Seattle Sports 101: '95 Seattle Mariners

Introducing, Seattle Sports 101!

Are you completely new to the Seattle Sports scene? Have you recently moved to the great Northwest? Are you a casual sports fan that would like to delve a little deeper into the history of Seattle Sports? Are you a serious fan that wants to stay sharp on your Seattle Sports players, teams, and events? 

Then, Seattle Sports 101 is for you. Seattle Sports 101 will be an ongoing series serving as a quick guide to Seattle's rich history of athletes, teams, and sporting events. Seattle Sports 101 articles will be posted randomly and will eventually have its own spot on our sidebar, with a drop-down box of links to our different articles.

The other day I popped in one of my favorite videos of all time, "My Oh My". Recently, the Mariners have been pretty depressing and every once in awhile I need to remind myself that at one time, the M's were really good. The mid '90s were the golden years of baseball in Seattle.

We had this guy called Ken Griffey Jr. No doubt, Kenny was the best player of the league at the time and of the decade as well. You're a pretty good player when you're drawing comparisons to Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

There was also this guy on the '95 team named Randy Johnson. He was the most dominant pitcher in baseball. With his bad-ass mustache and his trend setting mullet, he mowed down hitter after hitter, guaranteeing to give the Seattle' bats a chance to win the game.

I could go on and on about all the talent we had on that team; Edgar, Tino, Cora, Buhner, etc. With the best player in baseball (Griffey) and the best pitcher (Johnson), expectations were high for this team.

However, 27 games into the season, on May 26, Ken Griffey Jr. was injured, making a highlight catch, breaking two bones in his left wrist. It wouldn't be until Aug. 15 that Griffey would return to a team clinging to a 51-50 record, 12.5 games back of the California Angels (Yes, none of this Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim crap).

Over the next 33 games, the Seattle Mariners slowly chipped away at the Angels' lead. And on Sept. 6, the Mariners had 73-63 record, seizing the lead over the California Angels.

They stayed on top of the division for 10 days, and on Sept. 30 the California Angels were able to tie the Mariners for the division lead. This means that the two teams would have to play an extra playoff game in Seattle to decide who will play in the playoffs.

The Mariners ended up winning the game and the AL West title, the first ever in franchise history. They would move on to play the mighty Yankees in a best of five divisional series.

This division pitted the Yankees, who haven't made the playoffs since 1981 and the Mariners who had never made the playoffs. Many baseball fans consider the '95 ALDS, the best of all time. Coming from two games down, the Mariners tied the series at 2-2, forcing a decisive game five to be played in the Kingdom.

At this time, Mariner fever swept the city and the region; the slogan, "Refuse to Lose" became the defining line of this '95 team. Over the season, the team would come from behind in many games, and they ended up coming from 13.5 games down to securing a spot in the playoffs.

Game five would produce one of the most memorable games in any Mariners' fans' heart...

The game was tied, 4-4, forced to extra innings. On the top of the 11th, the Yankees drew first blood in overtime by a single by Randy Velarde driving in pinch runner Pat Kelly to seize a 5-4 lead.

But the Mariners Refused to Lose. Little Joey Cora started things off by drag bunting and safely reaching first base, then Griffey singled and Cora advanced to third base.

With no outs, runners on first and third, Edgar Martinez stepped to the plate. Jack McDowell winded up, and Edgar hit a double into left field, scoring Cora to tie the game.

And then Griffey was waved in, all the way from first, the throw was late, and Griffey slid into home late safely. Cementing an ALCS BERTH!

In one of the most celebrated images in Mariners history, Griffey was mauled by his teammates at home plate as they were one series away from the world championship! The words of Dave Niehaus echoed, "MY OH MY"!!!

The Mariners would go on to lose in six games to the Cleveland Indians dropping the last game on their home turf, the Kingdom. Although the magical ride ended, the fans in Seattle finally knew what it was like to have a successful baseball team, and the Mariners were no longer a crappy expansion team but a a permanent part of Seattle culture.

That double by Edgar in game five of the ALDS is known for how it sent the M's into the ALCS, but it could also have been the hit that built Safeco Field.

The buzz created by this team have left the Seattle Mariner fan base wanting more success, the same magic found in the '95 season would only return six years later in the '01 season..but that's another story.

A quick note, sitting on the bench and playing forty games was a scrawny talented prospect that went by the name of Alex Rodriguez. After the '95 season, A-Rod played his first full season as a Mariner and never looked back.

Note: The next Seattle Sports 101 post will include all the stuff I failed to include this "short" story, with some random players and other facts you probably have long forgotten...