During the course of every season, you will always have a team that enters the postseason as the "favorite" or the "best team on paper." Usually, this team will have anywhere between 93 and 97 victories, with some even reaching the century mark in wins. However, it is very rare that you will see a team go beyond 100 wins in a season, as the threshold for most 100-win teams seems to be around 103.
Every once in a while however, there will be a team that takes your breath away with their sustained excellence throughout the regular season. These are the teams that usually exceed the 103-win threshold I designated. In the last 20 years, we have seen only a handful of these teams, but there was one that stands tall amongst the rest of the field. During the regular season of 2001, there was nobody- and I mean nobody- that could take down the Seattle Mariners during the regular season.
What makes this team more special than the other great ones, you ask? Well, for starters, they tied the record for the most regular-season wins with 116, something that had not been achieved since the Chicago Cubs pulled off the feat in 1906. Think about it: If a team finishes 30 games over .500 in a season, you're almost guaranteed a playoff spot (96-66). In 2001, Seattle finished 70 games over .500, as they relentlessly dominated their competition throughout the year. In fact, those '06 Cubs were the only team to finish more games over .500 in a season, as Chicago finished 80 games over .500 in a shorter season (116-36).
Another thing that makes the '01 M's so intriguing was the caliber of players they lost leading up to that season. They dealt ace lefty Randy Johnson to the Houston Astros in 1998 for John Halama, Carlos Guillen and Freddy Garcia, and they also traded Ken Griffey, Jr. to the Reds in 2000 for Mike Cameron and Brett Tomko. Those were indeed big losses, but the M's won the American League Wild Card and reached the ALCS in 2000 in spite of losing the two future Hall of Famers. However, the blow many prognosticators believed to be fatal was losing All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez to free agency that year following their ALCS loss to the Yankees. Rodriguez, who was already acknowledged as the best shortstop in the game at the time, signed an epic $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers that left a significant void in the Mariners' infield. Losing three future Hall of Famers within a three year span? The road to the postseason appeared to be a difficult one heading into 2001, especially with a young Oakland team that posed a formidable challenge in the AL West.
Instead of re-signing Alex Rodriguez, the M's elected to offer a big contract to a right fielder from the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro was a dynamic contact hitter with blistering speed and great defense in the outfield, and he appeared to be Seattle's answer to their lack of speed in the lineup, as he would essentially replace the brilliant, yet aging Rickey Henderson. Nonetheless, there would be a big risk with handing out a huge contract to a Japanese player who never played in the U.S. Would his skills playing against essentially lower-tier talent transfer over to the States? Keep in mind that there was never a Japanese position player in MLB history prior to Ichiro's arrival, and the Mariners were banking that he would be the catalyst in their lineup.
Ichiro proved to be worth every penny and more, as he took the majors by storm with his exciting and unique approach to the game. His unorthodox swing in which he would fall toward the first base line as he would go after a pitch would be mimicked by many kids around the country. Along with that, his "dead ball" era style of play was a breath of fresh air for MLB, which was smack dab in the middle of the "home run/steroid" era. While players were bashing 500-foot, upper deck home runs, Ichiro would bunt his way on-base, steal second, and score on a base hit from either Edgar Martinez or Bret Boone. He finished with a MLB-high 242 hits and 50 steals, while tying Larry Walker for MLB's best batting average at .350. His efforts were good enough for him to become only the second player in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in the same season. He would also garner his first of 10 Gold Gloves for his outstanding play in the outfield. With Ichiro, the M's no longer needed Griffey or "A-Rod," as they had their offensive superstar.
Ichiro was just the key to the ignition of this offense, as it seemed like everyone on the team came through big with runners in scoring position. Bret Boone had a career year, hitting .331 with 37 home runs and 141 RBIs, while center fielder Mike Cameron (acquired in the aforementioned Griffey trade) provided speed, defense and power hitting 25 home runs with 110 RBIs and 34 steals. The "Ancient Mariner" Edgar Martinez also chipped in, hitting .306 with 23 homers and 116 RBIs to go along with a great .543 slugging percentage. First baseman John Olerud also added another element of spray hitting to the lineup, hitting a solid .302 with 21 homers and 95 RBIs. Collectively, Seattle's lineup scored a whopping 927 runs, which rounds up to roughly six runs per game. Their total would be a full 30 runs ahead of the next best AL team in that category, the Cleveland Indians.
The offense wasn't the only thing that kept this machine churning, as their pitching ran on all cylinders all year long. While they received a great deal of run support, the staff was still effective enough to keep the team out of trouble and take pressure off their offense. Lefty Jamie Moyer led the way on the staff with 20 victories, to go along with a 3.43 ERA in 209.2 innings. Those numbers would be great for any pitcher, but considering Moyer was already 38, it simply made them all the more better. Freddy Garcia (acquired in the aforementioned Randy Johnson trade) went 18-6 with a 3.05 ERA in a team-best 238.2 innings, while Aaron Sele and Paul Abbott each contributed 15 and 17 wins respectively. The last two starters were the biggest beneficiaries of Seattle's super-charged offense, as they both featured somewhat high ERAs (Sele finished with a 3.60 ERA, while Abbott checked in at 4.25).
Seattle also featured a lights-out bullpen that included closer Kaz Sasaki (45 saves), lefty set-up man Arthur Rhodes (1.72 ERA in 71 appearances), right-handed specialist Jeff Nelson (2.76 ERA in 69 appearances) and the ageless lefty specialist Norm Charlton (3.02 ERA in 44 appearances). Together this staff would surrender a major-league low of 627 runs.
Now the run differential for an exceptional team will usually be around 100-175 runs, with outstanding ones hovering around 200. Seattle however, outscored their opponents by 300 runs during the regular season. With their impressive balance of pitching, defense, speed, contact and power, the M's exploded out of the gates in April, finishing the month with a 20-5 record. "Pretty impressive," was what many baseball fans thought of their start, but many wondered if they could keep up the pace. They continued their torrid pace, going 20-7 in May and 18-9 in June. Once the All-Star break arrived, Seattle already sported a record of 63-24, a whopping 19 games ahead of Oakland.
They did not cool off one bit in the second half, keeping up their historic pace even as the Oakland A's heated up themselves. The M's went 53-22 in the second half, including notching their record-tying 116th victory at home on October 6 over the Texas Rangers. They had a shot at setting the record for wins on the final day of the season, but Texas had the last laugh, defeating them 4-3. Not only did the M's tie a historic mark, but they were also able to hold off a hard-charging Oakland squad, who despite their 102 wins, finished a whopping 14 games back in the AL West.
Now the M's were finally in the playoffs, and for the first time since the start of the season, they were playing meaningful baseball. Unfortunately for them, the lack of important games during the course of the season may have taken their toll, as they took on a hungry and experienced Cleveland Indians team that was in the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons. They also played meaningful games during the second-half, as they worked hard to fend off Tom Kelly's Minnesota Twins, who were finally showing their first flashes of brilliance since 1991. Although many people believed that Seattle would make easy work of the Tribe, the ALDS proved to be a struggle for the M's, as Cleveland would take a 2-1 series lead, including succumbing to a punishing 17-2 defeat in Game 3. However, the M's, with their backs against the wall, would wake up and respond to Cleveland's challenge, taking the final two games by scores of 6-2 and 3-1 to advance to the ALCS for the second time in as many years.
Their opponent in the ALCS would be their old foe, the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers entered the playoffs as the three-time defending World Champions, and they completed an epic comeback of their own against the Oakland A's in the first round, winning three consecutive games after being down 0-2 in the series. Seattle lost to the Yankees in the ALCS in six games during the previous season, and they were looking for a measure of revenge against the "Evil Empire."
After 119 combined victories between the regular season and the playoffs, it finally looked like Seattle ran out of gas. They were no match for the Yankees, as they would take out the M's in an easy five games, crushing them 12-3 in the series finale.
That was it. Baseball can be one of the most cruel sports out there, and Seattle's season, as dominant as it was, is one big example. When you win a combined 120 games during the regular-season and postseason, there isn't much question as to who was the best in 2001. However, the Mariners couldn't assert their dominance during the time they needed to the most. Instead of being remembered as one of history's greatest teams, they are regarded as a team that had one of the most disappointing finishes of all time. Much like the 1906 Cubs, they were outstanding on a historic level, but not good enough to win it all. Ten years later, the Mariners have yet to return to the postseason.
