1989 Seattle Mariners season

1989 Seattle Mariners
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionWest
BallparkKingdome
CitySeattle, Washington
Record73–89 (.451)
Divisional place6th
OwnersGeorge Argyros
Jeff Smulyan (August)
General managersWoody Woodward
ManagersJim Lefebvre
TelevisionKSTW-TV 11
RadioKIRO 710 AM
(Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs,
Joe Simpson)
← 1988 Seasons 1990 →

The 1989 Seattle Mariners season was their 13th since the franchise creation, and the team finished sixth in the American League West, with a record of 73–89 (.451). The Mariners were led by first-year manager Jim Lefebvre and the season was enlivened by the arrival of nineteen-year-old Ken Griffey Jr., the first overall pick of the 1987 draft.

Offseason

  • November 15, 1988: Luis DeLeón was signed as a free agent by the Mariners.[1]
  • In spring training, Ken Griffey Jr. set preseason team records for hits (32), RBIs (20) and total bases (49).[2]

Regular season

  • Ken Griffey Jr. made his major league baseball debut on opening day, April 3, against the defending American League champion Oakland Athletics.[3][4] Griffey hit a double in his first at-bat.[2][3] During the 1989 season, Griffey was honored by being selected as card number one in the 1989 Upper Deck baseball card set.[2]
  • The Mariners had the lowest payroll in the majors in 1989, at $7.6 million.[5]
  • Owner George Argyros sold the team in August to a group headed by Indianapolis communications magnate Jeff Smulyan.[6][7][8]

Season standings

AL West
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

1989 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
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 —


Notable transactions

Major league debuts

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[16]

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 22 131.0 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 52.0 1 6 5.19 31
Luis DeLeón 1 4.0 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 37 130.0 7 3 4.43 45
Gene Harris 10 33.1 1 4 6.48 14
Mike Campbell 5 21.0 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

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Calgary Cannons Pacific Coast League Rich Morales
AA Williamsport Bills Eastern League Jay Ward
A San Bernardino Spirit California League Ralph Dick
A Wausau Timbers Midwest League Tommy Jones
A-Short Season Bellingham Mariners Northwest League P. J. Carey
Rookie AZL Mariners Arizona League Dave Myers
Source:[17]

References

  1. ^ Luis DeLeón page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ a b c Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, p.167, Dave Jamieson, 2010, Atlantic Monthly Press, imprint of Grove/Atlantic Inc., New York, ISBN 978-0-8021-1939-1
  3. ^ a b "McGwire spoils M's opener, 3-2". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 4, 1993. p. C1.
  4. ^ "Ken Griffey Jr. Stats".
  5. ^ "Signing of O'Brien heralds loose purse string for M's". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 8, 1989. p. C1.
  6. ^ Cour, Jim (August 23, 1989). "Can owners improve M's". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. p. C1.
  7. ^ "M's sold but will stay at Seattle". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 23, 1989. p. 1C.
  8. ^ Kelley, Steve (August 24, 1989). "M's owners wear Letterman jackets". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). (Seattle Times). p. C1.
  9. ^ Steve Balboni page at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ "Mariners trade ace Langston to Expos". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. May 26, 1989. p. 4D.
  11. ^ LaRue, Larry (May 26, 1989). "Mariners excited about pitchers they're getting". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). McClatchy News Service. p. B3.
  12. ^ Mark Langston page at Baseball Reference
  13. ^ Brian Turankg page at Baseball Reference
  14. ^ Steve Trout page at Baseball Reference
  15. ^ "The Baseball Cube - Research Site for Pro + College Stats + draft".
  16. ^ "1989 Seattle Mariners Statistics and Roster - Baseball-Reference.com". Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  17. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007