It doesn’t feel quite like 2001 yet, but I can start to see a passing resemblance.
I think one of the coolest things to witness as a sports fan is someone being so deep in the zone that they even surprise themselves. Last night, after Jorge Polanco belted his second home run and third ball that would have cleared the wall if left unattended (seriously, see below, his only ball in play that wasn’t a home run, sandwiched between two big flies), he watched it go with an almost Michael Jordanesque aura, reminiscent of the 1992 shrug that so devastated me while he was crushing my Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals when I was 12.
You know the look. Don’t make me post it here. It’s just like “Wow, did I really just do that? Don’t ask me to explain it.”
For a team that has had a parade of former hitters come through T-Mobile Park and say that it’s impossible for them to see the ball or hit the ball here, it is unbelievably satisfying to watch someone (who himself struggled last year! though now it’s obvious that was all an injury) come in and just mash consistently. Don’t get me wrong, Teoscar Hernandez is also enjoying another fantastic season in LA, but his admonition to other would-be Mariners that they will fall apart with the bat in the Northwest looks silly in the face of what Cal and Polo have been able to do the last fortnight.
The other thing that’s hard to get used to about the 2025 Mariners (so far) is that the offense keeps bailing out the bullpen. Yes, Bryce Miller was an absolute wizard last night in spinning out of trouble when he clearly had his D-game on the hill in terms of stuff and feel (5 innings, 6 Ks, 2 hits, and FIVE WALKS on 83 pitches) and heartily earned his 2nd win. But Vargas and Speier got roughed up by an Angels offense that is just Bad, hanging on in part because they kept Trout (who apparently has said he loves the batter’s eye at T-Mobile, something no one else has ever said) off the board.
The last two games, it’s almost felt like the bullpen is conspiring to challenge Andres Munoz to stay perfect because, like Polo’s streak (or Randy getting on base 24 straight times, or JP sailing his average over .275, or Rivas sailing his average over .300, or or or) no one can quite believe how consistently solid these Mariners are right now. The level of confidence we have in our closer is bordering on hubris. There is no way we should have needed Andres in either of the last two games, but we definitely did by the 9th and he didn’t even consider allowing us to sweat.
Look, it’s early. This is usually a sentence written about the Mariners to justify another slow start. We are about to end April in first place, something that essentially doesn’t compute for the Seattle fan’s brain. But confidence and momentum are contagious and are the kind of things that built 2001 and can build a potential coveted trip to the World Series. We can fret about how sustainable it is tomorrow. Isn’t it nice to bask in the joy today?
Mariners Stats:
Comeback Wins: 8
Wire-to-Wire Wins: 9
Comeback Losses: 6
Wire-to-Wire Losses: 6
Multi-Homer Games: 9-5
Single-Homer Games: 7-3
No-Homer Games: 1-4
One-Run Games: 6-3
Extra-Innings Games: 2-2
Shutouts: 1-1
Record When Scoring >5 Runs: 8-2
Record When Scoring 2-5 Runs: 9-5
Record When Scoring <2 Runs: 0-5
Personal Stats:
Watched on TV: 3-6
Listened on Radio: 7-1
Mixed TV/Radio: 6-4
Followed on Gameday: 1-1
