2021 Seattle Mariners Season Review
Season notes, player bios, statistics, transactions and more
Full PDF: https://www.scribd.com/document/532168151/2021-Seattle-Mariners-Season-Review
THE RECORD…the Mariners finished the 2021 season with a 90–72 record, finishing 2nd in the American League West Division (5.0 games behind division winner Houston)…went 46–35 (.568) at home and 44–37 (.543) on the road…posted a 27–20–5 record in series, including 7 sweeps…went 11–9 (.550) in rubber games to decide the outcome of a 3-game series…were 57–49 (.538) in night games and 33–23 (.589) during the day…when scoring first, went 59–22 (.728)…recorded 42 come-from-behind wins…season-high winning streak was 6 games from Sept. 19–24…season-high losing streak was 6 games from May 17–23.
THE HITTING…the Mariners hit .226 (1209x5355) with 233 doubles, 11 triples, 199 home runs, 673 RBI, 535 walks, 64 stolen bases, a .303 on-base percentage and a .385 slugging percentage (.688 OPS)…averaged 4.30 runs-per-game (697 R, 162 G)…their 199 home runs ranked T8th in the American League/T13th in the Majors…hit .214 (552x2580) at T-Mobile Park, compared to .237 (657x2775) on the road…averaged 4.06 runs-per-game (329 R, 81 G) at home, compared to 4.54 runs-per-game (368 R, 81 G) on the road…with runners in scoring position, hit .259 (317x1225), which ranked 7th in the American League/111th in the Majors…with the bases loaded, hit .293 (36x123), which ranked 14th in the Majors.
THE PITCHING…the Mariners pitching staff went 90–72 with 51 saves and a 4.30 ERA (688 ER, 1440.1 IP)…totaled 1,328 strikeouts, averaging 8.3 strikeouts-per-9.0-innings…issued 485 walks and allowed 197 home runs…allowed a .247 (1356x5490) opponents’ average against while recording a 1.28 WHIP (485 BB, 1356 H, 1440.1 IP)…issued the 7th-fewest walks in the Majors and 4th-fewest in the American League…Mariners starting pitchers went 45–45 with a 4.61 ERA (421 ER, 821.2 IP) with 270 walks and 705 strikeouts, recording 1 complete game…Mariners relievers went 45–27 with 51 saves, 100 holds and a 3.88 ERA (267 ER, 618.2 IP) with 215 walks and 623 strikeouts.
THE FIELDING…the Mariners recorded a .986 fielding percentage in 2021, tied for 7th-best in the Majors and tied for 4th-best in the American League…the Mariners converted 5,705 of 5,784 total chances (4,321 PO, 1,384 A, 79 E)…their 79 errors were 7th-fewest in the Majors and 4th-fewest in the AL…turned 135 double plays, 7th-most in the American League.
AWARD SEASON…the following Mariners earned awards during the 2021 season (postseason awards will be announced in the coming months):
Seattle BBWAA Pitcher of the Year — Chris Flexen
Seattle BBWAA Player of the Year — Ty France
Seattle BBWAA Unsung Hero — J.P. Crawford
Heart and Hustle Award — Mitch Haniger
AL Player of the Week (July 12–18) — Mitch Haniger
MLB Play of the Week (June 7–13) — Jake Fraley
Roberto Clemente Award (nominee) — Kyle Seager
WINNING SEASON…in 2021, the Mariners recorded their 15th winning season in franchise history…Seattle has finished above .500 in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2021.
MONTH BY MONTH…the Mariners put together 4 consecutive winning months to close out 2021…they went 14–12 (.538) in June, 14–10 (.583) in July, 15–13 (.536) in August and 19–10 (.655) in September/October…it’s the first time Seattle has recorded 4 consecutive winning months since June-Sept. 2009…in 2021, the Mariners put together a winning record in 5 of 6 months, going 15–12 (.556) in April and 13–15 (.464) in May…the Mariners put together a winning record in 6 of their last 7 months, going 12–11 (.522) in Sept. 2020…it is the first time Seattle has put together 6 of 7 winning months since June 2002-June 2003.
GREAT SCOTT!…manager Scott Servais has a 438–432 (.503) record in 6 seasons as Seattle Mariners manager…he is the 2nd-winningest manager in franchise history, trailing only Lou Piniella (840 wins)…Servais tallied his 400th managerial win on July 23 vs. Oakland.
ONE-RUN GAMES…the Mariners went 33–19 (.635) in games decided by 1 run in 2021…their 33 one-run victories led the Majors, while their 52 one-run games were most in the American League and 4th-most in the Majors behind New York-NL (66), Atlanta (57) and Philadelphia (55)…the Mariners .635 winning percentage in 1-run games was 2nd-best in the AL and 3rd-best in MLB behind San Francisco (.646, 31–17) and Los Angeles-AL (.641, 25–14)…Seattle’s 33 one-run wins in 2021 were 3rd-most in a season in franchise history, trailing 2018 (36) and 2009 (35).
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MARINERS KIND…Seattle played 83 games decided by 1 or 2 runs in 2021, 2nd-most in the American League behind the New York Yankees (89)…the Mariners went 51–32 (.614) in those games, with their .614 winning percentage ranking 2nd-highest in the AL and 3rd-highest in the Majors behind San Francisco (.630, 51–30) and the Yankees (.618, 55–34).
RALLY KIDS…the Mariners tallied 42 comeback wins in 2021…it’s the first time Seattle reached 40+ comeback wins in a season since they recorded 45 comebacks in 2007…the 42 comebacks were 4th-most in the American League behind Boston (47), Tampa Bay (46) and New York (44)…Seattle also had 36 games in 2021 where they came back to win after blowing a lead earlier in that game, most in the AL and 2nd-most in the Majors behind San Francisco (38)…the Mariners recorded 4 consecutive comebacks from Sept. 26–29, the first time they recorded 4+ consecutive comeback wins since July 25–28, 2019 vs. Detroit.
GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY…Seattle recorded 46 go-ahead RBI in the 7th inning and later in 2021, most in the Majors ahead of New York-AL (45) and San Francisco (44)…Seattle also led the Majors in go-ahead RBI (38) in the 8th inning and later…the Mariners 167 go-ahead RBI, regardless of inning, were most in the American League in 2021 and 3rd-most in the Majors behind San Francisco (176) and Los Angeles-NL (171).
PITCHES PER PLATE APPEARANCE…Seattle batters averaged 4.00 pitches per plate appearance this season, 2nd-most in the Major Leagues…the New York Yankees led MLB with 4.09 pitches per plate appearance…San Francisco (3.97), Detroit (3.97) and Milwaukee (3.94) rounded out the top five.
THE MITCH IS BACK…Mitch Haniger ranked 1st in runs scored (110), T1st in home runs (39) with Aaron Judge-NYY, 2nd in RBI (100), 2nd in total bases (301) and T3rd in extra-bsae hits (64) among American League outfielders in 2021…he became the first Mariners player to reach 110 runs in a season since Ichiro Suzuki scored 111 in 2007…after missing the 2020 season due to injury, Haniger’s 39 home runs were 2nd-most in a season by a player who did not appear in a game the season prior, behind only Willie Mays’ 41 home runs for the 1954 New York Giants.
KLUTCH KYLE…Kyle Seager set career highs in home runs (35) and RBI (101) in 2021…on May 19 vs. Detroit, he hit his 84th career home run at T-Mobile Park, breaking a tie with Nelson Cruz and Raúl Ibañez for most in ballpark history…Seager tallied 32 go-ahead RBI, leading the Major Leagues for the 2nd consecutive season…he is 1 of 5 players all-time to lead the league in go-ahead RBI in back-to-back seasons, joining Irish Meusel (1923–24), Lou Gehrig (1932–34), Frank McCormick (1938–40) and Miguel Cabrera (2012–13).
THE FRENCH CONNECTION…Ty France led the 2021 Mariners in both Baseball-Reference WAR (4.2) and FanGraphs WAR (3.5)…he led Seattle in batting average (.291), on-base percentage (.368), OPS (.813), OPS+ (128) and wRC+ (129)…France recorded 27 hit-by-pitches, leading the Majors and setting a franchise record…on defense, France was rated as FanGraphs’ best defensive first baseman in the Majors…he led American League first basemen in fielding percentage (.999), making just 1 error in 915.0 innings and 814 total chances…he also led AL first basemen in FanGraphs’ ultimate zone rating (3.0), ranking ahead of Ryan Mountcastle-BAL (2.0 UZR).
WANNA BE A PAUL-ER…Paul Sewald went 10–3 with 11 saves and a 3.06 ERA (22 ER, 64.2 IP) in 62 relief appearances in 2021…he recorded 104 strikeouts out of the Mariners bullpen, 2nd-most strikeouts among Major League relievers behind Liam Hendriks-CWS (113 SO)…Sewald became the 4th Mariners reliever to record at least 100 strikeouts out of the bullpen in a season, joining Edwin Diaz (124 SO in 2018), Bill Caudill (111 SO in 1982) and J.J. Putz (104 SO in 2006)…Sewald became the 3rd Mariners pitcher with at least 10 wins and 10 saves in a season, joining Caudill (12 wins, 26 saves in 1982) and Enrique Romo (11 wins, 10 saves in 1978).
SADLER’S STREAK…Casey Sadler finished his season with an active 29-appearance and 27.2-inning scoreless streak…it was the longest streak by appearances in the Majors in 2021, ahead of Andrew Chafin-CHC (26 G, 5/8–7/21) and Josh Taylor-BOS (26 G, 4/30–7/5)…Sadler’s scoreless streak is also the longest in Mariners history, surpassing Shigetoshi Hasegawa’s 25-game scoreless streak from June 3-Aug. 17, 2003.
CY OF RELIEF…the Mariners had the 4th-best bullpen in the Majors by FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (7.0), trailing Tampa Bay (7.9), Chicago-AL (7.8) and New York-AL (7.5)…Seattle relievers combined to go 45–27 with 51 savs and a 3.88 ERA (267 ER, 618.2 IP) with 215 walks and 623 strikeouts…the Mariners bullpen recorded 414 individual scoreless relief appearances, most in the American League…the 45 wins in relief were 3rd-most in the AL.
GRAB THE CLUTCH…Seattle’s offense in 2021 was rated as the most clutch since FanGraphs has kept the “clutch” metric starting in 1974…the Mariners 9.27 “clutch” ranked ahead of the 2016 Rangers (8.20) and 1990 White Sox (8.10)…the metric measures a team’s offensive performance in high-leverage situations…Seattle batted .271 with an .828 OPS in high-leverage situations in 2021.
FUN DIFFERENTIAL…the Mariners became just the 4th club in Major League history to finish a season above .500 despite being outscored by 50 runs…Seattle’s run differential was -51, joining the 2009 Mariners (85–77, -52), 1971 Braves (82–80, -56) and 2001 Mets (82–80, -71).
TAKE THAT, PYTHAGORAS…Seattle finished the season 18 games above .500 despite being outscored by 51 runs…based on run differential, the Mariners “Pythagorean” win/loss record was 76–86…the 14-win gap between Seattle’s actual 90–72 record and its 76–86 Pythagorean record was highest in the Majors in 2021 and the first team to exceed 10 wins since the 2018 Mariners.
VS. LEFTIES…the Mariners went 36–28 (.563) in 64 games against left-handed starting pitchers in 2021, 3rd-most wins (36) against left-handed starters in the Majors behind Tampa Bay (38) and Oakland (37)…Seattle hit 75 home runs off left-handed pitchers in 2021, most in the American League and 2nd-most in the Majors to Los Angeles-NL (79).
CROSSOVER NIGHT…the Mariners played their 1,755th regular season game at T-Mobile Park (1999-c) on Aug. 27 vs. Kansas City, matching the number of home regular season games they played at the Kingdome (1977–99)…the Mariners went 852–903 (.485) at the Kingdome and are 929–843 (.524) at T-Mobile Park following the 2021 season.
FINISHING STRONG…the Mariners went 31–17 (.646) from Aug. 11 through the end of the season, best record in the American League…they also went 19–6 (.760) over their final 25 road games in 2021…the .760 winning percentage in that time span from Aug. 8-Sept. 26 ranked best in the AL and 3rd-best in MLB to San Francisco (.818, 18–4) and St. Louis (.815, 22–5)…the 19–6 record is their best 25-game stretch on the road since going 19–6 over 25 road games from May 16-July 3, 2003.
YOUNG MAN, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME…the Mariners had the 5th-youngest group of position players in the Majors in 2021, with an average age of 27.0 years old…the Mariners had the 7th-youngest pitching staff this season, with an average age of 28.0 years old…Seattle was 1 of 3 teams, along with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, in both the top 7 of youngest position players and pitchers.
GO-AHEAD GRAND SLAMS…the Mariners led the Majors in 2021 with 6 go-ahead grand slams…all 6 of Seattle’s grand slams this season put the team in the lead…Jake Fraley (6/5 at LAA), J.P. Crawford (6/19 vs. TB), Shed Long Jr. (walk-off, 6/20 vs. TB), Mitch Haniger (7/9 vs. LAA), Dylan Moore (7/27 vs. HOU) and Abraham Toro (8/31 vs. HOU) supplied the grand slams…the 2021 Mariners were the first team to hit 6 go-ahead grand slams in a season since the 2008 Toronto Blue Jays did it…Frank Thomas, Matt Stairs, Rod Barajas, Brad Wilkerson, Vernon Wells and Gregg Zaun hit the grand slams for the Blue Jays that season.
WHY YOU SO EXTRA…Seattle went 14–7 (.667) in extra innings in 2021, most extra inning victories in the Majors…the Mariners .667 winning percentage in extras was 4th-best in the Majors…the 14 extra inning wins tied a franchise record, matching their total in 2018.
63 PLAYERS…the Mariners had 63 players appear in a game for them this season 2nd-most in the American League behind only Los Angeles-AL (64)…63 ranked 6th-most in the Majors, also trailing National League clubs Chicago (69, MLB record), Arizona (64), New York (64) and Pittsburgh (64)…38 players made at least 1 pitching appearance for the Mariners in 2021, tied for 4th-most in the AL with Toronto, trailing Baltimore (42), Tampa Bay (41) and Los Angeles (40)…37 ranked T8th-most in MLB.
BRING YOUR ‘A’ GAME…the Mariners have an active 12-game winning streak against the Oakland Athletics, the franchise record for most consecutive wins against a single opponent…the streak surpassed Seattle defeating the Kansas City Royals in 10 straight games from June 14-Sept. 24, 1985 and the Baltimore Orioles in 10 straight games from June 22, 2000-May 31, 2001.
TO BE THE BEST, YOU’VE GOT TO BEAT THE BEST…Seattle went 44–34 (.564) in 78 games against .500-or-better teams this season, 2nd-best winning percentage in the American League behind Houston (.584, 45–32)…Seattle was 1 of 6 teams in the Majors with at least 44 wins in games against at-or-above .500 teams along with Houston, Tampa Bay, New York-AL, Boston and Toronto.
WHO WILL SAVE YOUR GAME?…the Mariners had 3 pitchers record at least 10 saves in 2021, tying a Major League record…Drew Steckenrider (14 saves), Paul Sewald (11) and Kendall Graveman (10) all tallied at least 10 saves for Seattle in 2021…they were the first team to accomplish the feat since the Astros and Brewers both did it in 2018…the Mariners accomplished it once before in 2015 when Fernando Rodney (16 saves), Carson Smith (13) and Tom Wilhelmsen (13) did it.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE…Seattle tied for having played the 5th-most difficult schedule in the Majors this season according to Baseball-Reference’s Strength of Schedule metric…the Mariners trailed Baltimore, Los Angeles-AL, Texas and Arizona…among teams above .500, Seattle tied for playing the most difficult schedule with Boston, New York-AL and Oakland.
BASEBALL IS A GLOBAL GAME…Seattle had 12 players represent 6 countries/territories outside the United States on its 2021 roster, including 5 from the Dominican Republic: Diego Castillo, José Marmolejos, Yohan Ramirez, Rafael Montero and Domingo Tapia, 2 from Venezuela: José Godoy and Luis Torrens, 2 from Canada: James Paxton and Abraham Toro, as well as Yusei Kikuchi (Japan), Andrés Muñoz (Mexico) and Yacksel Rios (Puerto Rico).
WALK-OFF WINS…the Mariners recorded 10 walk-off victories in 2021, 3rd-most in the American League behind Oakland (12) and New York (11)…the 10 walk-off wins are tied for 3rd-most in franchise history with 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1985, trailing 2009 (13 walk-off wins) and 1986 (12)…Seattle was the only team to draw multiple walk-off walks in 2021…the Mariners also became the first team since the 1989 Astros to record a walk-off walk, sacrifice fly, grand slam and wild pitch in the same season.
STRIKER!…on Sept. 28 vs. Oakland, the Mariners pitching staff threw 77.0% strikes (87 of 113), their highest total of 2021 and highest since throwing 78.0% strikes on July 7, 2018 vs. Colorado…Tyler Anderson’s 87.0% strikes (40 strikes/46 pitches) were the highest total by a starting pitcher in the Majors in 2021 (min. 40 pitches), surpassing Kevin Gausman-SF (86.1%) on May 30.
ALL-STAR YUSEI…Yusei Kikuchi made the 2021 American League All-Star team…in the 1st half of the season, the left-hander went 6–4 with a 3.48 ERA (38 ER, 98.1 IP) with 73 hits allowed, 34 walks and 98 strikeouts in 16 starts.
FUN WITH UNIFORMS…the Mariners went 17–4 (.810) in their Northwest Green uniforms, 6–4 (.600) in their Sunday Cream uniforms, 30–29 (.508) in Astro Navy, 27–28 (.491) in white and 9–7 (.563) in gray.
NUMBER ONE FARM SYSTEM…Baseball-America ranked the Mariners #1 in its 2021 midseason organization talent rankings…despite Logan Gilbert and Jarred Kelenic “graduating” from the list, Seattle has 4 prospects in the top 50 according to the publication (#2 Julio Rodriguez, #8 Noelvi Marte, #11 George Kirby and #50 Emerson Hancock)…Baltimore, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and San Francisco round out the top five on the list of top 5 farm systems.
MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATES…the Mariners had an above-.500 season at every level of their organization in 2021…Seattle went 90–72 (.556), while Triple-A Tacoma was 78–52 (.600), Double-A Arkansas 64–56 (.533), High-A Everett 61–56 (.521), Low-A Modesto 64–51 (.557), the Arizona Complex League Mariners 40–18 (.690) and the Dominican Summer League Mariners 35–24 (.593).
DRAFT RECAP…the club selected 20 players in the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, highlighted by their 1st round pick (12th overall), catcher/outfielder Harry Ford from North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia…Seattle selected 10 pitchers, 3 catchers, 4 infielders (3 SS, 1 3B), and 3 outfielders…Seattle selected 17 college players and 3 high school players, with the 3 high school products being selected in each of the first 3 rounds.
TRANSACTIONS…the Mariners made 239 transactions involving the Major League roster from Opening Night through Oct. 7…the 239 included 44 options, 38 recalls, 20 placements on the 10-day Injured List, 20 reinstatements from the IL (IL, 10-day, 60-day), 20 designated for assignments, 17 selections, 11 transfers to the 60-day IL, 10 players added on waivers, 10 trades, 10 outrights, 9 placements on the Injured List, 6 players lost on waivers and 24 other moves involving reporting the the club, rehab assignments, the bereavement list, paternity list and suspended list.
EJECTIONS…manager Scott Servais was ejected 3 times in 2021…he was ejected on April 11 at Minnesota for arguing after benches were warned, July 28 vs. Houston for arguing a checked swing call and Aug. 7 at New York-AL for defending Jarred Kelenic after his ejection…2 players were ejected in 2021: LHP Hector Santiago on June 26 at Chicago-AL for having a “sticky” substance inside his glove and OF Jarred Kelenic on Aug. 7 at New York-AL for arguing a called third strike call.
INJURED LIST…26 players were on the Injured List for the Mariners for parts of 2021, missing a combined 1,701 games…9 players were on the 60-day Injured List at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
