In honor of Marvel’s release of their “Avenge the Fallen” promotional posters for the upcoming Avengers: Endgame film, we plan to look at former Mariners who should be applauded for their efforts during the team’s 17-season playoff drought.
(Yes, this is a real article.)
No one knows when the Mariners will return to the playoffs. It likely won’t be in 2019. Whichever Mariners squad does end the playoff drought, however, will be viewed as heroes. Avengers, if you will.
From 2002 to present day, the city of Seattle has hosted some bad baseball teams. But that should not diminish the value some players have brought to the Mariners organization during that time.
Ichiro Suzuki and Félix Hernández are the two most obvious names who produced at a high level, in spite of the team’s yearly struggles. Fans have long been outspoken about the lack of support both players received in their tenures with the Mariners organization.
These complaints are well-documented; therefore, rather than continuing to hammer these points home, we are instead aiming to create a series that will honor several Mariners whose contributions to the organization should not go unnoticed. We did something similar last year with our 10 Most Underrated M’s Since 2001 series, but we want to flesh out that idea a bit more.
To qualify, these players must have joined—and, of course, played for—the Mariners after the 2001, 116-win season. That means players like Ichiro, Jamie Moyer, Mike Cameron, Bret Boone, and others who played past that historical season are exempt from this list.
This series is for the Randy Winns, Russell Branyans, and Robinson Canós of the world. Those who performed at an exceptional level, and/or resonated with fans on a more personal level, but failed to reach October in the navy and teal.
In this series, we will be doing individual profiles on these players and honor their achievements as Seattle Mariners. But we need your help! Let us know in the comments or on social media some of your favorite M’s during the current playoff drought and we will write about them.
As the 2019 campaign rolls along, we’ll keep this series going strong. But it doesn’t end with just former M’s. We will also be looking at current and future Mariners who we believe will assist in the drought’s eventual demise.
So stay tuned to the site and give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook as we open this discussion with you guys! If you want to take part in the conversation in an even bigger way and have your voice heard, we are also currently taking applications for new writers. Apply here!