After years of futility, the 1989 Mariners showed signs of developing a good young team. Playing in the Kingdome, the American League's first domed stadium, the Mariners were born of controversy. When Seattle's original franchise, the Pilots, moved in 1970 to Milwaukee and became the Brewers, the city of Seattle threatened the American League with litigation and was awarded an expansion franchise in 1977. Owned by a group that included entertainer Danny Kaye, the Mariners made Kansas City outfielder Ruppert Jones their first pick in the league expansion draft and played their first game under manager Darrell Johnson on April 6, 1977, losing 7-0 to the California Angels.

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For several years, the Mariners seemed to develop faster than the American League's other 1977 expansion team, the Blue Jays. However, the fortunes of the two franchises soon reversed. The Mariners' nosedive began on January 14, 1981, when California tycoon George Argyros purchased the franchise from the original owners. Argyros was quick to hire and fire managers and general managers and insisted that the Mariners pay their players the lowest average salaries in the major leagues. Demoralized and disgruntled players demanded trades, and Argyros, with an eye focused more on maintaining a low payroll than assessing playing talent, accommodated them in a series of disastrous transactions. Through the end of the 1980s, the Mariners failed to have a single winning season.

Of note in Mariner history are the following: Willie Horton's 300th home run (June 9, 1979); Gaylord Perry's 300th win (May 6, 1982); the delightful 1982 season (managed by Rene Lachemann and starring relief ace Bill Caudill); Alvin Davis's 1984 season, in which he set a club record with 116 RBI en route to winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award; AL strikeout crowns by Floyd Bannister (in 1982) and Mark Langston (in 1984, 1986, and 1987); and Harold Reynolds's franchise-record 60 stolen bases, which led the AL in 1987. Of dubious distinction is the Mariners' identity as victims of Roger Clemens's ML-record 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game on April 29, 1986. (TF)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » April 6, 1977: The Seattle Mariners make their debut, losing to Frank Tanana and the Angels 7–0. In relief for the M's is Diego Segui, who pitched in the Seattle Pilots Opener in 1969. » August 4, 1980: The Seattle Mariners fire manager Darrell Johnson and replace him with Maury Wills, who becomes the 3rd black manager in ML history. Seattle had lost nine games in a row and 20 of 24 since the All-Star break. » June 8, 1981: The Seattle Mariners take Oral Roberts University righthander Mike Moore with the first pick overall in the annual amateur draft. The Cubs take Wichita State's Joe Carter with the 2nd pick while the Angels take Dick Schofield, son of a former major leaguer, with the 3rd pick. The Mets take Terry Blocker with the 4th and Toronto takes Matt Williams with the #5. San Diego selects Kevin McReynolds with #6 and use their 3rd round pick to take San Diego State outfielder Tony Gwynn. Later in the day the San Diego Clippers will select Gwynn in the 10th round of the NBA draft. The Yankees use their first round pick to take Stanford QB John Elway while the Ranger pick Yale's Ron Darling with #9. Darling is the 4th Ivy Leaguer to be picked in the 1st round. The Braves fare worst in the draft as their #1 pick Jay Roberts will never hit above .208 in the minors, and no other picks make it to the bigs. » March 5, 1982: Needing just three wins to reach 300 for his career, Gaylord Perry signs a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners. » April 6, 1992: The Seattle Mariners lose to the Texas Rangers, 12–10, on Opening Day, allowing Texas to score nine runs with two outs in the 8th inning. The game draws 55,918 to the Kingdome. » June 11, 1992: Baseball owners vote 25–1 to allow the purchase of the Seattle Mariners by a group headed by Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi of Japan. It signals the first non-North American ownership of a major league team. » November 9, 1992: Lou Piniella is named manager of the Seattle Mariners. » October 23, 1995: Plans are approved for a new $320 million stadium for the Seattle Mariners. » July 6, 1996: The Seattle Mariners ride three solo home runs by Edgar Martinez to a 9-5 win over the Texas Rangers. » August 4, 1997: At Anaheim, Jose Valentin, Dave Nilsson, and Jeremy Burnitz homer in the 4th inning, all off Ken Hill, as Milwaukee beats Anaheim, 5–2, for its 10th victory in 12 games. The loss drops Anaheim into a tie for first place in the AL West with the idle Seattle Mariners. » May 21, 2000: The Giants score 11 runs in the 6th inning on their way to a 16-10 win over the Brewers. OF Terrell Lowery collects five hits for SF, including three doubles. Starter Russ Ortiz is the winner, allowing 10 earned runs, the most earned runs in a win since Bob Friend, in 1954. The last pitcher to notch a win and give up 10 runs—9 earned—was Vida Blue against the Padres on April 19, 1979. The Giants are the second team to score 11 runs in an inning this year. Earlier this season, the White Sox dropped 11 runs against the Seattle Mariners in one inning. » November 20, 2001: Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners is named the AL Most Valuable Player. He becomes the second player in history to win both the Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season. » June 14, 2002: In San Diego, the Seattle Mariners release veteran outfielder Eugene Kingsale, and the Padres immediately grab him. No one informs the Mariner players or coaches that Kingsale had changed teams. After the Mariners take the field for warm–ups, several players run back to the clubhouse to tell the coaching staff that Kingsale had jumped ship and is wearing a Padres uniform. Mariner manager Lou Piniella is as surprised as the rest. Kingsale flies out as a pinch hitter in the 5th for Brett Tomko as the Mariners win, 6–3.