Seattle Mariners Season Review: Top 5 Moments in April

Apr 29, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Leonys Martin (12) hits the wall after catching the final out to defeat the Kansas City Royals 1-0 at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Leonys Martin (12) hits the wall after catching the final out to defeat the Kansas City Royals 1-0 at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 13, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners pinch hitter Dae-Ho Lee (10) reacts after hitting a walk-off two-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the tenth inning at Safeco Field. Seattle defeated Texas, 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners pinch hitter Dae-Ho Lee (10) reacts after hitting a walk-off two-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the tenth inning at Safeco Field. Seattle defeated Texas, 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

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.