Mariners Are 6.5 GB of Wild Card, This has Gotten Interesting - The Comparison of 1995

The Seattle Mariners have had an amazing stretch of good baseball since the All-Star break. The Mariners are 25-13 since the mid-summer classic and have found themselves in a very unusual situation for the Mariners in late August.

The recent surge has put this team 6.5 games back of second Wild Card leading Oakland Athletics who also share the spot with the Baltimore Orioles and the Detroit Tigers. With 37 games to go, I figure the Mariners need to go 25-12 in their remaining games. That would put the Mariners at 86-76 and on pace to have a shot at the second Wild Card in the American League. In fact, if the current teams ahead of the Mariners play 500. Baseball the rest of the way there would be a four-way tie for the second Wild Card.

I’m not sure how the tiebreakers would play out if this Scenario happened. I’m really not sure if the MLB has any idea yet. The bottom line, since the Ichiro trade, the Mariners have seemed to have a lot of chemistry on and off the field. They have a fun attitude during the game and they have played really loose. Therefore, with so many young kids playing, we might as well expect the unexpected.

The ride would be magical but still highly unlikely. If the Mariners pull off the miracle, they would finish the second half with an approximate record of 50-25. I don’t expect this team to do that however, 6.5 games back of a playoff position is something to get excited about.

To think that 1995 is happening all over again is fine by me. Both in 1995 and 2012 MLB added an extra playoff spot prior to the start of the year and the Mariners are 12.5 games back of the division and in 1995 they were 11.5 back on this day 17 years ago.  However, keep in mind, the Mariners were only 4.0 games back of the then leading Texas Rangers on this day 17 years ago.

Interestingly enough, also on this day in 1995 the Mariners started their remarkable run to the playoffs. The Mariners were down 7-6 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th facing Yankee closer John Wetteland. The Mariners rallied to tie and then Ken Griffey Jr. stepped to the plate to hit a walk off home run to beat the Yankees in the first game of the four game series. The win snapped a 0-43 record when trailing after eight innings and the Mariners went 24-11 to finish the year. Ironically, the Mariners need a similar record to end the year in 2012. Furthermore, in both years there has been a spark that has ignited the ball clubs. In 1995 it was the return of Ken Griffey from the DL and in 2012 it was the Ichiro trade. 

The Mariners will began the remainder of their 37 games tonight in Chicago against the White sox. Starting pitcher for the Mariners will be Jason Vargas who has an impressive 12-8 record. He will be going up against White sox star Jake Peavy. For the first time in a few years, Mariners baseball has gotten interesting in late August. Personally, I hope it stays that way for years to come. As Dave Niehaus would say, MY OH MY!