Most unlikely World Series winner in MLB history can be inspiration for 2026 Mariners

Even allowing for the three-game road sweep of the Athletics, no one will deny the Mariners been frustrating so far in 2026. This is perfectly summed up by them leading arguably the weakest division in the majors with a sub-.500 record. However, in keeping with the romance of baseball, perhaps fans can find a flicker of love in comparing the M's to the 2006 Cardinals.

That was the year the Cardinals won the NL Central with an uninspiring 83-78 record, which is the third-worst ever by a division-winning team. However, it doesn't matter what the aesthetics are if it's enough to get you in. And manager Tony La Russa proved this by taking the team on a magical run to clinch the World Series with the worst regular season winning percentage in Major League history.

Now yes, that's all very well as a message of hope for the Mariners, but there's also some parallels which can only increase that hope. The Cardinals were established as a contender at the time, having entered that 2006 season with five division titles in the previous six years. While not quite as prolific, the M's are one of just four Major League teams with at least 85 wins in each of the past five seasons and they entered the 2026 campaign favored to represent the AL in the World Series.

The Cardinals were as up-and-down then as the Mariners have been so far this season, but in fairness, both teams had to deal with their fair share of injuries to key personnel. St. Louis was without Jim Edmunds, David Eckstein and Mark Mulder for sizeable portions of the 2006 campaign. Meanwhile, Seattle has had to cope without the likes of Cal Raleigh, Brendan Donovan and Bryce Miller at different stages.

Stars and depth were the name of the game for the Cardinals and will be for the Mariners as well

That the reason the Cardinals were able to overcome injuries was helped by having stars in the right places. Aside from Edmunds -- and to a lesser extent Eckstein, who would go on to be named 2006 World Series MVP -- they had Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen. The Mariners also have stars in Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and possibly Bryan Woo, but either way, the reality is the M's are a better overall team on paper:

Irrespective of comparing the two teams, the main message from what the 2006 Cardinals achieved is that it's not how you start the season, but how you finish it. And the odds are pretty good that the Mariners will indeed finish stronger than they've started. Aside from the fact they'll continue to get key players back from injury, they have a recent history of starting slowly and then revving up during the second half of the campaign.

At their current rate, the Mariners would be the first ever team to win a division with a losing record. (Which would ironically be a repeat of what the Seahawks achieved in 2010.) It seems unlikely that this is how it plays out no matter how awful the AL West is, but hey, we're sure M's fans will be able to live with it if the team goes on to repeat the Cardinals' feat in 2006, and claim a first World Series.

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