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The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team in 1977 playing their home games in the Kingdome. Since July 1999, the Mariners' home ballpark has been T-Mobile Park, located in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle.
George Kenneth Griffey Jr., nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, along with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a 13-time All-Star, Griffey is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history; his 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history. Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run.
Lawrence Patrick David Gillick is an American professional baseball executive. He previously served as the general manager of four MLB teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1978–1994), Baltimore Orioles (1996–1998), Seattle Mariners (2000–2003), and Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2008). He guided the Blue Jays to World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, and later with the Phillies in 2008.
Lloyd Glenn McClendon is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played eight seasons in the MLB, primarily as an outfielder, and was manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2001 to 2005 and Seattle Mariners from 2014 to 2015. He most recently served as the interim manager for the Detroit Tigers in 2020.
Dale Curtis Sveum is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He most recently served as the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals. As a player, Sveum saw action in twelve major league seasons between 1986 and 1999. He was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Yankees. Following his playing career, Sveum managed in minor league baseball for several seasons before becoming an MLB coach. Sveum briefly served as manager of the Brewers in 2008 during his tenure as hitting coach for the team. He was later named manager of the Cubs after the 2011 season and served for two seasons. His cousin is former Blue Jays All-Star John Olerud.
Melvin Leon Stottlemyre Sr. was an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He played for 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, all for the New York Yankees, and coached for 23 seasons, for the Yankees, New York Mets, Houston Astros, and Seattle Mariners. He was a five-time MLB All-Star as a player and a five-time World Series champion as a coach.
Charles Keith Cottier is a former second baseman, manager, coach and scout in American Major League Baseball.
John Lowell McLaren is an American former professional baseball coach and manager. He is best known for his brief tenure as manager of the Seattle Mariners, from July 1, 2007 to June 19, 2008. A native of the Houston, Texas area, McLaren was a catcher in the Houston Astros minor league system from 1970 to 1976, and later managed in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system.
John Hardin Stearns, nicknamed "Bad Dude", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher who played for the New York Mets from 1975 to 1984 after playing a single game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1974. Stearns was a two-sport star in college, and he entered professional baseball after being selected in both the MLB and National Football League drafts. He struggled with injuries in the latter portion of his career. He served as the catching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners and the interim manager of the minor league Tacoma Rainiers before being named third base coach under Lloyd McClendon for the 2014 season. However, Stearns underwent surgery for a hiatal hernia prior to spring training and his slower-than-expected recovery compelled him to resign on March 7, 2014. He remained in the Mariners' organization, however, as a scout for the 2014 season. After attending a memorial service for his high school baseball coach in 2015, he said he was not sure how he would be involved with baseball again.
Christos George Pelekoudas was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1960 to 1975.
Terry W. Ryan is an American professional baseball executive and former general manager for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. Ryan was known for using a low payroll and building up the minor league system to put up contending teams. He resigned as general manager of the Twins on October 1, 2007, but returned to his former post on November 7, 2011, until being relieved of his duties on July 18, 2016. Ryan was hired as a special assignment scout by the Philadelphia Phillies on November 30, 2016.
Gerard Peter Dipoto is an American baseball executive and former professional player. He is currently the President of Baseball Operations for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and previously worked in front office positions for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, and Boston Red Sox. Dipoto played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and Colorado Rockies from 1993 through 2000.
William Joseph Bavasi is a former Major League Baseball general manager. He currently works as director of the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau, appointed in November 2014. Bavasi previously served as an assistant to the GM for the Cincinnati Reds, under Reds general manager Walt Jocketty. The son of longtime MLB executive Buzzie Bavasi and the brother of Peter Bavasi, also a former MLB executive, Bill also spent six full seasons (1994–99) as the general manager of the California/Anaheim Angels and a 4+1⁄2 season stint as GM of the Seattle Mariners (2003–08).
Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and manager. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox. He served as the bench coach of the Texas Rangers from 2018 through 2021. He was hired as bench coach of the Kansas City Royals for the 2014 season. He was the manager of the Seattle Mariners for the 2009 season, as well as the majority of the 2010 season. He was the Toronto Blue Jays' bench coach for 2011 and 2012, after which he was replaced by DeMarlo Hale. During the 2013 season he worked as a scout for the New York Yankees in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in 1977, the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field, now T-Mobile Park has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July 1999. From their 1977 inception until June 1999, the club's home park was the Kingdome.
The 2008 Seattle Mariners season was the 32nd Major League Baseball season in the team's history. Coming off the heels of the previous 2007 season, in which the M's finished with their first winning record since 2003, the team was widely expected to once again compete for the American League West division championship. The team was bolstered by some major roster additions during the previous offseason, most notably starting pitchers Érik Bédard and Carlos Silva. However, by the end of May, it became apparent that the team had gone back to its losing ways of the 2004–06 seasons. Despite their losing ways, they won their first and last game of the season. Their longest winning-streak of the season is 4 games after a Cleveland sweep at the end of August and a 12-6 win against the Texas Rangers on the first day of September. However, standing at 57-87, their longest losing-streak of the season is 12 games, 11 on the road, 1 at home, after being swept by the L.A. Angels, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and suffering a loss at the last homestand opener against the L.A. Angels. On September 23, the Mariners became the first club to spend $100 million in payroll and lose 100 games. The team finished the season with a 61–101 (.377) record, last in the West for the 4th time in 5 years, and second worst in the majors.
The Williamsport Bills were a Class AA Eastern League baseball affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, and New York Mets from 1987 to 1991 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in the United States. They played their games in Bowman Field, which is currently home to the Williamsport Crosscutters, a charter member of the MLB Draft League.
The 2009 Major League Baseball season began on April 5, 2009; the regular season was extended two days for a one-game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins to decide the American League Central Division champion. The postseason began the next day with the Division Series. The World Series began on October 28, and ended on November 4, with the New York Yankees defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. This was the second time the season was completed in November. The only other occasion was the 2001 World Series, because of the delaying of the end of that season due to the September 11 attacks as November baseball would be guaranteed when Game 4 was played on Sunday, November 1. Had the 2009 World Series gone the full seven games, Game 7 would've been played on November 5, the latest date ever scheduled for a World Series game. American League champion had home field advantage for the World Series by virtue of winning the All-Star Game on July 14 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, 4–3. In addition, the annual Civil Rights Game became a regular season game, and was played June 20 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, when the host Cincinnati Reds lost to the Chicago White Sox in an interleague game, 10–8. Both teams wore replicas of their 1965 uniforms in the contest.
The 2009 Seattle Mariners season was the 33rd season in franchise history. They improved upon a disappointing 2008 season, where they finished last in the American League West with a 61–101 record. They finished 3rd in the AL West with an 85–77 record, a 24 win improvement. The 2009 Mariners became the 13th team in MLB history to have a winning record following a 100+ loss season. On September 13, 2009, Ichiro Suzuki got his 200th hit of the season. In the process, he set a new MLB record by getting at least 200 hits for nine consecutive seasons, passing the mark held by Wee Willie Keeler.
John A. “Jack” Zduriencik is an American radio broadcaster and former professional baseball executive, scout, and player. He currently works as a radio host for KDKA-FM, which is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also served as the general manager of the Seattle Mariners from 2008 until 2015.
References
- 1 2 "Mariners' interim GM Lee Pelekoudas: A life in baseball". The Seattle Times. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ↑ "Lee Pelekoudas resigns as Mariners Associate General Manager". Seattle Mariners Press Release. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
