Seattle Mariners: 3 New year's resolutions for the 2021 season

1 of 3

After an up and down season for the rebuilding Seattle Mariners, there are some New Year’s resolutions for the fans and the players.

2020 was a season that gave us a lot of hope as Seattle Mariners fans since the team showed some promise for the future and captured three different player awards. Now as we head into 2021, there are some New Year’s resolutions for us, the fans, and the players on the field as well.

First, let’s get into the biggest New Year’s resolution for the Mariners which GM Jerry Dipoto has already tried to address, and is a reasonable goal for the Seattle bullpen in 2021.

A bullpen ERA of less than 4.50

Last season the Mariners bullpen was abysmal. Aside from the lone bright spot Yohan Ramirez and prospects Joey Gerber and Anthony Misiewicz who were both ok, no one had more than 10 outings in relief and had an ERA below 5.80. However, a good sign of relief (pun intended) is that Jerry Dipoto has made various trades and signings to help the bullpen recover in 2021.

Seattle ranked 28th in the MLB for bullpen ERA in 2020, with only the Rockies and historically bad Phillies bullpens ranking worse. The Mariners also come in at 22nd in the league in losses in relief with 13, meaning that 13 times in just 60 games the Mariners bullpen had the chance to keep a game tied or keep the lead for Seattle and they lost it. Seattle’s bullpen also only had 11 saves and had 8 blown saves.

If the Mariners can improve from their bullpen ERA of 5.92 in 2020 to below 4.50 (which is right around the league average and median), it would be a huge win and would lead to many more wins, and yes, maybe even playoffs. 12 of the 15 teams that had bullpen ERA’s >4.50 made the expanded playoff field last season and while we don’t know how many teams will make the playoffs in 2021, it is clear that bullpen ERA is an important factor in getting in since in 2019 9 of the 10 teams in the playoffs had sub 4.50 bullpen ERA’s.

ANAHEIM, CA – AUGUST 31: Evan White #12 of the Seattle Mariners congratulates Jose Marmolejos #26 of the Seattle Mariners after hitting a home run in the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 31, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

Hit more home runs

It is no secret: the MLB is turning into a home run driven league. The home run totals for the entire league have been on an upward trend for the past few seasons and 2019 saw by far the most home runs in the history of the league with 6,776 between the AL and NL.

It’s also quite obvious but the league-leading teams for home runs always tend to have the best offenses and records, with last years top five for home runs being the champion Dodgers, their ALCS competition the Braves, the playoff White Sox, the “Slam Diego” Padres, and the Yankees.

Meanwhile, the Mariners finished the season in 25th hitting 60 home runs, a 1.0 home runs per game average. The team leader was Kyle Lewis with 11 (which would translate to roughly 30 in a 162 game season).

The young Seattle Mariners will get older and more experienced, and with it, they will hit more home runs. Tom Murphy and Mitch Haniger will both return for 2021 and they hit 15 and 18 home runs respectively while neither played over 75 games in 2019.

I expect more home runs per game in 2021 and it should be a goal for the young team since more home runs will translate to a better offense and of course more fun for us watching at home, and for the players in the dugout.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 14: Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners during a summer camp game. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

For the fans, but also the players, be patient

2021, 2022, and maybe 2023 as well will be seasons that Mariners fans must remain patient. But being patient next year has a double meaning as the Mariners hitters should remain patient in the box as well.

In 2020 Seattle ranked in the upper half of the league for walk percentage, but this young team could improve even more by striking out less and walking more in 2021, reducing their 23rd ranked K% of 25% in 2020 next season. Young players with little to no AAA experience like Evan White and Kyle Lewis struggled with strikeouts in 2020, and should improve next season. Tim Laker, the Mariners hitting coach, will certainly be working with the guys to improve on their poor strikeout stats and will try to make them more patient hitters.

As for the Seattle Mariners fans, 2021 will be another year to be patient and trust Jerry Dipoto and his plan for the future. Top farm systems, like Seattle has right now, have a track record of success but that won’t mean success this year or in the near future most likely.

dark. Next. A perfect Mariners trade for both sides with the Pirates

Be patient and wait on top prospects like Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez (who just turned 20 on December 29th), and Logan Gilbert to find their stride, and then instead of reading Sodo Mojo blogs about being sellers and budget free agents, you could be reading about trades to help win the division and push for a World Series.

Home / Mariners News

Seattle Mariners: 3 New Year’s resolutions for the 2021 season

After an up and down season for the rebuilding Seattle Mariners, there are some New Year’s resolutions for the fans and the players.

A bullpen ERA of less than 4.50

Hit more home runs

For the fans, but also the players, be patient

Schedule