The Seattle Mariners go into the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers with one goal on their collective minds. The Mariners, who have been competing in the American League since 1977, have never won the World Series. They have never even been there, since they have not won an American League pennant.
This has been a special year for the Mariners. They surged in the second half of the season and played their best baseball of the season in late September. They ended up winning the American League West by 3.0 games over the Houston Astros, a team that had tormented them for years.
It was a memorable year for many reasons. The most notable of those was the performance of record-setting catcher Cal Raleigh. The All-Star blasted 60 home runs, the most ever by both a catcher and a switch hitter.
Raleigh had an amazing season. He played in 159 games and slashed .247/.359/.589. Raleigh drove in 125 runs and had a WAR of 7.3. He has an excellent chance to win the Most Valuable Player Award, but he is competing with Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. It appears that either man could win the award.
Raleigh has become a huge star, and he is joined in that role by centerfielder Julio Rodriguez. He is a brilliant athlted to who blasted 32 home runs, drove in 95 runs and stole 30 bases. If Raleigh has any kind of trouble when the Mariners face the Detroit Tigers, Rodriguez is strong enough to carry the team on his shoulders.
Mariners' pitching has been notable
The Mariners have strong power hitting up and down their lineup. However, they never would have won the division title if it had not been for their pitching.
The Mariners have four strong starting pitchers in Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert.
Woo is almost certainly the best of the foursome. He finished the season with a 15-7 record and a 2.94 earned run average. He struck out 198 batters in 196.2 innings. However, Woo is not on the roster for this series because has not fully recovered from a pectoral injury.
Luis Castillo is capable of shutting down hitters almost as well as Woo. Castillo finished the season with an 11-8 record and a 3.54 ERA. He was not as much of a strikeout pitcher as Woo, but he has an array of pitches that can confound hitters. He struck out 162 hitters in 180.2 innings.
As good as those two pitchers are, George Kirby will get the ball in Game 1 of the searies. Kirby was 10-8 during the season with a 4.21 ERA. He struck out 137 batters in 126.0 innings. Starter Logan Gilbert had a 6-6 record with a 3.44 ERA.
Closer Andres Munoz also played a key role for the Mariners as he had 38 saves this season with a spectacular 1.79 ERA.
Outfielder Randy Arozarena is the X-factor for the Mariners
Randy Arozarena is a multitalented outfielder who played a key role for the Mariners as they dominated in the second half of the season and won the American League West title.
Arozarena was a winning presence in the Seattle lineup. He did not have an impressive batting average at .238, but he had a .334 on-base percentage and he slugged .426.
Arozarena also was an excellent combination of power and speed. He blasted 27 home runs and drove in 76 runs. He also stole 31 bases and he demonstrated that he had a great eye as he had 64 bases on balls.
His speed also helped him in the outfield and he was able to chase down fly balls with ease.
While he had a fine season for the Mariners, he had demonstrated throughout his career that he was an excellent postseason performer.
Arozarena put big numbers on the board
The 24-year-old Arozarena has participated in 9 postseason series in his career, primarily with the Tampa Bay Rays. During the Rays' 2020 run to the World Series, Arozarena batted .500 in the team's Wild Card round victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
He was dominant in the next two rounds, as he batted .421 and blasted 3 home runs in the American League Division Series win over the Yankees. Arozarena was even more of a factor in the AL Championship Series as he hammered 4 home runs in the team's seven-game series victory over the Houston Astros.
He hit 3 more home runs and batted .364 in the team's World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While the Rays lost their opening-round series from 2021 through 2023, Arozarena had outstanding performances in '21 against the Red Sox and '23 against the Rangers.
Arozarena has demonstrated that he shines brightest when the games are the most important. He should do it again and will be an x-factor against the Tigers in the ALDS.
