1995_Seattle_Mariners_season
1995 Seattle Mariners season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1995 Seattle Mariners season was the 19th in the history of the franchise. The team finished with a regular season record of 79–66 (.545) to win their first American League West title, after having been down by as many as 13 games in early August. They had tied the California Angels for first place, and in the one-game tiebreaker, the Mariners defeated the Angels 9–1 to make the postseason for the first time in franchise history.[1][2]
Quick Facts Seattle Mariners, League ...
| 1995 Seattle Mariners | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League West Champions | ||||
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Kingdome | |||
| City | Seattle, Washington | |||
| Record | 79–66 (.545) | |||
| Divisional place | 1st | |||
| Owners | Nintendo of America (represented by John Ellis) | |||
| General managers | Woody Woodward | |||
| Managers | Lou Piniella | |||
| Television | KIRO-TV 7 Prime Sports NW | |||
| Radio | KIRO 710 AM (Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs, Chip Caray, Ron Fairly) | |||
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In the postseason, the Mariners defeated the New York Yankees in the best-of-five American League Division Series after losing the first two games in New York, a series notable for Edgar Martínez' walk-off 11th-inning double in the fifth game. In the League Championship Series with the favored Cleveland Indians, Seattle won the opener at home and the third game on the road,[3] but fell in six games.[4]
- October 14, 1994: Alex Diaz was selected off waivers by the Mariners from the Milwaukee Brewers.[5]
- November 29, 1994: Félix Fermín was signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[6]
- December 21, 1994: Jay Buhner was signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[7]
- December 21, 1994: Eric Anthony was released by the Mariners.[8]
- Ken Griffey Jr. suffered a severe left wrist injury on May 26 while making a catch at the wall that sidelined him until mid-August.[9][10][11] The Mariners stayed afloat at around .500, and their historic late season comeback tied the California Angels.[12]
- The Mariners honored the West Coast Negro Baseball League Seattle Steelheads when they wore 1946 Steelheads uniforms on September 9, 1995, at home against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals wore Kansas City Monarchs uniforms.[13] The Mariners beat the Royals 6 to 2 in front of 39,157 fans at the Kingdome.[14]
- Randy Johnson won the Cy Young Award. The award came at the end of a banner year. Johnson (18-2, 2.48 ERA, 294 strikeouts) narrowly missed becoming the first AL Triple Crown pitcher (leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts) since Detroit's Hal Newhouser accomplished the feat in 1945.[15] His .900 winning percentage broke Ron Guidry's 1978 record, and his strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 12.35 broke the record held by Nolan Ryan.[15]
Opening Day lineup
Roster
| 1995 Seattle Mariners | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Notable transactions
- May 15: Roger Salkeld was traded by the Mariners to the Cincinnati Reds for Tim Belcher.[16]
- July 14: Norm Charlton was signed by the Mariners after being released by the Cincinnati Reds [17]
- July 31: Ron Villone and Marc Newfield were traded by the Mariners to the San Diego Padres for Andy Benes and a player to be named later. The Padres sent Greg Keagle to the Mariners on September 17.[18]
- August 15: The Mariners traded a player to be named later to the Kansas City Royals for Vince Coleman.[19] The Mariners sent Jim Converse to the Royals on August 18.[20]
Draft picks
- June 1: 1995 Major League Baseball draft
- Shane Monahan was drafted by the Mariners in the second round, and signed on June 27, 1995.[21]
- Juan Pierre was drafted by the Mariners in the thirtieth round, but did not sign.[22]
Pennant chase
On the morning of August 21, the Mariners (53–53 (.500)) were 12½ games behind the Angels (66–41 (.617)).[23] Two weeks later, the lead was down to 5½ games, as the Angels went 1–12 while the Mariners were 8–5. After another two weeks, the lead was down to three games, and the teams were even at 72–63 (.533) on the morning of September 21. Seattle led by as many as three games. On September 30 with 2 games left of season, the Mariners only needed one more win to clinch their first playoff spot in franchise history, but couldn't hold it, as they lost their final two games at Texas; the Angels won their final five games to tie the Mariners at 78–66 (.542), requiring a one-game playoff for the division title.[24] Also on a five-game winning streak, the Yankees secured the new wild card berth at 79–65 (.549).[25]
More information W, L ...
| AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | 79 | 66 | 0.545 | — | 46–27 | 33–39 |
| California Angels | 78 | 67 | 0.538 | 1 | 39–33 | 39–34 |
| Texas Rangers | 74 | 70 | 0.514 | 4½ | 41–31 | 33–39 |
| Oakland Athletics | 67 | 77 | 0.465 | 11½ | 38–34 | 29–43 |
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Note: Teams played 144 games instead of the normal 162 as a consequence of the 1994 strike.
Seattle and California each played 145 games due to the one-game tiebreaker.
Record vs. opponents
More information Team, BAL ...
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| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 9–4 | 6–1 | 2–10 | 8–5 | 4–5 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–1 | 7–6 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 11–3 | 5–3 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 3–2 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 3–4 | 8–5 |
| California | 4–9 | 3–11 | — | 10–2 | 3–2 | 6–2 | 5–7 | 5–2 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 8–2 |
| Chicago | 1–6 | 3–5 | 2–10 | — | 5–8 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 10–3 | 3–2–1 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–5 |
| Cleveland | 10–2 | 7–6 | 2–3 | 8–5 | — | 10–3 | 11–1 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–0 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 10–3 |
| Detroit | 5–8 | 5–8 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 3–10 | — | 3–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 2–3 | 5–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 |
| Kansas City | 5–4 | 2–3 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 1–11 | 4–3 | — | 10–2 | 6–7 | 3–7 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–6 | 7–5 |
| Milwaukee | 5–7 | 4–8 | 2–5 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 2–10 | — | 9–4 | 5–6 | 7–2 | 3–2 | 5–7 | 7–5 |
| Minnesota | 6–3 | 4–5 | 5–8 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 4–9 | — | 3–4 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 1–4 |
| New York | 7–6 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–3–1 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–3 | 6–5 | 4–3 | — | 4–9 | 4–9 | 6–3 | 12–1 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 0–7 | 3–2 | 8–5 | 2–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | — | 7–6 | 5–8 | 3–7 |
| Seattle | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 9–4 | 4–5 | 5–5 | 5–7 | 2–3 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–7 | — | 10–3 | 3–4 |
| Texas | 1–4 | 4–3 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 8–4 | 6–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 3–6 | 8–5 | 3–10 | — | 9–3 |
| Toronto | 6–7 | 5–8 | 2–8 | 5–6 | 3–10 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–1 | 1–12 | 7–3 | 4–3 | 3–9 | — |
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Regular season
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| 1995 game log: 79–66 (Home: 46–27; Away: 33–39) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 3–1 (Home: 3–1; Away: 0–0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
May: 16–12 (Home: 9–3; Away: 7–9)
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June: 11–17 (Home: 5–9; Away: 6–8)
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July: 13–14 (Home: 8–7; Away: 5–7)
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August: 16–13 (Home: 8–5; Away: 8–8)
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September: 19–8 (Home: 12–2; Away: 7–6)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Mariners team member | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Postseason
More information #, Date ...
| 1995 Postseason Game Log (5–6) (Home: 4–2; Away: 1–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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American League Division Series: 3–2 (Home: 3–0; Away 0–2)
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American League Championship Series: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Away 1–2)
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| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
More information Pos, Player ...
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dan Wilson | 119 | 399 | 111 | .278 | 9 | 51 |
| 1B | Tino Martinez | 141 | 519 | 152 | .293 | 31 | 111 |
| 2B | Joey Cora | 120 | 427 | 127 | .297 | 3 | 39 |
| 3B | Mike Blowers | 134 | 439 | 113 | .257 | 23 | 96 |
| SS | Luis Sojo | 102 | 339 | 98 | .289 | 7 | 39 |
| LF | Vince Coleman | 40 | 162 | 47 | .290 | 1 | 9 |
| CF | Ken Griffey Jr. | 72 | 260 | 67 | .258 | 17 | 42 |
| RF | Jay Buhner | 126 | 470 | 123 | .262 | 40 | 121 |
| DH | Edgar Martínez | 145 | 511 | 182 | .356 | 29 | 113 |
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Other batters
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
More information Pos, Player ...
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | Alex Diaz | 103 | 270 | 67 | .248 | 3 | 27 |
| OF | Rich Amaral | 90 | 230 | 67 | .282 | 2 | 19 |
| SS | Félix Fermín | 73 | 200 | 39 | .195 | 0 | 15 |
| 3B/PH | Doug Strange | 74 | 155 | 42 | .271 | 2 | 21 |
| OF | Darren Bragg | 52 | 145 | 34 | .234 | 3 | 12 |
| SS | Alex Rodriguez | 48 | 142 | 33 | .232 | 5 | 19 |
| LF | Marc Newfield | 24 | 85 | 16 | .188 | 3 | 14 |
| C | Chad Kreuter | 26 | 75 | 17 | .227 | 1 | 8 |
| LF | Warren Newson | 33 | 72 | 21 | .292 | 2 | 6 |
| UT | Chris Widger | 23 | 45 | 9 | .200 | 1 | 2 |
| OF | Gary Thurman | 13 | 25 | 8 | .320 | 0 | 3 |
| 1B | Greg Pirkl | 10 | 17 | 4 | .235 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | Arquimedez Pozo | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
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Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, GS ...
| Player | GS | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randy Johnson | 30 | 214.1 | 18 | 2 | 2.48 | 294 |
| Tim Belcher | 28 | 179.1 | 10 | 12 | 4.52 | 96 |
| Chris Bosio | 31 | 170.0 | 10 | 8 | 4.92 | 85 |
| Salomón Torres | 13 | 72.0 | 3 | 8 | 6.00 | 45 |
| Andy Benes | 12 | 63.0 | 7 | 2 | 4.52 | 45 |
| Bob Wolcott | 7 | 36.2 | 3 | 2 | 4.42 | 19 |
| Tim Davis | 5 | 24.0 | 2 | 1 | 6.38 | 19 |
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Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Wells | 30 | 76.2 | 4 | 3 | 5.75 | 38 |
| Dave Fleming | 16 | 48.0 | 1 | 5 | 7.50 | 26 |
| Rafael Carmona | 15 | 47.2 | 2 | 4 | 5.66 | 28 |
| Bill Krueger | 6 | 20.0 | 2 | 1 | 5.85 | 10 |
| Jim Converse | 6 | 11.0 | 0 | 3 | 7.36 | 9 |
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Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Ayala | 63 | 71.0 | 6 | 5 | 4.44 | 77 | 19 |
| Jeff Nelson | 62 | 78.2 | 7 | 3 | 2.17 | 96 | 2 |
| Bill Risley | 45 | 60.1 | 2 | 1 | 3.13 | 65 | 1 |
| Norm Charlton | 30 | 47.2 | 2 | 1 | 1.51 | 58 | 14 |
| Lee Guetterman | 23 | 17.0 | 0 | 0 | 6.88 | 11 | 1 |
| Ron Villone | 19 | 19.1 | 0 | 2 | 7.91 | 26 | 0 |
| Steve Frey | 13 | 11.1 | 0 | 3 | 4.76 | 7 | 0 |
| John Cummings | 4 | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 11.81 | 4 | 0 |
| Scott Davison | 3 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 3 | 0 |
| Jim Mecir | 2 | 4.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 |
| Kevin King | 2 | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 12.27 | 3 | 0 |
| Tim Harikkala | 1 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 1 | 0 |
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Main article: 1995 American League Division Series
Main article: 1995 American League Championship Series
- Randy Johnson, American League Cy Young Award winner, American League leader, strikeouts
- Edgar Martínez, American League Leader, batting average
- Lou Piniella, Associated Press American League Manager of the Year
The Mariners' ALDS run is the subject of the song, My Oh My, by Seattle-based rapper, Macklemore.[26]
Chicago-based band Coping has a song titled "'95 Mariners."
In July 2019, the MLB Network released MLB Network Presents: The 1995 Mariners, Saving Baseball in Seattle.[27]
See also: Minor League Baseball
More information Level, Team ...
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- Source[28]
- LaRue, Larry (October 3, 1995). "My, oh my, Mariners win!". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (Tacoma News Tribune). p. 1B.
- "Mariners Postseason Results". MLB.com. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
- LaRue, Larry (October 14, 1995). "Bad to the Bone". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). McClatchy News Service. p. 1B.
- LaRue, Larry (October 18, 1995). "Shipwrecked: Mariners lose 4-0". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). McClatchy News Service. p. 1B.
- Félix Fermín at Baseball-Reference
- Jay Buhner at Baseball-Reference
- Eric Anthony at Baseball-Reference
- "M's win 8-3, but lose Griffey". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. May 27, 1995. p. 3B.
- Street, Jim (August 15, 1995). "Griffey expected in lineup". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Seattle Post Intelligencer). p. C1.
- "Junior to rejoin M's". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). wire services. August 15, 1995. p. 1B.
- "The Ballplayers – Ken Griffey, Jr | baseballbiography.com". Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- Anderson, Lenny (April 14, 1995). "Negro League Seattle Steelheads Gone, But Not Forgotten". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- "The Ballplayers – Randy Johnson | baseballbiography.com". Retrieved August 12, 2008.
- Tim Belcher at Baseball-Reference
- Norm Charlton at Baseball-Reference
- Marc Newfield at Baseball-Reference
- "M's acquire Coleman, send Rodriguez back to Tacoma". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 16, 1995. p. 3B.
- Vince Coleman at Baseball-Reference
- Shane Monahan at Baseball-Reference
- Juan Pierre at Baseball-Reference
- "Standings". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 21, 1995. p. 3B.
- "M's, Angels go for broke". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 2, 1995. p. 1B.
- "Standings". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 2, 1995. p. 3B.
- "Thinking about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' rap tribute to Dave Niehaus". The Seattle Times. January 4, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- "MLB Network to air documentary about 1995 Mariners, the team that 'saved' baseball in Seattle". CBSSports.com. July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007