Mariners still haunted by the bad old days in The Athletic's MLB franchise rankings

These are heady times for the Seattle Mariners, who are one of just four teams to win 85-plus games every year since 2021. They're coming off a season that ended eight outs from a World Series berth, and they and enter 2026 among the favoites to win it all, including FanGraphs giving them the second-best odds behind Baseball's new evil empire, i.e. the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, you wouldn't think the Mariners were in such a good spot if you take a look at The Athletic's 2026 MLB franchise rankings (subscription required), with Stephen J. Nesbitt placing them a lowly 26th. In fairness though, it begins to make a whole lot more sense when you realize the rankings are based on the past 25 years.

The Athletic uses a scoring system to award teams points, based on how much success they enjoy each season, from one point for losing in the wild card round all they way up to nine points for winning the World Series. Teams can also be docked a point every time they lose at least 90 games in consecutive seasons.

The Mariners ranking by The Athletic is just a reflection of years of futlity in Seattle

The harsh reality is that prior to recent seasons, the Mariners were one of the worst teams in the majors, with a section of the fanbase wondering if they were somehow being punished for equalling the all-time record of 116 wins in 2001. What followed was a horrendous stretch which saw them record the fifth-most losses in baseball between 2004-2020, go 20 years without making the playoffs and 24 years with no division titles.

You know it's been a bad two-plus decades, when the Mariners only move up one spot from 27th place last year in The Athletic's annual rankings (which started in 2022, when the M's were also 27th). It's extremely telling when arguably the best season in franchise history is still weighed down considerably by all the futility and losing which preceded it.

Mariners fans are no doubt extremely grateful to see where the organization is placed these days, stabilized as a contender and with a trendline which is still pointed up. The farm system continues to be one of the strongest in the majors, the rotation has arguably the highest upside of all 30 teams, and they have two budding superstars in Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez who are leading by example and heavily involved in building a healthy culture from top to bottom.

Mariners fanbase DNA means they will never take winning for granted, but the team needs to make the most of it

The thing about Mariners fans though, is that they always worry something bad is just around the corner for their beloved team, almost woven into their DNA after decades of mostly disappointment in Seattle. Heck, it doesn't help that even when things are seemingly set up for success it still goes wrong, with the 2001 season representing the most painful example of this. (Oh, and let's not forget the doozy of being the only Major League team to never even appear in the World Series.)

No matter how good things are right now for the Mariners — and they're really good — the fanbase is fearful of just how bad things can get again for the team if they don't take advantage of their current window. And as a bonus, if the M's at least make it to the World Series in 2026, they might move up two places in The Athletic's rankings next year!