Seattle Mariners - The Beginning Years (1977-1989)

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1980

1977

1981

Decade

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103

Titles:

Top Mariners Players of the Seventies / Eighties

None

Pitchers:

Ballpark:

Mark Langston (19.35) - 50

Kingdome

Mike Moore (17.92) - 39

Floyd Bannister (13.24) - 31

Team Name:

Jim Beattie (14.11) - 25

Mariners

Glenn Abbott (5.48) - 24

Matt Young (6.59) - 21

Owner:

Bill Caudill (4.7) - 17

Consortium of six including Danny Kaye (1977-1981)

Scott Bankhead (8.88) - 16

George Argyros (1981-1989)

Rick Honeycutt (5.44) - 15

Consortium led by Jeff Smulyan (1989)

Shane Rawley (4.8) - 15

Enrique Romo (4.67) - 15

General Managers:

Mike Morgan (5.1) - 14

Lou Gorman (1977-1980)

Ed Van de Berg (5.58) - 10

Dan O'Brien (1981-1983)

Gaylord Perry (2.97) - 8

Hal Keller (1984-1985)

Bryan Clark (4.77) - 6

Dick Balderson (1986-1988)

Bob Stoddard (5.02) - 5

Woody Woodward (1989)

Jerry Reed (5.18) - 3

Managers:

Catchers:

Darrell Johnson (1977-1980)

Dave Valle (3.77) - 14

Maury Wills (1980-1981)

Bob Kearney (2.51) - 14

Rene Lachemann (1981-1983)

Del Crandall (1983-1984)

First Basemen:

Chuck Cottier (1984-1986)

Alvin Davis (19.07) - 44

Marty Martinez (1986)

Ken Phelps (9.63) - 17

Dick Williams (1986-1988)

Jim Snyder (1988)

Second Basemen:

Jim Lefebvre (1989)

Julio Cruz (12.79) - 35

Harold Reynolds (6.61) - 30

Hall of Famers:

Jack Perconte (5.43) - 11

Gaylord Perry

Ken Griffey Jr

ShortStop:

Spike Owen (3.28) - 18

Rookie of the Year:

Craig Reynolds (3.28) - 14

Alvin Davis (1984)

Todd Cruz (0.08) - 12

MVP

Third Base:

None

Jim Presley (3.31) - 18

Notable Events:

Outfield:

Dave Henderson (7.71) - 43

1976 - City of Seattle drops it's lawsuit vs. American League when awarded a new

Ruppert Jones (8.1) - 34

franchise for the 1977 season. The suit was filed when the Seattle Pilots owners sold

Phil Bradley (12.8) - 30

the club in 1970 to a Milwaukee based group after only one season in operation.

Bruce Bochte (10.11) - 28

The Milwaukee owners, led by future Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig,

Leon Roberts (9.61) - 25

promptly moved the franchise to Milwaukee, thus leaving Seattle fans high and dry.

Tom Paciorek (7.19) - 18

The American League should have never approved the original move as the courts

Al Cowens (2.09) - 17

had adjudicated. From a pure sportsman's point of view it was wrong to move a

Richie Zisk (3.71) - 12

team out of perfectly viable major league city.

Mickey Brantley (0.91) - 11

It is also disturbing that a future Commissioner of baseball could be a major

LeRoy Stanton (1.65) - 10

part of a transaction that treated fans of a city so callously.

Steve Henderson (1.62) - 9

Ken Griffey Jr (3.26) - 8

Notable Expansion draft selections:

Jay Buhner (4.27) - 4

□ OF Ruppert Jones, 21, is drafted from KC as first overall pick

□ OF Dan Meyer, 25, is drafted from Detroit as the 9th overall pick

Notable Events:

□ LHP Grant Jackson, 34, is drafted from New York as 11th overall pick

□ OF Dave Collins, 25, is drafted from Anaheim as 14th overall pick

1978 - LHP Shane Rawley, 22 obtained in trade from Reds for

□ RHP Glenn Abbott, 22, is drafted from A's as 24th overall pcik

Dave Collins

□ RHP Dave Pagan, 27, is drafted from Baltimore as 29th overall pick

□ 2B Julio Cruz, 22, is drafted from Anaheim as 52nd overall pick

1978 - OF Leon Roberts, 27, is obtained from Houston for Jimmy Sexton

1977-1989 - All of the losing during the first thirteen seasons gives the Mariners

1979 - LHP Floyd Bannister, 24, obtained from Houston in a trade for

a lot of high draft picks. In general, they could have done better, overall, with their

SS Craig Reynolds

picks as they were not able to fill the organization with enough talent to compete

during this period. It wasn't any one person as the Mariners went thru three

1980 - OF Juan Beniquez, 30 and RHP Jim Beattie, 25, are obtained

owners and five General Managers in those 13 years.

from the Yankees in a trade for Ruppert Jones

Notable Draft Selections during the first thirteen years of operation:

□ 1977 - OF Dave Henderson, 18, 26th overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1981 - √√

1981 - The big problem for the Mariners during the first thirteen years

□ 1978 - OF Tito Nanni, 6th overall selection in amateur draft- X

of operation is that, while the city and the fans wanted the team,

□ 1979 - OF Al Chambers, first overall selection in amateur draft - X

there was no one around Seattle who wanted to own a baseball

□ 1980 - SS Darnell Coles, 18, 6th overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1983 - √

team for the reason that you would think folks would want to own

□ 1980 - 2B Harold Reynolds, 19, 2nd overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1983 - √√

a baseball team - for the joy of trying to produce a winner or at least

□ 1981 - RHP Mike Moore, 21, first overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1982 - √√

a competitive club.

□ 1981 - LHP Mark Langston, 20, 2nd round of draft, debut in '84 - √√

□ 1982 - SS Spike Owen, 22, 6th overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1983 - √

1981 - George Argyros buys the Mariners and embarks on a nine year

□ 1982 - OF Phil Bradley, 22, 3rd round pick, debut In '83 - √

Reign of Error. He runs the Mariners on the cheap and blames his

□ 1982 - 3B Jim Presley, 17, 4th round pick, debut in '84 - √

managers and General Managers who he hires and fires as often

□ 1982 - 1B Alvin Davis, 22. 6th round draft pick, rookie of the year in 1984 - √√

as he changes his laundry. Because of his presence, the Mariners

□ 1983 - C Terry Bell, 17th overall selection in amateur draft- X

don't come close to having a winning season during the eighties.

□ 1984 - RHP Bill Swift, 22, 2nd overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1985 - √√

□ 1985 - RHP Mike Campbell, 7th overall selection in amateur draft - X

1987 - 3B Edgar Martinez, 24, is a rookie. He was an IFA in '82

□ 1986 - SS Patrick Lennon, 8th overall selection in amateur draft- X

□ 1987 - OF Ken Griffey Jr, 17, first overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1989 - √√√

1988 - OF Jay Buhner, 23, is stolen from the Yankees in a deal

□ 1988 - 1B Tino Martinez, 20, 14th overall selection in amateur draft, debut 1990 - √√

for 1B Ken Phelps

□ 1989 - RHP Roger Salkeld, 3rd overall selection in amateur draft - X

1989 - Mercifully, a group led by Jeff Smulyan rescues Seattle

1978 - SS Craig Reynolds, 26, is obtained from Pittsburgh for Grant Jackson

from Argyros.

1978 - LHP Rick Honeycutt, 24, obtained from Pittsburgh in a trade for Dave Pagan

1989 - Woody Woodward is named General Manager

1978 - 1B / OF Bruce Bochte, 27, is signed from Cleveland as a Free Agent

1989 - Randy Johnson is stolen from the Expos in a midseason deal

for Mark Langston who is a free agent at the end of the year