1995 Seattle Mariners season

The Seattle Mariners' 1995 season was the 19th in the history of the franchise. The team finished with a regular season record of 79–66, tying the California Angels for first in the American League West. In a one-game tiebreaker, the Mariners defeated the Angels 9–1 to make the postseason for the first time in franchise history.^[1]

In the postseason, the Mariners defeated the New York Yankees in the best-of-five American League Division Series after being down 2 games to 0, a series notable for Edgar Martinez' 11th-inning double that clinched the series for the Mariners. They were subsequently defeated in the American League Championship Series by the Cleveland Indians, 4–2.

Offseason

• October 14, 1994: Alex Diaz was selected off waivers by the Mariners from the Milwaukee Brewers.^[2]
• November 29, 1994: Félix Fermín was signed as a free agent with the Mariners.^[3]
• December 21, 1994: Jay Buhner was signed as a free agent with the Mariners.^[4]
• December 21, 1994: Eric Anthony was released by the Mariners.^[5]

Regular season

• Ken Griffey, Jr. suffered a severe wrist injury on May 26th whilst making a catch at the wall that would sideline him until mid August. The team would stay afloat at .500 however, and after Junior returned they managed their historic late season comeback against the California Angels.^[6]

• The Mariners honored the West Coast Negro Baseball League Seattle Steelheads when they wore 1946 Steelheads uniforms on September 9, 1995 at home against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals wore Kansas City Monarchs uniforms.^[7] The Mariners beat the Royals 6 to 2 in front of 39,157 fans at the Kingdome.^[8]

• Randy Johnson won the Cy Young Award. The award came at the end of a banner year. Johnson (18-2, 2.48 ERA, 294 strikeouts) narrowly missed becoming the first AL Triple Crown pitcher (leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts) since Detroit's Hal Newhouser accomplished the feat in 1945.^[6] His .900 winning percentage broke Ron Guidry's 1978 record, and his strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 12.35 broke the record held by Nolan Ryan.^[6]

Opening Day Lineup

• Mike Blowers
• Darren Bragg
• Jay Buhner
• Joey Cora
• Félix Fermín
• Ken Griffey, Jr.
• Randy Johnson
• Edgar Martínez
• Tino Martinez
• Dan Wilson

Roster

Notable transactions

• May 15, 1995: Roger Salkeld was traded by the Mariners to the Cincinnati Reds for Tim Belcher.^[9]
• July 14, 1995: Norm Charlton was signed by the Mariners after being released by the Cincinnati Reds ^[10]
• July 31, 1995: Ron Villone and Marc Newfield were traded by the Mariners to the San Diego Padres for Andy Benes and a player to be named later. The Padres completed the trade by sending Greg Keagle to the Mariners on September 17.^[11]
• August 15, 1995: The Mariners traded a player to be named later to the Kansas City Royals for Vince Coleman. The Mariners completed the deal by sending Jim Converse to the Royals on August 18.^[12]

Draft Picks

• June 1, 1995: 1995 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Shane Monahan was drafted by the Mariners in the 2nd round. Player signed June 27, 1995.^[13]
  • Juan Pierre was drafted by the Mariners in the 30th round, but did not sign.^[14]

Season standings

Note: Teams played 144 games instead of the normal 162 as a consequence of the 1994 strike. Seattle and California each played 145 games due to the one-game tiebreaker.

Player stats

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

Other batters

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: GS = Games Started; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned Run Average; SO = Strike Outs

Relief pitchers

ALDS