Brutal stat makes it clear Mariners need to rethink their offensive philosophy

Baseball fans of a certain age will likely remember the 1999 Nike commercial, when Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine become jealous of the attention Mark McGwire receives from women, including the glamorous Heather Locklear. The overriding sentiment at the time was that "Chicks Dig the Long Ball." Well, a lot has changed since then (both on and off the field), but the Mariners still don't seem to have quite gotten the message, and it's costing them.

After entering the 2026 season with sky-high expectations that included many a baseball media analyst predicting the Mariners would make it to their first World Series, a lot has gone wrong. While you can point towards injuries, inconsistency, a subpar bullpen and mistake-ridden defense, the number one issue has been the lack of offensive production. And what's really stood out about this, is how screwed the Mariners are when they don't hit home runs.

How screwed? Well, how about to the tune of only being 9-39 in games when the Mariners don't hit any home runs. This translates to a .188 winning percentage which is worst in the American League and second-worst in the majors, only ahead of the Giants, with a .178 winning percentage.

For more context, the .188 winning percentage when not hitting any home runs is also the second-worst in Mariners franchise history. The only season they were worse was in 2019, with a .122 winning percentage, but it was a different ball game back then. (Pun intended.) At that time, not being able to go yard was a natural death sentence, as it was the most extreme home run-hitting season in Major League history, at 1.39 per game.

Time for Jerry Dipoto to live up to his reputation and save the Mariners from themselves

This is not to imply that home runs aren't still prevalent today; they're just not that prevalent anymore, at 1.14 blasts per game so far in 2026. Nowadays, what you're seeing is fewer strikeouts, more walks and more stolen bases. The Mariners just don't play that kind of ball, and the reality is that it's holding them back and ruining a season which promised so much.

Look no further than the fact the top 10 teams in winning percentage this season in games without a home run has four division leaders in it, including the Brewers, who lead the way with a .500 winning percentage. That would be the same Brewers team who have the most wins in the majors, despite sitting dead last in homers. Overall, seven of the top 10 teams have winning records, with two others just two games under .500.

We appreciate that there will be those who argue the Mariners did just fine with their approach last season, when they finished third in the majors with 238 home runs, won the AL West for the first time since 2001 and came within eight outs of that elusive World Series berth. However, even then they were exposed for struggling when not going yard, with a lowly .300 winning percentage in 40 games.

Ultimately, while home runs are still a big part of the game, times have changed and it's past due for the Mariners to rethink their offensive philosophy. Jerry Dipoto and company pride themselves on being deep into analytics and ahead of the game, but now it's really time to prove this, given just how dire things have been in 2026. Sure, Miss Locklear might be a bit disappointed at first, but we're confident she'll understand in the long run.

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