1988 Seattle Mariners season
Major League Baseball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1988 Seattle Mariners season was their twelfth since the franchise creation and their home ballpark was the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. The M's finished seventh (last) in the American League West with a record of 68–93 (.422). Manager Dick Williams, who later was inducted into the Hall of Fame, was fired in early June; first base coach Jim Snyder was promoted to interim manager in his only season as an MLB manager.[1][2][3]
| 1988 Seattle Mariners | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Kingdome |
| City | Seattle, Washington |
| Record | 68–93 (.422) |
| Divisional place | 7th |
| Owners | George Argyros |
| General managers | Dick Balderson, Woody Woodward |
| Managers | Dick Williams (23–33) Jim Snyder (45–60) |
| Television | KIRO-TV 7 |
| Radio | KIRO 710 AM (Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs, Joe Simpson) |
Offseason
- December 9, 1987: Phil Bradley and Tim Fortugno acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies for Glenn Wilson, Mike Jackson, and Dave Brundage.
- December 9: Mike Morgan traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Ken Dixon.[4][5]
- December 21: John Moses was released by the Mariners.[4]
- December 22: Lee Guetterman, Clay Parker, and Wade Taylor traded to the New York Yankees for Steve Trout and Henry Cotto.[6]
- January 11, 1998: Brian Giles signed as a free agent.
- January 19: John Rabb signed as a free agent with the Mariners.
- February 3: Received Dave Cochrane in a trade with the Kansas City Royals for Ken Spratke.
- March 19: Received Rod Scurry in a trade with the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later (Donell Nixon on June 23).[4]
Regular season
Opening Day lineup
- Mickey Brantley, center field
- Mike Kingery, left field
- Alvin Davis, first base
- Ken Phelps, designated hitter
- Glenn Wilson, right field
- Dave Valle, catcher
- Jim Presley, third base
- Rey Quiñones, shortstop
- Harold Reynolds, second base
- Mark Langston, starting pitcher[7]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 104 | 58 | .642 | — | 54–27 | 50–31 |
| Minnesota Twins | 91 | 71 | .562 | 13 | 47–34 | 44–37 |
| Kansas City Royals | 84 | 77 | .522 | 19½ | 44–36 | 40–41 |
| California Angels | 75 | 87 | .463 | 29 | 35–46 | 40–41 |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | 90 | .441 | 32½ | 40–41 | 31–49 |
| Texas Rangers | 70 | 91 | .435 | 33½ | 38–43 | 32–48 |
| Seattle Mariners | 68 | 93 | .422 | 35½ | 37–44 | 31–49 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 0–12 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 10–3 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–11 |
| California | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 9–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 7–4 | 5–7 | 4–9 | — | 3–9 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–3 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 |
| Detroit | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 5–8 | 1–11 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 12–0 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
| Milwaukee | 9–4 | 3–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 9–3 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | — | 3–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 |
| New York | 10–3 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 6–6 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 9–3 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 6–6 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — |
Season summary
- The Mariners started the season on a high point, sharing a lead in the American League West and having a winning record at 4–3 in mid-April. They fell to last place briefly on May 1 and were entrenched in seventh place by mid-June.[8]
- Mark Langston became the ace of the pitching staff as he led the club in wins (15) and strikeouts (235). He was named the American League (AL) Pitcher of the Month in August after going 4–1 with three complete games.[9]
- Manager Dick Williams was fired on June 6, first base coach Jim Snyder was promoted to interim manager.[1][2][3]
- Seattle acquired future Mariners Hall of Famer Jay Buhner from the New York Yankees in a trade for Ken Phelps.[10][11]
- Four Mariners were named the AL Player of the Week. First baseman Alvin Davis won in May, second baseman Harold Reynolds won in August, and pitchers Mike Moore and Langston each won in September.[12]
- Langston and Reynolds won Gold Glove Awards.[13][12] Reynolds tied for the AL lead with 11 triples but also led MLB with 29 times caught stealing.[14] He was the Mariners representative in the All-Star Game.[15]
Notable transactions
- May 23, 1988: John Christensen was released by the Mariners.[16]
- June 1: Steve Balboni signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[17]
- June 1: 1988 MLB draft. The following players signed with the Mariners:
- Tino Martinez was selected with the 14th overall pick in the first round and signed on June 11.[4]
- Greg Pirkl was drafted in the second round and signed on June 6.[4][18]
- Lee Hancock was selected in the fourth round.
- Jeff Darwin was selected in the 13th round.
- July 21: Ken Phelps was traded to the New York Yankees for Jay Buhner, Rich Balabon, and a player to be named later (Troy Evers, on October 12).[10][11]
- July 22: Glenn Wilson was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Darnell Coles.[19]
Major League debuts
- Batters:
- Greg Briley (June 27)
- Bill McGuire (Aug 2)[20]
- Pitchers:
- Erik Hanson (Sep 5)
- Mike Schooler (June 10)
- Terry Taylor (Aug 19)[21]
1988 roster
| 1988 Seattle Mariners | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Scott Bradley | 103 | 335 | 86 | .257 | 4 | 33 |
| 1B | Alvin Davis | 140 | 478 | 141 | .295 | 18 | 69 |
| 2B | Harold Reynolds | 158 | 598 | 169 | .283 | 4 | 41 |
| 3B | Jim Presley | 150 | 544 | 125 | .230 | 14 | 62 |
| SS | Rey Quiñones | 140 | 499 | 124 | .248 | 12 | 52 |
| LF | Mickey Brantley | 149 | 577 | 152 | .263 | 15 | 56 |
| CF | Henry Cotto | 133 | 386 | 100 | .259 | 8 | 33 |
| RF | Glenn Wilson | 78 | 284 | 71 | .250 | 3 | 17 |
| DH | Ken Phelps | 72 | 190 | 54 | .284 | 14 | 32 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Balboni | 97 | 350 | 88 | .251 | 21 | 61 |
| Dave Valle | 93 | 290 | 67 | .231 | 10 | 50 |
| Darnell Coles | 55 | 195 | 57 | .292 | 10 | 34 |
| Jay Buhner | 60 | 192 | 43 | .224 | 10 | 25 |
| Mike Kingery | 57 | 123 | 25 | .203 | 1 | 9 |
| Rick Rentería | 31 | 88 | 18 | .205 | 0 | 6 |
| Mario Díaz | 28 | 72 | 22 | .306 | 0 | 9 |
| Bruce Fields | 39 | 67 | 18 | .269 | 1 | 5 |
| Dave Hengel | 26 | 60 | 10 | .167 | 2 | 7 |
| Greg Briley | 13 | 36 | 9 | .250 | 1 | 4 |
| Edgar Martínez | 14 | 32 | 9 | .281 | 0 | 5 |
| Bill McGuire | 9 | 16 | 3 | .188 | 0 | 2 |
| John Rabb | 9 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 0 | 4 |
| Brick Smith | 4 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 1 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Langston | 35 | 261.1 | 15 | 11 | 3.34 | 235 |
| Mike Moore | 37 | 228.2 | 9 | 15 | 3.78 | 182 |
| Bill Swift | 38 | 174.2 | 8 | 12 | 4.59 | 47 |
| Scott Bankhead | 21 | 135.0 | 7 | 9 | 3.07 | 102 |
| Mike Campbell | 20 | 114.2 | 6 | 10 | 5.89 | 63 |
| Steve Trout | 15 | 56.1 | 4 | 7 | 7.83 | 14 |
| Erik Hanson | 6 | 41.2 | 2 | 3 | 3.24 | 36 |
| Terry Taylor | 5 | 23.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.26 | 9 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin Núñez | 14 | 29.1 | 1 | 4 | 7.98 | 19 |
| Dennis Powell | 12 | 18.2 | 1 | 3 | 8.68 | 15 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Schooler | 40 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 3.54 | 54 |
| Mike Jackson | 62 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2.63 | 76 |
| Jerry Reed | 46 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.96 | 48 |
| Rod Scurry | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4.02 | 33 |
| Bill Wilkinson | 30 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3.48 | 25 |
| Julio Solano | 17 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4.09 | 10 |
| Gene Walter | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.13 | 13 |
Farm system
AZL club affiliation shared with Boston Red Sox[22]