariners Top Ten Starting Pitchers in Franchise History

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5. Mark Langston

Mark Langston was the first true ace for the Seattle Mariners.  Every time the 6-foot-2 lefty pitched, the Mariners were supposed to win.  That’s what it felt like when he pitched.  Known for his strikeouts and excellent pickoff move, Mark was a solid ace for the Mariners.  Langston was a second round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in the 1981 draft and the 35th overall pick.   This is especially interesting because he was the third pick for the Mariners and had a better career for the Mariners than the first pick in the same draft, Mike Moore.

The San Jose State product made his debut on April 7, 1984 for the Mariners.  He went on to win 17 games and lose 10 in his rookie season.  He finished the year with an American League leading 204 strikeouts.  Good enough to finish second in American League Rookie of the Year vote to Alvin Davis, his fellow Mariners rookie first baseman.  He did however earn the Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award for the American League.

In five and a half seasons with the Mariners, Mark Langston won 74 games and lost 67.  He earned a 4.01 ERA with a 1.372 WHIP and a 1.87 strikeout to walk ratio.  He also had a 3.93 FIP.  He had an astonishing 1078 strikeouts.  He pitched 41 complete games and had nine shutouts.  He also earned a 19.4 in pitchers WAR.

He was truly one of the Mariner greats.  He ranks fourth in pitchers WAR and strikeouts all-time.  He also is fifth in total wins.  He is third in complete games and shutouts.  He is also ninth in ERA.  It’s also notable that he owns the all-time record on the Mariners for the most innings pitched in a single season with 272 innings pitched in 1987.  He also owns the longest scoreless streak record all-time for the Mariners with 34 consecutive scoreless innings pitched from September 14-29, 1988.

In 1989 Mark Langston’s career with the Mariners came to an abrupt end in a heart wrenching trade that sent him to the Montreal Expos for Brian Holman, Gene Harris, and a tall gangly wild lefty that would end up being one of the best pitchers in Mariners history and eventually a hall of famer, Randy Johnson.  The trade occurred as the team couldn’t come to a deal and they were going to most likely lose him to free agency.

In 1995, Mark Langston, then with the Angels, faced Randy Johnson in a one game playoff American League West Pennant.  Who can forget the Luis Sojo bases clearing bouncer down the first base line off of Mark Langston that propelled the Mariners to the playoffs and towards the memorable double from Edgar Martinez that saved the Mariners and baseball in Seattle.

One of the things that Mark Langston is known for is his pickoff move to first base.  Although he only had 19 pickoffs with the Mariners, when he retired from baseball after 16 seasons, Langston had 91 career pickoffs which was first all-time in MLB.  He is currently fourth all-time.

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