An all-time Mariners mistake will haunt them in their final series of 2025

When it comes to "What if?" scenarios throughout the history of the Seattle Mariners, one of the biggest ones came in 2006 when they drafted Brandon Morrow with the fifth overall pick. It's often noted that with the benefit of hindsight they should have instead taken Tim Lincecum, and understandably so.

After all, Lincecum would go on to win three World Series and two NL Cy Young Awards, while Morrow never lived up to his potential out of college. However, what if we were to tell you that the Mariners actually whiffed on a pitcher with an even better career than Lincecum, who will come back to haunt them when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit Seattle this weekend?

The Dodgers will be in town for the final series of the regular season, and Clayton Kershaw is slated to start the last game on Sunday afternoon. Kershaw was selected seventh overall in the 2006 draft by the Dodgers and the rest is history, with three NL Cy Youngs, 11 All-Star selections and two World Series rings.

Mariners actually discussed Clayton Kershaw

Kershaw announced his retirement last Thursday. And in another painful "What if?" scenario for the Mariners, it turns out that one of their scouts in 2006, Mark Lummus, made a case for the organization to draft the five-time NL ERA leader.

In 2024, Andy McCullough released a book called “The Last Of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness”. And an excerpt published in The Athletic (subscription required) detailed Lummus' attempts to persuade the Mariners to draft Kershaw as a high schooler out of Texas:

"Seattle scout Mark Lummus had gotten an early look at Kershaw during an offseason workout with local pitching guru Skip Johnson. Johnson had tweaked Kershaw’s delivery, which improved his fastball velocity and heightened the break of his curveball. 'I honestly think,' Lummus told Mariners officials later that year, 'that this guy has a chance to be as good as, if not the best, pitcher that’s ever come out of the state.'"

Andy McCullough

Unfortunately for Mariners fans, Lummus' words fell on deaf ears, as scouting director Bob Fontaine Jr. had his heart set on Morrow, who he said had one of the best true arms he'd ever seen on a kid. As McCullough went on to write, this choice agonized Lummus although he was understanding and objective enough to say Fontaine did the right thing, based on all of the information which was available at that time.

A more ironic Mariners connection to Clayon Kershaw

Adding another Mariners connection to the whole situation, as per the late Scott Miller of Bleacher Report, the scout who sold the Dodgers on drafting Kershaw was Calvin Jones. The irony is that Jones was a former M's number pick in January 1984 (when there were two drafts per year), who had come up in the system alongside Ken Griffey Jr.

Of course with a history of bad luck like the Mariners, it seems almost fitting that they missed out on two multi-Cy Young winning pitchers. Oh, and just for good measure, Max Scherzer was taken one pick after Lincecum at No. 11, and himself has a resume which includes three Cy Youngs, eight All-Star selections and two World Series rings.

Back to Kershaw, the Mariners will get to see him up close and personal one last time, although this will only be his sixth ever start against them (and fifth in Seattle), despite a Major League career spanning 18 years. Regardless, to think M's fans could have seen him pitch live exponentially more, if only Fontaine had listened to Lummus.

Game Times and Probable Pitchers for Dodgers vs. Mariners, September 26-28

• Friday, September 26 at 6:40 p.m. PT: TBD vs. George Kirby
• Saturday, September 27 at 6:40 p.m. PT: TBD vs. Logan Gilbert
• Sunday, September 28 at 12:10 p.m. PT: Clayton Kershaw vs. Bryce Miller