Earlier this offseason, I went through and looked at the 10 hitters who owned the Mariners in 2023. Guys who just absolutely raked against the team. Now, it's time to turn the tables and take a look at the opposing hitters that Mariners pitchers absolutely dominated.
This list was way more fun to go through. It's always more enjoyable to take a look at the hitters that your team did well against as opposed to the ones that made you sweat every time they stepped up to the plate. Yeah, I'm talking about you Jonah Heim. Nightmares. I do wanna give a special shoutout to Nathaniel Lowe, who struck out 18 times against the Mariners, the most by any opposing hitter.
Anyway, let's get into it, and start off with the AL East.
Orioles: Ryan O'Hearn: 2-21, 1 2B, 1 R, 5 K, 0 BB .095/.095/.143
Not a big name by any means, and he hadn't even done much in his career up until 2023 when he got to Baltimore. O'Hearn would hit .289/.322/.480 this season with an OPS+ of 122, hitting 14 HR while play a util role for the Orioles. The Mariners had his number though, as he was unable to do much of anything across his 21 plat appearances against them.
Blue Jays: Bo Bichette: 2-28, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 9 K, 0 BB, .071/.071/.179
This is way more surprising. Up until he got hurt in August, Bichette was leading the American League in hits. You would think that he would've been able to do something against the Mariners, but the damage was essentially liimited to a lone homer across 28 PAs. 9 Ks stands out, as does the zero walks. Keeping a team's best hitter of the bases is huge for success against them. Speaking of limiting a team's best hitter...
Orioles: Adley Rutschman: 1-20, 1 RBI, 3 GIDP, 1 BB, 6 K, .050/.095/.050
This is quite impressive. One single, one walk, and three double plays. Rutschman might just be the best catcher in all of baseball, but he was unable to do anything against the Mariners, being responsible for 23 outs in 21 plate appearances. More outs than appearances? Nicely done.
Now, let's take a quick stop in the AL Central.