Seattle Mariners: History of Starting Pitchers, Part 1

The Seattle Mariners have a long and interesting history in regards to starting pitching. Today, we take a look back at some of the more memorable pitchers to grace the mounds of the Kingdome and Safeco Field.

Diego Segui started the very first game in the history of the Mariners in 1977; however, he spent most of the season in the major leagues as a reliever. He had a record of 0-7 with an ERA of 5.69. He only started seven games over the whole season, though he ended up pitching in 40 while going 110 and ⅔ innings.

Glenn Abbott was the most successful pitcher for the Mariners in 1977. He had a record of 12-13 with an ERA of 4.45; he started 34 games for the Mariners – the most by any pitcher that season. The Mariners acquired Abbott in the expansion draft from the Oakland A’s.  He pitched six years for the Mariners, then was traded to the Detroit Tigers on August 23, 1984. He had a record of 44-62 in the six years with the Mariners.

In 1978, Paul Mitchell had the most wins for the Mariners with eight but had fourteen losses as well. He had a decent ERA under the circumstances at 4.18. Not bad for a team that lost over one hundred games on the season. Also, he pitched four complete games.  The Mariners acquired Mitchell from the Oakland A’s during 1977 where he started nine games. The Mariners traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers on June 7, 1979. He started only six games that year for the Mariners.

In 1979, Mike Parrott was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles before the 1978 season. He started only ten games that season. In 1979, he started 30 – tied for the most by a Mariner pitcher that year with Seattle native Floyd Bannister.

Parrott had a record of 14-12 with an ERA of 3.77. In 1980, he had one of the worst records ever by a Mariner pitcher at 1-16 with an ERA of 7.28. He was sent to the bullpen after starting 16 games. The Mariners sent him to Triple-A as well, starting four games. He pitched one final year with the Mariners in 1981 where he started 12 games, while appearing in 24, with a record of 3-6.

Since I mentioned him already I figure to put him in here as well; Bannister was with the Mariners for four years from 1978 through 1982. He posted a solid ERA for two years; however, being on a bad team didn’t let him have a winning record.

In 1980, Bannister had a record of 9-13 with an ERA of 3.47, starting all 32 games he pitched in along with eight complete games. In 1982, he had a record of 12-13 with an ERA of 3.45, starting 35 games and pitching a total of 247 innings. Doesn’t happen much anymore in baseball.

Gaylord Perry arrived on the scene in 1982, signing as a free agent with the Marines. The future Hall of Famer was known for throwing a spitball, which was illegal; however, Perry was never caught throwing the pitch. It was a homecoming of sorts for Perry since he pitched a full season in 1961 and 62 for the Triple-A Tacoma Giants.

Perry was 43 years old. He started 32 games with six complete games, pitching over 200 innings. He had a record of 10-12 with an ERA of 4.40. In 1983, he started 16 games with a record of 3-before the Mariners released him on June 23, 1983.

That same year, the Mariners had Matt Young for his rookie season. He was drafted by the Mariners in the 2nd round in 1980. He had such a good season he was in the All-Star game; however, he didn’t do as well the next two years.

In 1983, Young had a record of 11-15 with an ERA of 3.27. In 1986, the Mariners had Young pitch out of the bullpen where he had 13 saves. On December 10, 1986, the Mariners traded Young to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dennis Powell.

Young did return to the Mariners signing a one-year contract as a free agent in 1990. He had a record of 8-18, though he had a solid 3.50 ERA. He then went to pitch for the Boston Red Sox for two years, and ended his major league career with the Cleveland Indians.

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.

The Big Unit, Hanson, and the 90’s

Randy Johnson, better known as the “Big Unit,” was acquired in May 1989 for Mark Langston. That season, Johnson had a below-average for the Mariners. His record was 7-9 in 22 starts with an ERA of 4.40. He pitched for the Mariners from ’89 to 1997.

Johnson’s three best years for the Mariners were 1993, when he went 19-8 with an ERA of 3.24 along with a team record 308 strikeouts; 1995, when he went 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA and 294 strikeouts; and in 1997, going 20-4 with an ERA of 2.28 with 291 strikeouts. In 1996, Johnson only started 8 games because of a back injury.

Erik Hanson had the best year of his career in 1990, making 33 starts with a record of 18-9, an ERA of 3.24, and 211 strikeouts. In six seasons with the Mariners, he had a record of 56-54 with a solid 3.69 ERA. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on November 2, 1993, with Bret Boone for reliever Bobby Ayala and catcher Dan Wilson.

The Mariners brought up another young left-handed pitcher: 22-year-old Dave Fleming. He had two great years for the Mariners. In his rookie season in 1992, he had the best record on the Mariners staff at 17-10 with an ERA of 3.39 in 33 starts.

In 1993, he had another good year, going 12-5 with an ERA of 4.36 in 26 starts. After that season he came down with arm trouble and was never the same from that point forward. The Mariners traded him on July 7, 1995, to the Kansas City Royals. It was his last year in the major leagues at the age of 25.

On December 3, 1992, the Mariners signed right-hander Chris Bosio, who had pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched for the Mariners from 1993 through 1996 – his last year in the major leagues. Bosio made his presence known early for the Mariners, pitching a no-hitter on April 22, 1993, against the Boston Red Sox.

His record in 1993 was 9-9; however, he had his lowest ERA, 3.45,  in his four years with the Mariners. In 1995, the year the Mariners finally made the playoffs for the first time, he had a record of 10-8 with an ERA of 4.92 while starting 31 games. He started two games in the playoff series the Mariners won over the New York Yankees but he didn’t get the victory in either one.

The Mariners acquired pitcher Andy Benes at the trading deadline for the push in 1995. He didn’t have a great ERA at 5.86; however, he started 12 games with a record of 7-2. He started game 2 and 5 in the series against the Yankees in the playoffs and game 4 against the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship series. The Mariners lost two of the three games Benes pitched in the playoffs. He signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals the next season.

In 1996, the Mariners had the second best record in the American League West at 85-76. The winningest pitcher on the staff that season was Sterling Hitchcock, whom the Mariners had picked up when they traded reliever Jeff Nelson and first baseman Tino Martinez to the New York Yankees. It was the only season Hitchcock pitched for the Mariners. They traded him to the San Diego Padres during the off-season. He had a record of 13-9, but had a terrible ERA of 5.35 in 35 starts.

The Mariners picked up Bob Wells from Yakima, Washington off of waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies on June 30, 1994. He spent most of his time pitching long relief for the Mariners, though he did start 16 games in 1996. He had his best record that season at 12-7 with an ERA of 5.30. The Mariners released Wells after the 1998 season. He ended up pitching in relief for the Minnesota Twins from 1999 through 2002.