Seattle Mariners: Are back-to-back winning seasons on the horizon?

Being a Mariners fan is one giant rollercoaster ride. One second you think”this team can actually contend” while the next you think “We’re done, time to hit Seahawks mindset.”

There’s nothing boring about being a baseball fan. One season you may lose 90 games while the next you win that same amount, with the same core players!

The Mariners epitomize that rollercoaster. In 2003 they won 93 games while losing almost 100 the very next year. Consistency is rarely their friend. Even on a game-by-game basis, how many times have we seen 12 runs in one game followed by an opposing one-hitter the next? Hopefully things will change and consistent winning will become a part of team culture.

Take the Seahawks as a counter-example. Fans were stunned when, for the first time in the Russell Wilson era, the Seahawks didn’t make the playoffs in 2017. When the Mariners hold playoff spots, fans need to take their glasses off and rub their eyes to check that they aren’t dreaming.

Since 2014, the Mariners may soon be building their way up to consistent winning. With the help of dominant pitching and the acquisition of Robinson Cano in ’14, they finished their first winning season since 2009. Oh yeah, and taking playoff contention all the way down to Game 162 was pretty awesome as well. The Mariners could not build upon that success the following year, failing to live up to expectations.

In steps the Dipoto-Servais duo from Anaheim in 2016. The team produced their second winning season in three years but there was clear progress being made. Unlike their 2014 selves, the 2016 team had fine pitching but better hitting this time. How often can Mariner fans brag about that? Sadly they experienced another consistency slide, again finishing below .500 in 2017 with essentially the same roster.

Which brings me to the point. Can the Mariners put together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since… 2002 to 2003? Let’s just say Russell Wilson was 14 the last time that occurred. Yes, back when Ichiro and Edgar were players instead of Mariners grandfathers. Back when general manager Pat Gillick didn’t have many superstars but an actual cohesive unit. He formed a team of players who played well together and had good chemistry.

Maybe this 2019 team will resemble the 2001 team. They won 116 games without Randy, Griffey, or A-Rod. Now you would need one distorted reality to think the 2019 team will win close to even 90 games. But there’s a parallel in that the star core of Cano, Segura, and Cruz are no longer a part of the team. So similar but not at all close to 2001, maybe the 2019 squad will simply have a good all-around season under the circumstances. Maybe these guys will gel the way last year’s club didn’t, despite all it’s talent.

If the A’s can contend with their constant fire sales, why can’t the Mariners? Back-to-back winning seasons would be huge for this baseball town’s morale. It would flip the script from the 2008 and 2010 teams who both lost 100 games after projecting to win the division. It would show that who you have isn’t everything, it’s the chemistry of the players. You just never know.