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Out of Left Field: How the Mariners Made Baseball Fly in Seattle Hardcover – September 24, 2003

by Art Thiel (Author)
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Presents a history of the Seattle Mariners, from their first season in 1977, through a decade of losing seasons, until their resurgance in the 1990s with star players and winning teams.
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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Sasquatch Books
  4. Publication date
    September 24, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 8.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1570613907
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1570613906
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sasquatch Books; F First Edition Used (September 24, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1570613907
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1570613906
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 8.75 inches

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Art Thiel

Art Thiel

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4.4 out of 5 stars
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Andrew S. Rogers
4.0 out of 5 stars Good history, good insider stuff, good book
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2003
In one of my favorite episodes from my favorite TV show, the late and much lamented "Mystery Science Theater 3000," a child in a short-subject film is trying to press through a crowd in order to see a baseball game. But, as the narrator observes, "he finds a five-year-old can't get close enough to see anything." To which Tom Servo cheerfully adds, "Besides, the Mariners are playing, so who cares?" That episode aired in the early '90s. How the Ms got from being the laughingstock of MLB to very near the top in just a few years, and got a new stadium in the bargain, is the focus of Art Thiel's very good book.
From its founding in 1977, the result of a legal settlement, until the mid-1990s, the Mariners were, as Thiel reminds us, a really, really bad team. Even with the glory years of the late '90s, the Ms still hold the mark for lowest total fan attendance in both the 1980s and the 1990s. Along the way, however, a change of ownership, a fiery new manager, and several key player acquisitions turned the Ms into a powerhouse.
The author does a fine job of taking us through those steps. As a result, this is much more than just a summary of several baseball seasons (though he does take us through the 1995 and 2001 seasons, in particular, in some detail). He also takes us behind the scenes, into the business side of the game where the key decisions are made, and also gets into some serious local politics surrounding the funding and construction of Safeco Field. Central episodes in this book include the arrival of the new ownership team, the hiring (and later release) of Lou Piniella, the drafting (and, again, subsequent loss) of Ken Griffey, Jr., and Alex Rodriguez, the Randy Johnson trade, and the arrival of Ichiro Suzuki. Personally, I found this last to be the most interesting part of the book, but maybe that's because I find Ichiro the most interesting player in baseball.
Throughout it all, the author's exclusive interviews with Jay Buhner and Lou himself provide spirited and insightful insider quotes. I should also commend the author's ability to make criticisms where they're required, calling out both poor baseball strategy and bad business decisions.
The casual Seattle baseball-watcher looking to relive some great seasons will find a lot here to enjoy. But the more serious fan, who really wants to go behind the scenes and see how the Ms became who and what they are today, will definitely want to add this to his shelf.
11 people found this helpful
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Joyce T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Gift for Seattle Mariner fan
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2022
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Recommended gift for a Mariners fan by an avid Mariner's fan
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Jack Fitzgerald
4.0 out of 5 stars History of how the Mariners came and stayed in Seattle
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2004
Art Thiel's "Out of Left Field" is a well-paced history of the Seattle Mariners, with as much information about the behind the scenes figures as those who played on the field.
Mr. Thiel's sports columns appear in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and I have to admit that I often find his brutally honest articles mean-spirited and overly sarcastic. He also seems to be fond of his own writing and clever turning of a phrase at the expense of his subject. It makes me wonder if he ever played sports, or even likes watching the games.
Had I not read several excerpts of the book that appeared in the P-I last year, I probably would not have wanted to read it. Those excerpts demonstrated that Thiel had more substance than his columns. In "Out of Left Field" he doesn't try too hard to impress us with his wit, and the book is all the better for it. We are able to enjoy the tale without author intrusion.
This book will primarily appear to those in the Seattle Mariners' Pacific Northwest region fan base. As a long-suffering fan who attended the M's first game in 1977, I was very familiar with the cast of characters. Thiel dug further, providing information about how the Seattle Pilots left town after only one season in 1969. He also detailed the role that Slade Gorton, a local attorney and later U.S. senator, played in not only getting an expansion team in the city in 1977, but also in building a new ownership team in 1992, and then helping to push through the program to build Safeco Field.
While much of what has transpired with the Mariners over the years is fairly well-known, we also get more background of how Hiroshi Yamauchi came to purchase the team, along with executives from Nintendo, Microsoft, McCaw Cellular, and a host of local politicians. The story is as much about Minoru Arakawa, John Ellis, Howard Lincoln, etc. as it is about Lou Piniella, Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson. The part about how the M's almost passed on Griffey as the number one pick is interesting. The behind the scenes look at the player personalities and egos at work also sets up how and why various players departed.
We get Seattle's wild ride in 1995 over the Yankees in the ALDS, and how they survived the departure of their marquee players and then Piniella after 2002. Jay Buhner, the M's long-time right fielder, provides a number of colorful quotes.
For any baseball fan, it's a good read that doesn't inundate the reader with too many statistics. It's about people, luck and fate. Thiel covers the who, what, where, when, how and why with little nonsense and a balanced style.
3 people found this helpful
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Mark Ducharme
5.0 out of 5 stars ... Mariners are an interesting franchise and Thiel does a good job looking back their history
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2014
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The Mariners are an interesting franchise and Thiel does a good job looking back their history.
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Todd Stanley
4.0 out of 5 stars A good history of a team without much.
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2007
The Seattle Mariners for a long time were the laughing stock of major league baseball like most expansion teams such as the Mets, Expos, and currently the Devilrays. This book tells of their turn around and how they went from joke to contender. This is the organization that scouted and developed Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr, and Alex Rodriguez. Although they are short on history, one game will forever live in my memory. This is when the Mariners had to play the New York Yankees in a playoff game, winner take all. The mighty Goliath Yankees against the David of a team Mariners. And who would be the hero of that game, the smallest of them all, Joey Cora. This is a good book to show how an expansion team has to build itself to catch up with the teams that have been in the league for a century.
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Raymondo
4.0 out of 5 stars Let's go Mariners!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2014
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This book arrived on time and in very good condition. I've been a Mariners UK fan since 1997and this book gives a great insight into what makes up the Mariners. Well researched and written. I've almost finished it. Recently visited Seattle and saw a couple of games, sad the M's missed out on the play offs, which would need more chapters in the book!
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Katsu
3.0 out of 5 stars マリナーズファンにはお勧め
Reviewed in Japan on March 28, 2004
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日本人でマリナーズのファンは佐々木やイチローが加入してから見始めた人が多いはず。佐々木が加入した2000年にプレイオフ進出、そしてイチローが加入した2001年には最多タイ記録の116勝を挙げて2年連続プレイオフ進出と、マリナーズは強いチームとの印象がある。しかし、球団創設の1977年から14年連続負け越しなど、実はマリナーズは「お荷物」球団であった。
本書は、いかにマリナーズが弱かったかの描写から始まる。Ken Griffy Jr.やRandy Johnson、Alex Rodriguezの加入、任天堂の山内社長らによる球団買収、Lou Piniella監督の就任などで着実にチーム力を増強していくストーリーは、佐々木以前のマリナーズを知るのにはうってつけ。特に1995年の13ゲーム差からの大逆転劇は、Sefeco Filed建築問題と絡み合って圧巻。
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