Stories About the Mariners

In the 1st round with the 14th pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, the Mariners select a right-handed pitcher named Logan Gilbert out of Stetson University. This was a smart pick as the Mariners always need good pitchers to keep their opponents at bay. This season, he was named Pitcher of the Year for the Atlantic Sun Conference or ASUN. He finished with an 11-2 record with 112 1/3 innings, 163 strikeouts and 25 walks in 16 starts. He definitely was their workhorse for the season and he lead all NCAA Division 1 pitchers in strikeouts.

In the following rounds, the M’s picked up several catchers, pitchers, and a few infielders in the first fifteen rounds. After these picks, they selected a large number of infielders and pitchers at a total of nine and thirteen respectively.

Only time will tell if these picks can help the Mariners build a better farm system, but for now they look like good pickups.

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

Surprising news was confirmed by Major League Baseball today stating that Robinson Cano has violated a PED (Performing Enhancing Drug) rule and will receive an 80-game suspension. He tested positive to a banned substance called furosemide. This drug is a common diuretic which is used to cover up and mask banned substances.

Cano was already going to miss playing time due to a fractured wrist after a Sunday night game in Detroit. He was going to receive surgery and miss a few weeks for recovery, but he will now be absented until mid- August and cannot participate in postseason play.

This is the statement he released on Twitter today:

"Furosemide is used to treat various medical conditions in the United States and the Dominican Republic. This substance was given to me by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical ailment. While I did not realize at the time that I was given a medication that was banned, I obviously now wish that I had been more careful.

For more than 15 years, playing professional baseball has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. I would never do anything to cheat the rules of the game that I love, and after undergoing dozens of drug tests over more than a decade, I have never tested positive for a Performance Enhancing Substance for the simple reason that I have never taken one. Today I decided to accept MLB’s suspension.

This was the most difficult decision I have ever made in my life, but ultimately the right decision given that I do not dispute that I was given this substance. I apologize to my family, friends, fans, teammates and the Mariners organization. I am extremely grateful for the support I have received during this process, and I look forward to rejoining my teammates later this season." –Robinson Cano

Prior to being suspended, he was hitting a solid .287 batting average, .385 on-base percentage, and a .441 slugging percentage. This included 41 hits, 10 doubles, 4 homeruns, and 23 runs batted in.

The future is uncertain for Cano as Dee Gordon will move back to second base and whether or not he will stay in Seattle.

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

Today, James Paxton made history by throwing the sixth no hitter in Mariners’ history and his first career no hitter in a 5-0 win over the Blue Jays. Early on in the game, he struggled with his pitch command and ended up walking three batters. Luckily, the defense kept the runners from coming around and scoring. As the game went on, he grew stronger as he was beginning to hit high 90 miles per hour in the late innings including three pitches above 97 miles per hour to Josh Donaldson. He only threw 99 pitches in this gem including seven strikeouts. What’s funny is that he also completed two other personal milestones tonight by getting his first complete game and shutout.

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

The Seattle Mariners officially moved Ichiro to the Front Office on May 3rd, 2018. When Ben Gamel went down with a 6-7 week injury in early Spring, Ichiro became a prime candidate to fill his role on the roster.

In the 2018 campaign, he hit a .205 batting average, a .255 on-base-percentage, and a .205 slugging percentage. One of his highlights from the season was robbing a homerun against the Cleveland Indians in the second game of the season. This play was vintage Ichiro making plays that are difficult for others but a breeze for him. In his new role with the team, he is expected to assist the team in outfield coaching and probably public relations. The team has said that there is a chance that he could come back as a player in the 2019 season. Only time will tell if this is true but I sure hope it is!

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

During the month of April, the Mariners went 15-10 with a lot of exciting moments. During this month, they took 6 series wins over some very good competition. As a Mariners fan, we know that they lose more games than they win. This change is a delight and I hope that it continues into May. During this month, Mitch Haniger was quietly sneaking up on Mike Trout and Didi Gregorius, who lead the homerun leaderboards with 9 homeruns. If he can stay hot coming into May, he’ll be a huge weapon for the Mariners to use every day.

Dan Vogelbach had an exciting month while he was with the ball club, including a monster blast over the “Hit it Here” sign in right field against the Oakland Athletics. The homerun was calculated out to a distance of 433 feet, one that could be called a “moonshot.” On April 7th, Kyle Seager hit his 1000th career hit with a line drive single into right field. Seager said after the game: "That's pretty special…I knew at the end of last year that I'd gotten close. I didn't realize that was No. 1,000, so that's something I'm pretty proud of" (Mariners Website, 2018).

Nelson Cruz, Ben Gamel, and Mike Zunino had a short trip on the DL for a few days to weeks while they rested from minor injuries. Cruz hurt himself after going down the steps in the dugout during a game. On April 20th, the M’s re-activated Zunino from the DL and brought him back up the 25 man roster.

A surprising move made by the front office in mid-April was to option Ariel Miranda to Triple A as they had to make room for Ben Gamel’s return. Gamel’s return does threaten Ichiro’s starting spot in the roster and he’ll have to keep preforming well to stay the starter.

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

Earlier today, the Seattle Mariners have announced that Felix Hernandez will be on the bump for Opening Day 2018 against the Cleveland Indians. This will be his 11th Opening Day start for the Mariners. He is looking to bounce back from last year’s performance where he totaled a 4.36 ERA over 86 2/3 innings. However, he did struggle with a shoulder inflammation and bicep’s tendinitis. It will be an exciting moment to watch him pitch on Thursday night!

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

Now that the offseason is over, we are finally getting closer to Opening Day 2018. The big news this past offseason was the signing of Dee Gordon from the Miami Marlins for two minor league pitchers: Robert Dugger and Nick Neidert, minor league shortstop Christopher Torres. Nick Neidert and Chris Torres were the 2nd and 7th top prospects for the team, respectively. With this trade, the Mariners also received $1 million in international pool funds to try and draw Shohei Ohtani to the team (who signed with the Los Angeles Angels).

Jean Segura signed a 5 year, $70 million-dollar contract extension with the team. He came off of a season where he batted .300 and excelled at the shortstop position.

Earlier in February, the team signed Ryon Healy who was a first baseman for the Oakland A’s. Last season he hit 25 homeruns, had an average of .271, an on-base % of .337, and a slugging % of .524.

In other news, Edgar Martinez just missed a date with the Hall of Fame when he received 70.4% of the votes. He needed 20 more votes to make it into the hall. 2018 was his 9th attempt the get in, leaving him with one more attempt. If he does not get in next year, he will not get another chance to enter the MLB Hall of Fame.

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

It seems like a dream to have Ichiro back in the Seattle Mariners organization. He has been absent for 6 years after being traded to the New York Yankees while they were playing a road series in Seattle in 2012. Since then, he played with the Yankees for 3 years, then he was traded to the Miami Marlines for 2 years. Now, he is back in Seattle after signing a 1 year deal worth $750,000 that could increase to $2,000,000 due to playing incentives.

After his first Spring Training game in a Mariners uniform, he said “it was a special moment for me to wear the Mariners uniform again and be out on the field…It was very special for me today." In his first game back, he went 0-3 however he said he was happy with the at-bats.

Ichiro has said that he would like to play in the MLB until he turns 50 and we can see him playing until then. He spent 9 years in the Japanese baseball league where we tailed 1,278 hits. He joined the MLB at the age of 27 and has been a superstar since. He currently has 3,080 hits and a career batting average of .312 in the MLB. He is the current Mariners all-time leader in batting average at .322 and hits with 2,533.

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

Today, February 23, 2018, the Mariners begin their Spring Training 2018 schedule. The Mariners begin with a charity game against the San Diego Padres at 12:10 PM today. The proceeds will go to local charities in the Peoria, Arizona area. The M’s will play 9-night home games out of 16 home games. This is the most night home games they have ever played in Spring Training. The Mariners will play three games apiece against their AL West foes: Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, and the Oakland Athletics. The missing Houston Astros will not participate because they train in Florida. The last ST game the M’s will play will be on Tuesday, March 27th against the Colorado Rockies. Then, they will prepare for Opening Day 2018 against the Cleveland Indians on March 29th.

By Alex and The My Oh My Blog Staff.

The new signee Ryon Healy has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks after undergoing a hand surgery to remove a bone spur in his right hand. For those that don’t know Healy was signed this offseason and is expected to be our starter. Last season for the Oakland Athletics Healy hit .271 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs. The Mariners have two other first baseman with them down in Peoria this year and that consists of Daniel Vogelbach and draft selection Mike Ford.

By Daniel and The My Oh My Blog Staff.