Why The Mariners’ Slander Is Undeserved

As the Mariners’ incredible season came to a close on Monday, Mariners fans’ thoughts on the season varied drastically. Some Mariners fans were grateful for the amazing ride, while others fumed over what they considered a choke job from the M’s. However, badmouthing the M’s is a huge mistake. 

The Mariners had an incredible 2025 campaign, finishing the regular season with a 90-win, 72-loss record. They then made it all the way to the American League Championship Series (ALCS), which is the second biggest round of the MLB playoffs behind only the World Series. 

Another reason why Mariners fans should be excited for the future is the players and the coaches they have. In fact, on October 23, Manager Dan Wilson won the MLB coach of the year. As for the players, the Mariners have no shortage of talent, starting with MVP frontrunner Cal Raleigh. Cal had potentially the best catcher season of all time, going deep 60 times, including 5 bombs in the postseason. This blew the previous Home Run Record out of the water. On top of that, the Mariners have stand-out Centerfielder, Julio Rodriguez, for 9 more seasons. In the summer of 2022, he signed a massive 12-year, 210 million dollar contract. Many M’s fans felt he was not deserving of it after some early-season growing pains, and although he started off the postseason slow, he silenced the critics with his outstanding performance in the ALCS series against Toronto. He batted .240  in that series and paired that with 3 homers against a top 5 pitching staff in the league. This should be very exciting for M’s fans as Julio is only 24 and will most likely be rocking teal, blue, and white for many years to come. On top of Julio and Cal having incredible campaigns this year, the Mariners also have a bunch of young and talented players. From Top M’s pitcher and reigning all-star Bryan Woo (25 years old), to 22-year-old catcher Harry Ford, who earlier in the season hit a walkoff against the Angels to put the Mariners into a tie for first place in the AL West. The Mariners have a plethora of talented young stars, which should have Mariners fans hyped for next season and many seasons after that.

The Mariners advanced to the ALCS for the fifth time in franchise history after defeating the Detroit Tigers in a 15-inning 3-2 win-or-go-home game 5. While this was a huge win, they used 7 of their top 10 pitchers in the win, which would affect much of their pitching in the next series against the Blue Jays. 

 After the hard-fought, low-scoring series vs the Tigers, they travelled to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays for a 7-game series in hopes of claiming the AL Pennant for the first time in franchise history. The Mariners started the series off strong, taking games 1 and 2 in Toronto, even after being labeled underdogs by many. With momentum on their side, they headed home to Seattle looking to close the series out in game 4 or 5. However, the Blue Jays bounced back, whipping the M’s 13-4 in game 3. They then rode that momentum into the next game, winning it and tying the series at 2-2. However, the Mariners were not about to be swept at home, and they used that motivation to win game 5, and needed just one win after that to advance to the World Series for the first time. The Mariners, unfortunately, could not hold onto the series lead, losing games 6 and 7 in heartbreaking fashion, and although this ended the Mariners’ incredible season, there were so many amazing games and moments that made this season very special and unforgettable.

Despite the losses and the crushing game 7 defeat, which erased what could have been the Mariners’ first World Series appearance in franchise history, the Mariners do not deserve the harsh critics that really only talk about the game 7 loss. The Mariners’ season should be celebrated, and M’s fans should be looking forward to many great seasons ahead.