Seattle Mariners: History of Starting Pitchers, Part 1

Mark Langston and the 1980’s

In 1984, the Seattle Mariners had a left-handed rookie starting pitcher in Mark Langston. He had a record of 17-10. He had an ERA of 3.40. The next two seasons didn’t go as hot for him, though, posting abysmal ERAs of 5.47 and 4.85, respectively.

Langston had a great year in 1987; he had a record of 19-13 with an ERA of 3.84. He also pitched 272 innings, the most in Mariners history, and threw 14 complete games.

The next season was Langston’s last full season with the Mariners. He had a record of 15-11 with an ERA of 3.24. On May 25, 1989, Langston was traded to the Montreal Expos because he was going to be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Mariners wanted to get something for him. The Mariners picked up four pitchers who were unknown at the time. One of those was Randy Johnson.

In 1981, the Mariners drafted Mike Moore as the first pitcher taken. He pitched for the Mariners from 1982 through 1988. He had only one winning season with the Mariners in 1985 where his record was 17-10 with an ERA of 3.46 and 14 complete games. He signed as a free agent with the Oakland A’s in 1989, where he had his best season in the major leagues at 19-11.

The Mariners acquired Scott Bankhead from the Kansas City Royals in the trade they sent Danny Tartabull in on December 10, 1986. In his first couple years, he had tendonitis that limited his time on the mound; however, in 1988, he showed why the Mariners wanted him in the first place. He had a record of 14-6 with an ERA of 3.34 in 33 starts.

Unfortunately, Bankhead wasn’t able to do any better with the Mariners, coming down with a shoulder injury that limited him to just 21 starts in the next two years. The Mariners let him go, where he signed with the Cincinnati Reds. He was out of baseball after three more seasons. He never started a game after Seattle, except for his final season with the New York Yankees, starting once.