Dreams have been crushed. Let explore why the Shohei Ohtani signing crushes Mariners fans.

To Mariner fan's demise, Shohei Ohtani is not a Seattle Mariner. He is a Los Angeles Dodger. So much hope was placed in the team to sign Ohtani, as he has placed himself in legendary company in regards to the Bambino himself, Babe Ruth. Mariners fans need to cope with the fact that Ohtani is not a Mariner, but there is still a course for the team to improve and push for a playoff spot. The 2024 Zips projections just came out, and there is some promise in there.

Jerry Dipoto has sadly been tasked with cutting payroll, while still fielding, not only a playoff-competitive team but a team that is committed to winning a World Series. There is much blame to go around, from ownership, Dipoto's trades and signings, and downright player performance. Fans are calling for ownership to sell the team, meanwhile, fans are calling for Dipoto's firing. Dipoto put himself in a really hard spot in his postseason press conference.

Mariners fans want to win, the playoffs aren't good enough anymore after 21 years of playoff drought. The playoff drought was thankfully ended by Cal Raleigh, forever cementing himself in not only Mariners history but Seattle's sports history. After watching local Seattle teams such as the Seahawks and the WNBA Storm win a championship in that timeframe, Mariner fans are ravenous for a World Title. This was supposed to be the Mariners year to go all in. However, greedy ownership has slammed the brakes on what could have been a Seattle Mariners championship run.

The Mariners have had plenty of feel-good moments in their history. The 1995 Mariners are a team entrenched in baseball history. With Hall of Famer, Edgar Martinez hitting a double to score Joey Cora, and the legendary and Hall of Famer himself, Ken Griffey Jr. Edgar's double marked the franchises first playoff series victory. This historic double, by a Hall of Famer, against a legendary franchise in the New York Yankees, saved baseball in Seattle.

The 2001 season, marked another historic point in Mariners history as they tied the MLB record for wins at 116. MLB legend, Ichiro Suzuki, won the AL MVP, AL ROY, Silver Slugger, a Gold Glove, AL batting title, had the most hits, and an all-star appearance. Sadly, the Mariners failed to ever build a team around Ichiro to make it to the playoffs.

Julio Rodriguez provides hope to Mariner fans. He is the generational talent that a team needs to excel. He is the present-day Ichiro, Alex Rodriguez, or Edgar Martinez, Mariner fans have come to know as generational talents. Mariners fans were hoping for a big offseason, to support the strong starting pitching of Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and highly regarded young bucks in Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo.

Julio is not alone in trying to get the Mariners back to the promised land. JP Crawford and Cal Raleigh. have taken over as leaders of the team. Both players are important parts of the 2024 Mariners. The trio of J-Rod, JP, and Cal provides the team with an up-the-middle foundation any team in the MLB would be jealous of. The Mariners just need to support this cast for another 1995 type run, or a 2001 team that results in a World Series win.