The final time the Seattle Mariners made the playoffs, Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style (Oops!)” was atop the Billboard charts, a non-superhero movie (“Don’t Say A Word”) was No. 1 on the field workplace, and M’s All-Star rookie Julio Rodriguez was not but a yr previous.
The Pac Northwest’s 21-year drought of postseason baseball is over after Cal Raleigh’s pinch-hit, walk-off residence run on a full depend with two outs within the backside of the ninth.
It was the Mariners’ 86th win of the season, which is a quantity they’ve reached six occasions throughout this hiatus. It at all times felt merciless that the longest common season of America’s 4 main professional sports activities additionally was the least rewarding. Even when MLB instituted a one-game playoff it was inordinately unfair to the crew that was a handful of video games forward of the final place wild card winner and needed to face a winner-take-all sport earlier than even getting acclimated.
When the format was expanded to 6 groups per league earlier than this season, the intention was to make the canine days extra related with further essential playoff races. While I perceive the thought course of, as soon as soccer begins the remainder of the sports activities calendar would possibly as effectively be steamed cauliflower on a plate subsequent to a well-cooked/seared NY strip.
Regardless of Rob Manfred’s galaxy-brained makes an attempt to fiddle with baseball till it’s fastened (or ruined), the perfect a part of the six-team format is it permits golf equipment repeatedly on the perimeter of rivalry to make the playoffs. Some dialed-in bats with a sizzling pitching workers can go on a run and steal a sequence or possibly even a hoop, particularly in baseball.
Should we anticipate that from this Mariners membership? Who is aware of, and, actually, I don’t suppose the individuals of Seattle give a shit. They’re simply elated to be off the checklist of U.S. professional sports activities groups with the longest playoff droughts. There are undoubtedly M’s followers who’ve skilled greater than their share of anguish who disagree with my subsequent assertion, however it’s by no means felt like Seattle was as hapless because the latest iterations of the Sacramento Kings, or these bleak L.A. Clippers groups of the Donald Sterling period. Even the pre-Josh Allen Buffalo Bills that spent a big portion of this century and not using a playoff sport emitted extra dysfunction than the Mariners.
Yes, the monetary state of affairs and the disadvantages of working like a “small market” crew contributed to the drought. Yet so did the truth that for a very long time it’s been actually onerous to qualify for MLB’s postseason. If this was final yr, the Mariners could be holding onto the one-game play-in bullshit by half a sport, and even when they acquired it, that’s hardly any option to bust a droop.
Seattle received’t need to play a juggernaut Houston squad or New York proper off the bat or threat going one and completed. They’re nonetheless jockeying for place among the many different wild card groups (Toronto and Tampa Bay), and can play a best-of-five sequence in opposition to an opponent that’s inside two or three video games of them within the standings. This season continues to be a methods from over, so congrats to the Mariners’ supporters who’ve waited a long time for this second.
A fan base nearly as good as Seattle’s shouldn’t need to endure like that, and ditto for Buffalo — or Sacramento, who now inherits the unenviable distinction of the American professional sports activities franchise with the longest energetic postseason drought at the moment sitting at 16 years.
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