REDBIRD REVIEW
After spending more time thinking about the Cardinals-Mariners trade that transferred Brendan Donovan to the Pacific Northwest, I began wondering about Seattle’s upturn in recent seasons. And yes, there will be a St. Louis angle in this column.
After an extensive stretch of frustration and futility, how did this franchise move up to a higher tier of success? In the 19 seasons from 2002 through 2020, the Mariners failed to make the playoffs, had 12 losing records, and ranked 22nd among 30 teams in winning percentage.
The M’s had a couple of 90-win seasons and reached at least 85 victories in five other campaigns. But the Mariners did a lot of wandering and needed a compass … or perhaps a GPS.
Seattle’s baseball team has played 49 major-league seasons without winning the American League pennant. They’re the only AL team that has never won a pennant in their entire franchise history. That’s miserable. But the M’s knew they were getting closer.
“You’ve got to believe in yourself before anyone else will,” catcher Cal Raleigh said.
The Mariners have done well in recent seasons; in the American League only the Astros have won more regular-season games since the start of 2021. The seafarers made the playoffs twice and forced their way into the 2025 AL Championship Series before losing Game 7 to Toronto.
OK, so what has changed?