SEATTLE — In a sentence that has become all too familiar for Mariners fans, Seattle's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise once again will not be part of the playoffs in 2024.
With the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers winning on Thursday afternoon, the Mariners are officially eliminated from the MLB postseason. Since 2002, the team has appeared in just one playoffs, back in 2022.
The Mariners once looked like a near-certain playoff team, as Seattle held a 10-game division lead in June. However, an inept offense and underwhelming performances by some of the team's key stars led the Mariners to tumble down the standings.
In an effort to revitalize the team and make a last-ditch push to improve, the Mariners parted ways with longtime manager Scott Servais in late August. Former Mariners catcher Dan Wilson took over and is expected to be the team's manager again in 2025.
Only one team in MLB has a worse batting average this season than the Mariners, and that is the Chicago White Sox, a team one loss away from being the worst team in the modern history of the league. The Mariners made it an offseason priority to cut down on strikeouts, and yet the team leads all of MLB with over 1,600 punch-outs by the Seattle offense.
The Mariners' pitching staff was on the other end of the spectrum, holding the best earned run average as a team in MLB going into Thursday's games. Starting pitchers Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo easily formed baseball's strongest rotation from top to bottom, but it ended up not being enough for the playoffs.
The Mariners will return to T-Mobile Park for one final series this weekend, facing the Oakland Athletics.
Friday night's game is Fan Appreciation Fireworks Night, though many fans probably would appreciate a playoff spot a bit more.
