Welcome back once again, baseball fans! Let's head north to the Emerald City to see how things shook out for the M's in 2009:
Seattle Mariners:
Record: 85-77 (Third place in the AL West, 12 games behind Los Angeles).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Ichiro Suzuki (.352)
Home Runs: Russell Branyan (31)
RBIs: Jose Lopez (96)
On-base Percentage: Ichiro Suzuki (.386)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Felix Hernandez (19)
ERA: Felix Hernandez (2.49). Bullpen- David Aardsma (2.52).
Strikeouts: Felix Hernandez (217)
Innings Pitched: Felix Hernandez (238.2)
WHIP: Jarrod Washburn (1.07)
Saves: David Aardsma (38)
Highlight of the Season: Tie between Griffey's first home game in a Mariners uniform since 1999 on April 14, and Ichiro's 2,000th career MLB hit on September 6 in Oakland.
Lowlight of the Season: Despite defeating Toronto 5-4 on September 24, Boston's 10-3 victory over Kansas City that same night eliminated the M's from the postseason.
The Lowdown:
After the 61-101 disaster that was 2008 for Seattle, things were only looking up as the team entered Spring Training. After all, when you have a season that bad, things can only get better, right? Well things certainly did get better for the M's, as they improved their win total by 24. With that big turnaround, the team was also competing for their first postseason appearance since 2001, as they hung around in the Wild Card race until late September. First-year manager Don Wakamatsu brought a breath of fresh air into a clubhouse that grew painfully stale, and the comeback of Mariners legend Ken Griffey, Jr. also meant that the clubhouse would become more jovial than in years past. Even though they missed the playoffs with a payroll near $100 million once again, this season can be looked at as nothing more than a complete success for Seattle.
Offense:
For the first time in several years, Ichiro was not the only man getting things done in the M's lineup. He did have another spectacular year at the plate though, setting a MLB-record ninth consecutive 200 hit season, which broke the 108-year-old mark originally set by Wee Willie Keeler from 1894-1901. He also put together another fantastic season average-wise, hitting .352, which was the second-highest in MLB to only Joe Mauer. The M's lineup wasn't just the Ichiro show in 2009, as he had a solid supporting cast that featured the likes of Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan and Jose Lopez.
Guiterrez proved to be one of the better defensive center fielders in baseball in 2009; however, his bat was also worth noting as well. The 26-year-old from Caracas, Venezuela put together a solid season, as he hit .283, with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. His fellow countryman Jose Lopez also put together an even better season at the plate, drilling 25 homers to go along with a team-leading 96 RBIs. What makes Lopez's numbers all the more impressive is that he is a second baseman who plays in a pitcher's park. The year he had at the plate as a second baseman definitely had to be the second-best in the American League this year, behind the monster year put together by Toronto's Aaron Hill.
The biggest surprise in the M's lineup had to be the production of first baseman Russell Branyan. The 34-year-old journeyman from Warner Robbins, Georgia had by far the best year of his career, as he finally showed the baseball world his full capabilities as a power hitter. He set a career-high in games played (116), home runs (31) and RBIs (76), and provided M's fans with exhilarating, long-distance home runs.
Overall, the M's lineup finished 28th in runs scored (640) and 29th in on-base percentage (.314) while tying for 16th in home runs (160). They also tied for 21st in batting average, hitting collectively at a .258 clip. While the team featured some good individual performers, the lineup was below-average, as a whole.
Final Grade: C-
Pitching:
Even though Seattle used 12 different starting pitchers in 2009, their rotation was among the best in baseball. Their team ERA of 3.87 was the sixth-best in MLB, and it was certainly the biggest reason why the Mariners were contenders this year. The staff was led by 23-year-old righty Felix Hernandez, who put together the best year of his career to date. "King Felix" went 19-5, to go along with an impressive 2.49 ERA and 217 strikeouts. His 1.14 WHIP was also among the best in MLB. His performance was good enough for him to receive a strong amount of support for the Cy Young Award, as he finished second in voting to Kansas City's Zack Greinke.
There was also a solid group of pitchers behind Hernandez in the rotation, as Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard and Ryan Rowland-Smith all put together decent seasons in the rotation. All three pitchers recorded ERAs under four, with Washburn and Bedard each recording ERAs under three in their limited time in the rotation (Washburn- 2.64 ERA in 20 starts, Bedard- 2.82 ERA in 15 starts). However, the Mariners decided to sell high on Washburn, trading him to the Detroit Tigers at the trading deadline.
Despite losing J.J. Putz as a free agent during the offseason, the M's had a solid year in the bullpen, as David Aardsma, Mark Lowe and Sean White were the major standouts for them. Aardsma did a great job as Putz's replacement as the closer, going 38 for 42 in saves while recording a 2.52 ERA in the process. Righty Mark Lowe led the staff in appearances with 75, and he performed well primarily as a set-up man, recording 26 holds to go along with a 3.26 ERA. Washington native Sean White also saw some time as a set-up man for Aardsma, recording 15 holds to go along with a 2.80 ERA.
Along with the 3.87 team ERA, the Mariners finished with the fourth-lowest opponents' batting average (.247), and the fifth-lowest runs surrendered total (692). Even though their starting rotation was somewhat patched together with 12 starters, they all collectively did their part, and did it well.
Final Grade: A-
Wild Card: Ken Griffey, Jr.
Even though his statistical contributions were marginal at best, Ken Griffey, Jr. returning to Seattle had to be one of the top "feel good" moments of 2009. What made it even better was that Seattle fans embraced him with open arms with his return. While his stay in Cincinnati was tenuous at times, there was none of that in the Emerald City, as the Mariners were as loose of a bunch as they ever were. Looking at the team's personality from 2008 to this year is like comparing night and day. I'm not saying that Griffey was the "be all, end all" reason for this, but he certainly had to play a big part in it, as he definitely loosened up that once-tight clubhouse.
Final Grade: B
Overall:
The Mariners fashioned a fine comeback season in 2009. This was no small feat, as they had to shake off the fact that they were the first team in baseball history to lose 100 games with a $100 million payroll. The players this year made sure that they were earning their salary though, as they nearly made the playoffs. With some of their moves during this offseason (acquiring Cliff Lee from Philadelphia and signing third baseman Chone Figgins), they should look to improve on their success from 2009 and attempt to make their first postseason appearance in nine years in 2010.
Final Grade: B-
Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Detroit Tigers!
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