For more than 20 years, the arc of Mariners history has bent toward 1995.
A disproportionate amount of the most thrilling, heart-stopping and enduring moments in club history took place during that unlikely run from 13 games behind the Angels in July to the AL West title in September (after a one-game playoff) and a Division Series win for the ages over the Yankees.
It saved baseball in Seattle, paved the way for the construction of Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) and turned Seattle, at least temporarily, into a baseball town. Yet other than that seasonlong joy ride, there hasn’t been too much for Seattle fans to cling to, other than intermittent flashes of brilliance.
That’s one reason I think Cal Raleigh’s home run Friday night dug so deep into the consciousness — because of the magnitude of the void. Another was the sheer cinematic magic of a two-out, full-count, ninth-inning, pinch-hit home run to clinch a playoff berth. Another is the fundamental change in the way such moments are disseminated, where you are instantly inundated with stirring images and videos on social media.
In fact, I got so caught up in the moment that, as I headed home after a long night of chronicling the win and wild clubhouse celebration, I tweeted that Raleigh’s homer might have catapulted to No. 2 on the list of the greatest moments in Mariners history, behind only the runaway winner, Edgar Martinez’s game-winning double in Game 5 of the ALDS in — wait for it — 1995.
The tweet generated much debate. I heard from many that I had fallen victim to recency bias. Guilty as charged — but one can also succumb to what I’ll call “nostalgia bias” when weighing such matters.
After consulting with many friends, colleagues and other assorted Seattle baseball aficionados, I decided to dig in deeper to put Raleigh’s feat in historical perspective. So here is my list of the 10 greatest moments in Mariners history — emphasis on moments. I’m talking spine-tingling, singular achievements above all else, so something like “Mariners win 116 games in 2001,” stirring as it was, doesn’t qualify. So here goes, and feel free to weigh in with your own list (not that I need to ask, I suspect).
1. The Double, Oct. 8, 1995
It will take some doing to unseat Edgar, whose achievement has become so embedded in Seattle sports consciousness that it has taken on the aura of folklore. But it really happened. Adding to the lore: Dave Niehaus’s epic call, the sight of Ken Griffey Jr. running faster than he ever had, and Bob Wolcott leaping five feet in the air in celebration. And a special mention to something that happened three innings earlier, when Randy Johnson strolled to the bullpen, upping the electricity at the Kingdome by an order of magnitude.
2. ‘Everybody scores,’ Oct. 2, 1995
I re-evaluated my original ranking and decided that without Luis Sojo’s bases-loaded squibber in the one-game, winner-take-all tiebreaker against the Angels for the AL West title, none of Edgar’s heroics would have happened. The ball squirted under the glove of Angels first baseman J.T. Snow and rattled around in the corner as the bases cleared. When the throw home got past the catcher, Sojo sprinted home with a Little League grand slam, immortalized by Rick Rizzs’ epic call. It was just the seventh inning, but the game was essentially over. Randy Johnson’s game-ending strikeout (and Niehaus’ call of it) are highlights all their own.
3. Cal Raleigh walks it off, Sept. 30, 2022
Some people said it shouldn’t be ranked high because the Mariners still had plenty of time to clinch a playoff spot even if they lost. They miss the point. Anyone who saw Raleigh’s homer will never, ever forget it. The drama was off the charts — and the 21-year wait made it an all-time moment. Whoever does this list in 2043, don’t forget Big Dumper. I suspect it will have become legendary.
4. Edgar’s grand slam, Oct. 7, 1995
Yes, three of the top four moments in Mariners history occurred in a six-day span, and two were authored by Martinez. The Mariners needed to beat the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALDS to stay alive, and were tied 6-6 in the eighth inning when Martinez launched a grand slam off John Wetteland — his second homer of the game. The deafening roar at the Kingdome was a dress rehearsal for the next day.
5. Carlos Guillen’s walk-off bunt, Oct. 6, 2000
This one has kind of gotten lost over time, but it shouldn’t. How often do you get a squeeze bunt to end a playoff series? An audacious call by Lou Piniella, Guillen’s bunt scored future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson and gave the Mariners a sweep of the White Sox in the ALDS.
6. Father-Son homers, Sept. 14, 1990
It’s not just that this is highly unlikely to ever happen again. It’s the heart tug one gets every time they watch Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. leave the yard, back to back, off the Angels’ Kirk McCaskill. Never mind the “have a catch” scene from Field of Dreams. This is a real-life tear-jerker, and yet the Griffeys’ unabashed joy makes it a happy moment.
7. Felix’s perfect game, Aug. 15, 2012
The first and still only perfect game in Mariners history, and the last perfecto thrown in MLB, was actually the second one at Safeco Field that year. The White Sox’s Philip Humber had thrown one against Seattle in April. But to see Felix, the heart and soul of a dreary Mariners era, reach perfection against Tampa Bay was exhilarating and highly satisfying. Felix on one leg, pointing to the sky in celebration, is an indelible image.
8. 2001 clincher, Sept. 19, 2001
It had become a foregone conclusion by June that the Mariners, headed to those 116 wins, would win the AL West in 2001. But the 9/11 attacks changed the entire tenor of the season. When they wrapped up the title with a win over the Angels, the Mariners hit upon the perfect way to commemorate the moment, a dignified celebration in which the players gathered on the mound and hoisted an American flag.
9. Ichiro hit record, Oct. 1, 2004
With his 258th hit, Ichiro broke one of the most hallowed records in the book, the season mark George Sisler set in 1920. With Sisler’s family in attendance, Ichiro grounded a single past the shortstop en route to a total of 262 that might stand another 84 years.
10. Doug Strange’s day, Sept. 19, 1995
Yes, we’re back where we started, the sainted 1995 season. I could have picked any of a number of amazing wins down the stretch as the Mariners ran down the Angels. I picked the one on Election Day for the stadium referendum (that actually lost in the absentee votes), in which Strange hit a tying, pinch-hit homer in the ninth, then scored the winning run in the 11th on Griffey’s two-out single to pull the Mariners within one game of the Angels. “If I’m dreaming, I don’t want to wake up,” Griffey said afterward.
Honorable mentions: Diego Segui throws first pitch in Mariners history, 1977; Tom Paciorek back-to-back walkoff homers against Yankees, 1981; Gaylord Perry wins 300th game, 1982; Jim Presley ties game with two-run homer in ninth, wins it with grand slam in 10th on opening day at Kingdome, 1986; Randy Johnson throws first Mariners no-hitter, 1990; Griffey homers in eight straight games, 1993; Mike Cameron’s four-homer game, 2002.