Mariners' hidden strength could make them a nightmare playoff opponent

There's little denying this Seattle Mariners team was extremely streaky during the regular season, both for better and worse. As much fun as the eight- and 10-game winning streaks were, they were (stressfully) balanced out with a couple of five-game losing streaks, with the second one being part of seven consecutive road losses.

As a result of this up-and-down nature, there are Mariners fans out there who might be feeling a little nervous about the team's upcoming trip through the playoffs. The concern being that as hot as the players can get, they can just as easily suddenly go cold, thus leading to a potential prompt exit from the postseason.

However, for anyone out there who is nervous...fear not, my friends! If there's one thing the Mariners have done really well this season, it's beat winning teams, which should bode well for the playoffs.

Mariners are winners when facing winners

The Mariners managed to amass a 47-43 record this season against teams with a .500 or better record, with the 47 wins ranking as second-most in the American League after the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners even had a .540 winning percentage against winning teams prior to their season-ending series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, though that ended in a three-game sweep.

Even as is, the M's .522 winning percentage against winning teams bodes well for the team's quest to finally end its longstanding World Series drought.

The reason for this is that since 2020, six of the 10 pennant winners have hit a .520 or better winning percentage against winning teams, and 13 out of 18 if you go back since 2016. The point is it's been a 60 percent or better proposition in both cases to claim a pennant, which must sound appealing for the only current Major League franchise to never win one.

There's more, with the Mariners' ability to hit against good pitching being another good omen for the playoffs. They finished 10th overall this season in team OPS, but against winnings teams specifically they were second behind only the explosive New York Yankees at .752.

As for individual players on the Mariners, their best hitters against winning teams are mostly who you would expect and hope it to be, led by Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena with a .955 and .820 OPS, respectively. They are followed by Jorge Polanco at .815 and breakout star Dominic Canzone at .810.

Overall, we appreciate that the specter of the Mariners' past failures looms large within the DNA of a scarred fanbase which has repeatedly had its heart broken. However, this is a new day and a new team — one which FanGraphs gives the best odds to actually win the World Series — and it has to count for something that they successfully step up to the challenge when faced with good teams.