Ending the drought and a bright future for the 2022 Mariners
For some teams, a League Division Series sweep would leave the season looking like a failure. But not for the Seattle Mariners. For the Mariners, the 2022 season can only be seen as a success as playoff baseball was brought back to T-Mobile Park for the first time in 21 years.
The Mariners entered 2022 with optimistic expectations. After a 90 win 2021 campaign, Seattle had hopes of taking the Astros’ perennial spot atop the AL West. Seattle signed reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray in the offseason, and added Jessie Winker and Eugenio Suarez to a lineup that featured Mitch Hanniger, Ty France and rookie Julio Rodríguez. But, after a slow start that saw Seattle below .500 in June, those hopes were long gone. The goal quickly became stealing a wildcard spot after MLB expanded the Wild Card in the offseason. Seattle struggled on both sides of the ball to open the season, with bad pitching from Robbie Ray and poor offense up and down the lineup.
The team hit a light switch and headed into the all star break with a magical 22-3 run, finishing 9 games over .500. This run led GM Jerry Dipoto to make the biggest splash at the trade deadline, as Seattle sent three of their top five prospects to the Red in exchange for ace Luis Castillo, and acquired Carlos Santana from Kansas City. Castillo had a 2.86 ERA with Cincinnati to start the season, and his addition as the best pitcher on the trade market showed Seattle’s players and fans that this was the season that would end the playoff drought.
Seattle ended the season strong and earned a playoff spot with what was probably the most electric moment of the season as Cal Raleigh hit a walk-off home run on September 30th in front of a raucous Seattle crowd to clinch the Mariners’ first trip to the postseason since 2001. This ended the longest drought in North American professional sports. Ending the season a strong 90-72, Seattle entered the post season with high hopes.
The playoffs saw the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for Seattle. First, an up and down two game sweep of the Blue Jays in Toronto. Luis Castillo pitched a gem in Game 1, leading to a 4-0 shutout in the Rogers Centre. Robbie Ray and the Seattle pitching staff then gave up 9 runs in Game 2, and all indications pointed towards a winner-take-all Game 3. But 4 runs in the 8th and 1 in the 9th powered Seattle to a gritty 10-9 victory and a flight to Houston to take on their division rivals.
In Houston, Yordan Alvarez proved to be too much for the Seattle staff to handle as late game heroics from the Astros slugger left the Mariners down 2 games. In the return of playoff baseball to Seattle, the Mariners left the playoff-starved fans waiting for the first playoff run in 21 years. The Mariners fought to the end, but were shut out in an 18 inning 1-0 loss to Houston.
Even after the sweep in the ALDS, the Mariners accomplished a lot in 2022. First, they brought playoff baseball back to Seattle, giving the fans a small taste of what may be to come. And 21-year-old centerfielder Julio Rodríguez emerged as one of baseball brightest young stars as he slashed .284/.345/.509 and ended with a 5.3 WAR. He played stellar defense in centerfield, and became one of only three rookies ever with 25+ home runs and steals. The Mariners recognized that Rodriguez could end up as a perennial all star, and signed the young stud in August to a 12 year extension (through 2034) with options that could run through the 2039 (!!!) season. The deal is worth $210 Million guaranteed, and could end up being worth upwards of $450 Million if it maxes out.
Season Grade: A
Team MVP: Julio Rodríguez
Prominent Free Agents: Mitch Haniger, Adam Frazier, Curt Casali, Carlos Santana, Matthew Boyd