1989 Seattle Mariners season

March 2026 November 2013 Seattle Mariners 1989 American League West Kingdome Seattle, Washington 73 89 y 6th place George ArgyrosJeff Smulyan (August) Woody Woodward Jim Lefebvre KSTW-TV 11 KIRO 710 AM(Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs,Joe Simpson) The 1989 Seattle Mariners season was their 13th since the franchise creation. The team finished in sixth place in the American League West division, with a record of 73 89 y. The Mariners were led by first-year manager Jim Lefebvre. The season was enlivened by the arrival of 19-year-old Ken Griffey Jr., the 1st overall pick of the 1987 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. The team traded for fellow future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in May, sending out All-Star Mark Langston. Omar Vizquel also made his MLB debut for the Mariners, and fellow future All-Stars Edgar Martínez and Jay Buhner played limited roles for the team. In August, owner George Argyros sold the team to Jeff Smulyan.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gVxWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DPADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6748%2C1270807 Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) Associated Press Cour Jim M's to stay, new owners say August 23, 1989 D1https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=alxWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CvADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7082%2C2501728 Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) Associated Press Major league owners OK sale of Mariners September 15, 1989 C4 Offseason First-time MLB manager Jim Lefebvre was hired in November 1988, replacing interim manager Jim Snyder, who was fired in October.LaRue Larry November 8, 1988 A's Lefebvre 8th manager for Mariners https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8ltWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6539%2C5924174 The Spokesman-Review C1 Google News Archive McClatchey News Service He would lead the team to their first winning record in the 1991 season, his final year at the helm.M's End Lefebvre's Reign -- Team Silent About Why Manager, Coach Fired https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19911011/1310266/ms-end-lefebvres-reign----team-silent-about-why-manager-coach-fired 2026-04-19 The Seattle Times November 15, 1988: Luis DeLeón signed as a free agent with the Mariners. December 6: José Meléndez selected from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Rule 5 draft.José Meléndez https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jose-melendez/ 2026-04-16 Society for American Baseball Research December 7: Jeffrey Leonard and Tom Niedenfuer signed as free agents with the Mariners.1989 Seattle Mariners Trades and Transactions https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1989-transactions.shtml 2026-03-16 Baseball Reference March 27, 1989: Steve Balboni traded to the New York Yankees for minor leaguer Dana Ridenour.1989-03-27 Mariners trade slugger Balboni for minor league pitcher https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/03/27/Mariners-trade-slugger-Balboni-for-minor-league-pitcher/2302606978000/ 2026-04-16 UPI en Ken Griffey Jr. set spring training team records with 32 hits, 20 runs batted in, and 49 total bases.Jamieson Dave Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession Atlantic Monthly Press, imprint of Grove/Atlantic Inc. 2010 978-0-8021-1939-1 New York 1672021-03-20 How Ken Griffey Jr.’s breakout 1989 spring training provided a blueprint for the Mariners’ latest rebuild https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/mar/20/how-ken-griffey-jrs-breakout-1989-spring-training-/ 2026-04-19 Spokesman.com en Regular season Season standings Record vs. opponents SEA Season summary Ken Griffey Jr. made his MLB debut on opening day, April 3, against the defending American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics.April 4, 1993 McGwire spoils M's opener, 3-2 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m1lWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xO8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2056%2C2461268 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington C1 Associated PressKen Griffey Jr. Stats https://www.baseball-reference.com/g/griffke02.shtml Baseball Reference Griffey hit a double in his first at-bat. During the season, Griffey was selected as card number one in the 1989 Upper Deck baseball card set. Griffey was named the AL Player of the Week within a month. In May, a Seattle-area trading card company released a Griffey chocolate bar.May 2, 1989 Baseball Central https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/05/02/Baseball-Central/5626610084800/ 2026-04-19 UPI enCandy bar named for rookie Ken Griffey Jr. - UPI Archives https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/05/05/Candy-bar-named-for-rookie-Ken-Griffey-Jr/9598610344000/ 2026-04-19 UPI en The Mariners lost their first four games of the season and never rose above fifth place in the AL West. They reached their highest winning percentage on May 16, beating the Milwaukee Brewers on Griffey's first pinch-hit home run, reaching a 21–18 record.1989 Seattle Mariners Schedule https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1989-schedule-scores.shtml 2026-04-18 Baseball-Reference.com enhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvuSigNW-5s Milwaukee Brewers VS Seattle Mariners Highlights 5/16-18 1989 2026-04-17 Stevenjay12 2026-04-18 YouTubeKen Griffey Jr. Career Home Runs https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/event_hr.fcgi?id=griffke02&t=b 2026-04-18 Baseball-Reference.com en Griffey hit his first inside-the-park home run on May 21 on a ball that caromed off Roberto Kelly of the New York Yankees.NYY@SEA: Griffey Jr. hits inside-the-park home run 05/21/1989 https://www.mlb.com/mariners/video/griffey-jr-s-inside-the-park-hr-c2496613883 2026-04-18 MLB.com en Jeffrey Leonard represented the Mariners in the All-Star Game.Donaghy Jim 7 July 1989 Managers, league presidents fill out All-Star rosters https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_-AlAAAAIBAJ&pg=1760,428270&dq=baseball+jeffrey-leonard+all-star&hl=en Gettysburg Times B1 Owner George Argyros sold the team in August to a group headed by Indianapolis communications executive Jeff Smulyan for an estimated $75 million (equivalent to $US 75 1989 1 million in US).Cour Jim August 23, 1989 Can owners improve M's https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CbgSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7PkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6602%2C3291729 Spokane Chronicle Washington C1 Associated PressAugust 23, 1989 M's sold but will stay at Seattle https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IXdfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ii8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5874%2C2198904 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho 1C Associated PressKelley Steve August 24, 1989 M's owners wear Letterman jackets https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PBhXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7PkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5147%2C3504738 Spokane Chronicle Washington C1 (Seattle Times) Argyros had been trying to sell the team since 1987.1987-05-30 SPORTS PEOPLE; Argyros Switches https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/30/sports/sports-people-argyros-switches.html 2026-04-19 The New York Times In June 1989, the Argyros-led Mariners pulled their advertising from Seattle radio station KZOK in response to a parody song co-written by Jimmy Kimmel criticizing Argyros.June 21, 1989 Baseball Central https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/06/21/Baseball-Central/4443614404800/ 2026-04-19 UPI en The Mariners endured a 12-game losing streak in August, which tied a franchise record and matched the Detroit Tigers, who also lost 12 in a row in August, for the longest in MLB that season.1992-09-16 Finley's Shutout Gives Mariners a Dirty Dozen : Baseball: In losing to the Angels, 9-0, Seattle ties a club record for consecutive losses with 12. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-16-sp-835-story.html 2026-04-18 Los Angeles Times en-USLongest MLB Losing Streaks In 1989 https://champsorchumps.us/records/longest-mlb-losing-streaks-in-1989 2026-04-18 champsorchumps.us en Edgar Martínez had his first career walk-off hit on September 30.MIN@SEA: Buhner scores on Edgar's first walk-off hit 09/30/1989 https://www.mlb.com/video/edgar-s-first-walk-off-hit-c1873069083 2026-04-19 MLB.com en The Mariners had the lowest payroll in the majors in 1989, at $7.6 million, equivalent to $US 19 1989 1 million in US.December 8, 1989 Signing of O'Brien heralds loose purse string for M's https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IWBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UPADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3216%2C5322952 Spokesman-Review C1 Associated Press Second baseman Harold Reynolds won a Gold Glove Award.1989-12-07 `89 AL Gold Glove winners- 1B-Don Mattingly,… https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/12/07/89-al-gold-glove-winners-1b-don-mattingly/ 2026-03-16 Chicago Tribune Griffey finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.1989 Awards Voting https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1989.shtml 2026-03-16 Baseball-Reference.com Closer Mike Schooler had 33 saves, a franchise record broken by Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000.Seattle Mariners Top 50 Single-Season Pitching Leaders https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEA/leaders_pitch_50_season.shtml 2026-03-16 Baseball-Reference.com Notable transactions April 21, 1989: Rey Quiñones and Bill Wilkinson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mike Dunne, Mike Walker, and Mark Merchant.Chass Murray Murray Chass 1989-07-27 NOTEBOOK; Release of Quinones Explained by Leyland https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/27/sports/notebook-release-of-quinones-explained-by-leyland.html 2026-04-16 The New York Times May 25: Mark Langston and a player to be named later were traded by the Mariners to the Montreal Expos for pitchers Randy Johnson, Brian Holman, and Gene Harris.May 26, 1989 Mariners trade ace Langston to Expos https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XZZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MjEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2525%2C4051482 Lewiston Morning Tribune 4D Associated PressLaRue Larry May 26, 1989 Mariners excited about pitchers they're getting https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nFhYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6_kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5400%2C4343034 Spokane Chronicle Washington B3 McClatchy News Service The Mariners completed the deal by sending Mike Campbell to the Expos on July 31.Mark Langston Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/langsma01.shtml 2026-03-16 Baseball-Reference.com June 5: Roger Salkeld drafted third overall by the Mariners in the 1989 MLB draft.1989-06-06 Seattle Makes Saugus' Salkeld the Third Pick https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-06-sp-1904-story.html 2026-03-16 Los Angeles Times Seattle drafted Brian Turang in the 51st round of the draft.Brian Turang Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/turanbr01.shtml 2026-03-16 Baseball-Reference.com en June 12: Steve Trout was released by the Mariners. June 20: Keith Comstock signed as a free agent. Major league debuts Batters: Ken Griffey Jr. and Omar Vizquel (April 3)1989 Major League Baseball (MLB) Debuts https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/debuts_year.asp?ID=1989&view=batting 2026-03-16 The Baseball Cube Pitchers: Clint Zavaras (June 3)1989 Major League Baseball (MLB) Debuts https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/debuts_year.asp?ID=1989&view=pitching 2026-03-16 The Baseball Cube 1989 roster 1989 Seattle Mariners Roster Pitchers 15 Scott Bankhead 27 Mike Campbell 34 Keith Comstock 52 Luis DeLeón 25 Mike Dunne 39 Erik Hanson 47 Gene Harris 36 Brian Holman 38 Mike Jackson 51 Randy Johnson 12 Mark Langston 49 Tom Niedenfuer 48 Dennis Powell 31 Jerry Reed 40 Mike Schooler 37 Julio Solano 18 Bill Swift 34 Steve Trout 41 Clint Zavaras Catchers  9 Scott Bradley 35 Bill McGuire 10 Dave Valle Infielders 43 Dave Cochrane 21 Alvin Davis 23 Mario Díaz 11 Edgar Martínez 17 Jim Presley 51 Rey Quiñones  4 Harold Reynolds 42,13 Omar Vizquel Outfielders  8 Greg Briley 14 Mickey Brantley 19 Jay Buhner  2 Darnell Coles 28 Henry Cotto 29 Bruce Fields 24 Ken Griffey Jr.  7 Mike Kingery Other Batters 00 Jeffrey Leonard 54 Jim Wilson Manager  5 Jim Lefebvre Coaches 42 Gene Clines (hitting)  6 Bob Didier (bullpen) 22 Rusty Kuntz (first base) 20 Mike Paul (pitching)  3 Bill Plummer (third base) 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 1241 .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 Source1989 Seattle Mariners Statistics and Roster https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1989.shtml live https://web.archive.org/web/20090222144154/http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1989.shtml February 22, 2009 2009-06-10 Baseball Reference 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 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 1 6 5.19 31 Luis DeLeón 1 4 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 7 3 4.43 45 Gene Harris 10 33.1 1 4 6.48 14 Mike Campbell 5 21 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 Minor League Baseball 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 Sources:The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 1997 Baseball America Johnson Lloyd 2nd Durham, North Carolina Wolff Miles1989 Seattle Mariners Minor League Affiliates https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/affiliate.cgi?id=SEA&year=1989 2026-03-16 Baseball Reference References 2 External links 1989 Seattle Mariners at Baseball Reference 1989 Seattle Mariners team page at Baseball Almanac Category:Seattle Mariners seasons Seattle Mariners Seattle Mariners season