Mind-blowing Bryan Woo stat is a reminder of what Mariners were missing in October

On the one hand, playing the "What if?" game is something sports fans shouldn't do too often, as it's almost guaranteed to make whatever negative incident they're thinking about feel even more agonizing. At the same time, this is almost instinctive when it comes to passionately supporting a team, something which Seattle Mariners fans in particular can attest to.

Case in point is falling just eight outs short of a first ever AL Pennant and World Series berth this past season, with plenty of key factors contributing to this including Bryan Woo's pectoral injury, Now, this has only been reinforced by a mind-blowing stat from the Mariners' own PR department:

It's truly stunning that Woo is the first Mariners pitcher to record multiple sub-3.00 ERA, sub-1.00 WHIP seasons with a minimum of 100 innings pitched, especially when you consider this is a franchise which previously had the likes of Félix Hernández, Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer. And all Mariners pitchers this century have had T-Mobile Park as their backdrop, no less!

We realize Woo did make a couple of relief appearances in the AL Championship Series after he returned, but he clearly (and understandably) wasn't back up to the same level as prior to his injury. The bottom line is it truly hurt that he was largely absent during the Mariners' playoff run and it ultimately proved costly.

Mariners rotation lost without Bryan Woo starting in the playoffs

As talented as the Mariners rotation is, they still collectively struggled, as evidenced by the starters posting a 4.47 ERA over the course of their 12 postseason games. And they were particularly brutal during the absorbing but nerve-racking ALCS, with a 6.59 ERA.

Plenty of people were well aware of just how special Woo was entering the 2025 season, with some even claiming that he would be the Mariners' best starter. This was quite the prediction considering the overall quality of a rotation which was ranked best in the majors last year, at least statistically.

In the end, though, it came to fruition as Woo became the staff ace, with his 4.2 bWAR proving to be the best by a Mariners starter since a 4.6 bWAR by Hernández in 2015. Aside from his productivity, the Oakland native also proved durable, pitching at least 6.0 innings in his first 25 starts of the season to set another franchise record.

The irony of Woo's durability is not lost when considering the timing of his injury in what should have been his second-to-last start of the 2025 regular season. It might not be a guarantee the Mariners make the World Series if he's healthy, but it sure as heck is at least a strong maybe.