Ranking the 10 best Mariners commercials of all time, 2025 edition

To me, what the Seattle Mariners do best isn't developing pitching, winning 54 percent of regular season games, or even letting fans down during the offseason.

Instead, it's making commercials.

Most advertisements these days lack soul or any remotely interesting qualities. But pretty much since the organization's inception, the Mariners have found a way to capture the charm of the team in short, 30-second spots.

They took a break from making these ads for a while, but returned last year with three new commercials. With 2025's set of ads recently released, I felt that it was only appropriate we take a look back at the 10 most memorable ads the team has ever put out.

No. 10: English Lessons (2000)

Starring: Kazuhiro Sasaki, Carlos Guillén, Tom Lampkin

Kazuhiro Sasaki was an outstanding closer during his four years with the Mariners. He accumulated 129 saves — still more than any player in franchise history — and won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2000.

Sasaki had pitched in NPB for quite some time before debuting in MLB and was 32 years old in his first big league season, so he had already developed a strong reputation before arriving in the United States. To better communicate with his new team, it seems that his go-to resource for learning English was Mariners broadcasting legend Dave Niehaus.

No. 9: First Names (2001)

Starring: Ichiro Suzuki, John Olerud, John Halama

In addition to being one of the greatest pure hitters to ever swing a bat, Ichiro was also known for quirks such as how he treated his bats and even his favorite American expression. He also infamously wore his first name on his jersey instead of his last name, something he had done since 1994 given how common "Suzuki" was in Japan.

Even after coming to the United States, Ichiro kind of just kept it going. He is still the only player to do this and although he tried to start a trend throughout the league, it simply never caught on. And yes, Thadeuz is actually John Halama's middle name.

No. 8: Double Play Twins (2007)

Starring: Yuniesky Betancourt, José López, Adrián Beltré

In 2007, the Mariners' middle infield was made up of Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop and José López at second base. While they weren't the flashiest of players and neither ever won a Gold Glove, they were both solid fielders who worked well with each other. López led American League second basemen in putouts (282) and assists (417) in 2006 and he and Betancourt both had a total of 95 double plays for that year.

It was assumed they would continue this defensive relationship in 2007, and they did for the most part. López turned 105 double plays and Betancourt turned 110, leading American League shortstops.

No. 7: Radar Gun (2002)

Starring: Jamie Moyer

Jamie Moyer is an incredibly unique player in many ways. He pitched in 25 different seasons and at the time of his retirement, had pitched against almost 10 percent of all MLB hitters ever. He leads all MLB pitchers in home runs conceded (522), a record that will likely stand the test of time, and is also the oldest pitcher to ever record a win when he won a game for the Colorado Rockies at 49 years old.

In 2002, he was already 39 and had lost whatever velocity he possessed when he debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1986. However, he still found a way to be effective and would go on to post a 3.32 ERA over 230.2 innings that year.

To translate, a velocity of 98 kilometers per hour translates to just under 61 mph, about the velocity of a solid 13-year old pitcher.

No. 6: Between At-Bats (1997)

Starring: Edgar Martínez, Mariner Moose

Edgar Martínez has always been known as a soft-spoken person who carried a big stick. In fact, his reserved nature and commitment to a relatively small-market team on the West Coast was a big reason why he was so underrated for much of his career and initially had difficulty gaining traction on the Hall of Fame ballot until fellow teammates lobbied for his induction.

Despite his reputation as a "quiet leader," he always found a way to help the team whether that was at the plate or in the dugout.

No. 5: Ichiro Shift (2003)

Starring: Ichiro Suzuki

Pitching to Ichiro was never fun. One of the main reasons he was able to string together ten consecutive seasons with 200-plus hits was his ability to hit to all fields and place the ball in the open grass. There is perhaps no better illustration of this than a time lapse of every hit in his MLB career.

Because he was such a tough out, opposing teams had to come up with creative ways to prevent him from getting on base. Even then, he typically found a workaround.

No. 4: Encore Encore (2011)

Starring: Félix Hernández, Eric Wedge, Larry Bernández, Jerry Hernández

Throughout his career, Félix Hernández was known for putting the Mariners on his back. During a time of incredibly weak offensive output from the organization, he often found himself pitching as much as possible to give his team a chance to win with the few runs he received in support. He infamously had a narrow margin of victory in his perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays of just one run.

In order to carry the team, he maintained a massive workload, accumulating 2,331 innings from 2006-2016 and pitching more than 200 innings in eight separate seasons. This may have resulted in a relatively early end to his career at just 33 years old. But given his personality, he likely wouldn't have had it any other way.

No. 3: Arts & Crafty (2019)

Starring: Marco Gonzales, Wade LeBlanc, Yusei Kikuchi, Félix Hernández

Being "crafty" is a common tag for lefty pitchers whose delivery from the opposite side tends to cause struggles for most batters accustomed to seeing right-handed pitching. In 2019, the Mariners had several lefty starters in their rotation, plus two more in reserve in Justus Sheffield and Tommy Milone.

Now, the star-studded rotation is packed with five right-handed arms, but it probably won't be long before the team gets another southpaw.

No. 2: Outfield Workshop (2025)

Starring: George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena, Víctor Robles

With all of the concerns regarding the team's infield heading into 2025, the outfield is pretty set. However, it's not all sunshine and roses on the green grass. While Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodríguez have each established their own novel celebrations, Víctor Robles has yet to find his own. We'll see if a full year in Seattle will help him come up with something.

No. 1: Meaningful Moments (2010)

Starring: Ichiro Suzuki, Ken Griffey Jr.

It's at this point I must admit that I'm heavily biased in favor of Ichiro, who just so happens to be my favorite player of all time. His reason for wanting to come to Seattle was heavily driven by his desire to play with Ken Griffey Jr., who was Ichiro's favorite player at the time. Years before he was ever posted by NPB, he actually had the chance to grab dinner with Griffey and talk shop.

Sadly, these two would never have the chance to be in the same lineup in their prime, with Griffey spending 2000-2008 dealing with recurring injuries in Cincinnati while Ichiro tore up the league. By the time Griffey returned to Seattle in 2009, he was 39 years old and in the final days of his career.

Still, it was fulfilling to see the two finally have the chance to suit up together for a brief time. Even in his older days, it was clear that Griffey's playful attitude was still as youthful as ever.

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