1989 Seattle Mariners season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1989 Seattle Mariners season was their 13th since the franchise creation. The team finished in sixth place in the American League West division, with a record of 73–89 (.451). The Mariners were led by first-year manager Jim Lefebvre.
| 1989 Seattle Mariners | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Kingdome |
| City | Seattle, Washington |
| Record | 73–89 (.451) |
| Divisional place | 6th place |
| Owners | George Argyros Jeff Smulyan (August) |
| General manager | Woody Woodward |
| Manager | Jim Lefebvre |
| Television | KSTW-TV 11 |
| Radio | KIRO 710 AM (Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs, Joe Simpson) |
The season was enlivened by the arrival of 19-year-old Ken Griffey Jr., the 1st overall pick of the 1987 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. The team traded for fellow future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in May, sending out All-Star Mark Langston. Omar Vizquel also made his MLB debut for the Mariners, and fellow future All-Stars Edgar Martínez and Jay Buhner played limited roles for the team.
In August, owner George Argyros sold the team to Jeff Smulyan.[1][2]
Offseason
First-time MLB manager Jim Lefebvre was hired in November 1988, replacing interim manager Jim Snyder, who was fired in October.[3][4] He would lead the team to their first winning record in the 1991 season, his final year at the helm.[5]
- November 15, 1988: Luis DeLeón signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[6]
- December 6: José Meléndez selected from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Rule 5 draft.[4]
- December 7: Jeffrey Leonard and Tom Niedenfuer signed as free agents with the Mariners.[6]
- March 27, 1989: Steve Balboni traded to the New York Yankees for minor leaguer Dana Ridenour.[7]
- Ken Griffey Jr. set spring training team records with 32 hits, 20 runs batted in, and 49 total bases.[8][9]
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 99 | 63 | .611 | — | 54–27 | 45–36 |
| Kansas City Royals | 92 | 70 | .568 | 7 | 55–26 | 37–44 |
| California Angels | 91 | 71 | .562 | 8 | 52–29 | 39–42 |
| Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | .512 | 16 | 45–36 | 38–43 |
| Minnesota Twins | 80 | 82 | .494 | 19 | 45–36 | 35–46 |
| Seattle Mariners | 73 | 89 | .451 | 26 | 40–41 | 33–48 |
| Chicago White Sox | 69 | 92 | .429 | 29½ | 35–45 | 34–47 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 |
| Boston | 7–6 | — | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| California | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | — | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 5–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 3–10 | 1–11 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 8–4 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Detroit | 3–10 | 2–11 | 1–11 | 8–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 2–11 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 4–8 | — | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Minnesota | 8–4 | 6–6 | 2–11 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 9–3 |
| New York | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 3–9 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | — |
Season summary
- Ken Griffey Jr. made his MLB debut on opening day, April 3, against the defending American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics.[10][11] Griffey hit a double in his first at-bat.[8][10] During the season, Griffey was selected as card number one in the 1989 Upper Deck baseball card set.[8] Griffey was named the AL Player of the Week within a month. In May, a Seattle-area trading card company released a Griffey chocolate bar.[12][13]
- The Mariners lost their first four games of the season and never rose above fifth place in the AL West. They reached their highest winning percentage on May 16, beating the Milwaukee Brewers on Griffey's first pinch-hit home run, reaching a 21–18 record.[14][15][16]
- Griffey hit his first inside-the-park home run on May 21 on a ball that caromed off Roberto Kelly of the New York Yankees.[16][17]
- Jeffrey Leonard represented the Mariners in the All-Star Game.[18]
- Owner George Argyros sold the team in August to a group headed by Indianapolis communications executive Jeff Smulyan for an estimated $75 million (equivalent to $194.8 million in 2025).[19][20][21] Argyros had been trying to sell the team since 1987.[22] In June 1989, the Argyros-led Mariners pulled their advertising from Seattle radio station KZOK in response to a parody song co-written by Jimmy Kimmel criticizing Argyros.[23]
- The Mariners endured a 12-game losing streak in August, which tied a franchise record and matched the Detroit Tigers, who also lost 12 in a row in August, for the longest in MLB that season.[14][24][25]
- Edgar Martínez had his first career walk-off hit on September 30.[26]
- The Mariners had the lowest payroll in the majors in 1989, at $7.6 million, equivalent to $49.3 million in 2025.[27]
- Second baseman Harold Reynolds won a Gold Glove Award.[28] Griffey finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.[29]
- Closer Mike Schooler had 33 saves, a franchise record broken by Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000.[30]
Notable transactions
- April 21, 1989: Rey Quiñones and Bill Wilkinson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mike Dunne, Mike Walker, and Mark Merchant.[6][31]
- May 25: Mark Langston and a player to be named later were traded by the Mariners to the Montreal Expos for pitchers Randy Johnson, Brian Holman, and Gene Harris.[32][33] The Mariners completed the deal by sending Mike Campbell to the Expos on July 31.[34]
- June 5: Roger Salkeld drafted third overall by the Mariners in the 1989 MLB draft.[35] Seattle drafted Brian Turang in the 51st round of the draft.[36]
- June 12: Steve Trout was released by the Mariners.[6]
- June 20: Keith Comstock signed as a free agent.[6]
Major league debuts
- Batters:
- Ken Griffey Jr. and Omar Vizquel (April 3)[37]
- Pitchers:
- Clint Zavaras (June 3)[38]
1989 roster
| 1989 Seattle Mariners | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other Batters
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dave Valle | 94 | 316 | 32 | 75 | 7 | 34 | .237 | 0 |
| 1B | Alvin Davis | 142 | 498 | 84 | 152 | 21 | 95 | .305 | 0 |
| 2B | Harold Reynolds | 153 | 613 | 87 | 184 | 0 | 43 | .300 | 25 |
| 3B | Jim Presley | 117 | 390 | 42 | 92 | 12 | 41 | .236 | 0 |
| SS | Omar Vizquel | 143 | 387 | 45 | 85 | 1 | 20 | .220 | 1 |
| LF | Greg Briley | 115 | 394 | 52 | 105 | 13 | 52 | .266 | 11 |
| CF | Ken Griffey Jr. | 127 | 455 | 61 | 120 | 16 | 61 | .264 | 16 |
| RF | Darnell Coles | 146 | 535 | 54 | 135 | 10 | 59 | .252 | 5 |
| DH | Jeffrey Leonard | 150 | 566 | 69 | 144 | 24 | 93 | .254 | 6 |
- Source[39]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Cotto | 100 | 295 | 78 | .264 | 9 | 33 |
| Scott Bradley | 103 | 270 | 74 | .274 | 3 | 37 |
| Jay Buhner | 58 | 204 | 56 | .275 | 9 | 33 |
| Edgar Martínez | 65 | 171 | 41 | .240 | 2 | 20 |
| Mickey Brantley | 34 | 108 | 17 | .157 | 0 | 8 |
| Dave Cochrane | 54 | 102 | 24 | .235 | 3 | 7 |
| Mike Kingery | 31 | 76 | 17 | .224 | 2 | 6 |
| Mario Díaz | 52 | 74 | 10 | .135 | 1 | 7 |
| Bill McGuire | 14 | 28 | 5 | .179 | 1 | 4 |
| Rey Quiñones | 7 | 19 | 2 | .105 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Wilson | 5 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Fields | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Bankhead | 33 | 210.1 | 14 | 6 | 3.34 | 140 |
| Brian Holman | 23 | 159.2 | 8 | 10 | 3.44 | 82 |
| Randy Johnson | 22 | 131 | 7 | 9 | 4.40 | 104 |
| Erik Hanson | 17 | 113.1 | 9 | 5 | 3.18 | 75 |
| Mike Dunne | 15 | 85.1 | 2 | 9 | 5.27 | 38 |
| Mark Langston | 10 | 73.1 | 4 | 5 | 3.56 | 60 |
| Clint Zavaras | 10 | 52 | 1 | 6 | 5.19 | 31 |
| Luis DeLeón | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Swift | 37 | 130 | 7 | 3 | 4.43 | 45 |
| Gene Harris | 10 | 33.1 | 1 | 4 | 6.48 | 14 |
| Mike Campbell | 5 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 7.29 | 6 |
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 | 67 | 1 | 7 | 33 | 2.81 | 69 |
| Mike Jackson | 65 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3.17 | 94 |
| Jerry Reed | 52 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3.19 | 50 |
| Dennis Powell | 43 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5.00 | 27 |
| Keith Comstock | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.81 | 22 |
| Tom Niedenfuer | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6.69 | 15 |
| Steve Trout | 19 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6.60 | 17 |
| Julio Solano | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.59 | 6 |