Seattle Mariners Season Review: Top 5 Moments in April

5. Kyle Seager Hits Career Homer 100- April, 25th

We all know how good Kyle Seager was this year. Whether he was in the field or at the plate, the Mariners third baseman was one of the top players at his position.

While he has been consistently very good since joining the everyday squad back in 2012, hitting his one hundredth home run in just five full season put a number on just how good he’s really been.

His one hundredth long bomb was a welcomed shot. Just as Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers were discussing Seager’s woes even when he hits the ball in play, he took the ball yard. Prior to the home run, Seager had been hitting a woeful .118 when putting the ball in play.

As the ball landed in the seats Blowers stated:

“That’s one way to handle it; hit it where they can’t catch it.”

In the context on the game, the homer would prove to be very important. It would give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. They would go onto win 3-2. The win also put the M’s early season record above .500 and elevated them back into first place in the AL West for moment.

As for Seager, it was an early sign that he could have a big year. And, as we all know, he would go on to set a new career-high for home runs in a season, finishing with thirty. That was four more than his previous best set back in 2015.

4. Robinson Cano Reaches 1,000 RBI Milestone- April, 26th

It just so happens that the next moment on the countdown happen the day after Seager’s. It was another day with another milestone. This was a big moment not just for Cano but for the Mariners that day.

Already up 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth against the Houston Astros, Cano stepped into the batters box. He would hit a bloop knock to shallow center to bring in runners from second and third.

The play wasn’t over at that point -Ketel Marte would sneakily make it home as cano would maneuver his way to second-  but the two runs batted in meant that Cano had reached one thousandth RBI.

Hitting that kind of milestone is a big deal for the Mariners organization. Both Ken Griffey Jr. and A-Rod both went onto reach most of their big milestones with other clubs.

In the context of the season, the Mariners would go on to win the game reaching their longest winning streak in this early point of the season. Cano’s six RBI that day, which included a big grand slam would be the most RBIs he would total in one game all year. It was one of Cano’s best outings this season, and it happened to be on a day where he hit the one thousand RBI mark.

3. Leonys Martin Makes The Game-Winning Grab- April 29th

Leonys Martin was a stud in the outfield all year long. In April alone he chased down balls, sacrificed his body and did whatever he had to to help the M’s win. No play exemplified that more in April, when he ran full force into the outfield wall to record the final out against the Kansas City Royals to win 1-0.

Both teams struggled on offense all day long. The Mariners got only one hit. It was a Seth Smith home run. Meanwhile, Felix Hernandez would throw 7.2 innings of shutout baseball to keep the lead in tact. Hernandez would go on to tie Jamie Moyer for the most wins in Mariners history, but this isn’t about the King.

So, when the Royals had a runner on second with two out in the ninth, nerves were high. The power-hitting Salvador Perez cranked a ball deep. So deep in fact, it almost left the park. Martin raced a long way to the warning track -always keeping his eye on the ball- reached up and made a great catch inches before smashing into the wall at full speed.

It was a herculean effort and it would end up being one of the best defensive plays all season long. His teammates would make a tape-outline on the wall where Martin made the spectacular catch. And, while it was done in humor, it was a good reminder to all Mariners fans that saw it, that we should remember that greatness of that play.

2. Dae-Ho Lee Notches First Mariners Walk-off- April 13th

Lee started to become a Mariners folk hero early on in the year. He had established himself as a big time ball player over in Korea, but it was now time to make an impact in the big leagues.

A few days earlier Lee hit his first major league home run. At thirty-three years old, it was nice to see the veteran get off to such a good start. Four days after his first homer, he would one-up himself in a big way.

With the Mariners looking to end an early season five game losing streak, Lee stepped to the plate. He had not played all game long. He was merely stepping into a big pinch-hit situation replacing Adam Lind. On an 0-2 count, Lee would smash the ball way out of the park and into the bullpen.

Pinch-hit home runs are rare, and pinch-hit walk-off home runs are even more rare. For Lee, a heavy-set, jovial, aging talent, Mariners fans wanted to see him succeed. This was the first big moment that made fans want to see Dae-ho on a regular basis.

1. The King Sets The Mariners All-time Strikeout Record- April 23rd

Records are meant to broken, and hopefully they are broken by people who deserve to hold them. Felix Hernandez is the most deserving man to hold any Mariners pitching record. So, when he finally surpassed Randy Johnson for the most K’s in franchise history, it was a special moment.

More from SoDo Mojo

• 2023 Steamer Projections: Teoscar Hernandez could see a drop in Seattle
• Could the Mariners Acquire AL Batting Champion, Luis Arraez?
• Steamer Projections: Julio Rodriguez to enter rarified air in 2023
• What if the Mariners traded FOR Tyler O’Neill this time?
• Mariners starting pitching is being overlooked by MLB

Even if you’re not a fan of baseball, most people admire hard work. Over the past twelve seasons no player has worked harder on the Mariners than the King. Hernandez worked everyday to be the best he can be, and despite his struggles the last two seasons, he always put in a solid effort.

He only needed one strikeout on the 23rd to sit atop the all-time strikeout list. The second batter for the Los Angeles Angels was Rafael Ortega. On a 2-2 count, Hernandez didn’t go to his fastball or his devastating curve ball. He used his eighty-eight MPH change-up to fool Ortega.

The mark was now set a 2,136. Felix had finally done it. The ball was immediately thrown to the Mariners dugout where it was preserved. Someday that ball could end up in Cooperstown with his plaque, but it will definitely be one of Hernandez’s most prized possessions.

Felix would go onto to lose the game versus the Angels that day, but his setting of the franchise mark was by far the major highlight of the game and the month of April. No one has earned the number one spot on this countdown more than the number one Mariners strikeout artist, Felix Hernandez.

Honorable Mentions

There are of course moments that were also very important, but just didn’t make the list. Here are a few honorable mentions.

Robinson Cano would go on to obliterate his previous home run mark of thirty-three in a season. He would finish this year with thirty-nine.

We could have known he was going to do something special this year, because in his first at-bat of the season, he hit a home-run. It was a no-doubter. In fact, it had just enough height and carry to it that it barley left the yard. Yet, it was a home run none-the-less.

Next: Seattle Mariners Vs. Seattle Seahawks

On the last day of the month, it would be Wade Miley who was stealing the show. In his short lived Mariners career he was able to achieve a career first. Miley would pitch a complete-game, five-hit shutout, defeating the Royals. In that game he walked no batters and struck out four. It was one of the best outings of his career in large part due to his first shutout.