2001 Mariner moments

Finally, the Mariners were going to suffer from their inability to keep superstars. That was virtually everyone's perception as Seattle's season opened. How could a team that lost Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez in successive seasons succeed, especially in a division with such stacked lineups as Oakland and Texas?

However, no one figured Japanese sensation Ichiro into the equation. No one could have guessed that Bret Boone would obliterate his career numbers and set the standard for all American League second basemen to follow. Who figured their four top starters would win nearly 70 games combined? Who could have realized the importance of re-signing Manager Lou Piniella to a three-year extension?

But can anyone explain their enormous success on the road? Looking at this roster, would anyone imagine it could win the "triple crown" as a team with the best team batting average, earned-run average and fielding percentage? Can anyone believe this team has a better record than the 1927 and 1998 New York Yankees?

Believe it. This record-setting season caught nearly everyone by surprise. Some of the season highlights that allowed the Mariners to go on their wire-to-wire gallop into history:

APRIL 2

Seattle 5, Oakland 4 (season opener): Ichiro started his spectacular season by igniting a winning eighth-inning rally with his first bunt in seven years. Teammate Mike Cameron, on deck, said, "The guy can run. That's how he won seven batting titles in Japan, because he's able to do that. He's going to be all right. He's going to be our table setter, and we're going to ride him all year." Ichiro, who went 1 for 4 in the first game for a Japanese position player in the majors, said, "More than getting the first hit as a position player, I now understand that I want to be here for a long time. The feelings I had here I will never forget."

APRIL 11

Seattle, 3, at Oakland 0: Ichiro established that he can also throw. In what has been called "The Throw," Ichiro scooped up a one-hop single to right field, then tossed a rocket to third baseman David Bell, who put the tag on the A's Terrence Long. Long had tried to go from first to third. "We won't be running on Ichiro, certainly not when he's coming straight in on a ball like that," one AL West scout said afterward. AL runners and third-base coaches were put on notice.

APRIL 12

Seattle 7, at Oakland 3: The Mariners completed their first three-game sweep of the A's at the Coliseum. They had been 48-104 in their previous 24 seasons in Oakland, never sweeping a series of any length. "It's more important because of our situation as a team now," DH Edgar Martinez said, "and because it comes against an Oakland team that you expect to be battling later in the season." Starter Jamie Moyer added, "Obviously, people point to us losing Randy and Junior and Alex and ask what will happen to us. Well, we're showing that not much has changed. This is a club that always finds a way to win."

APRIL 16

Seattle 9, Texas 7: It was the anticipated return to Seattle of ex-Mariner Alex Rodriguez, who signed a $252 million contract with an organization devoid of pitching. The sellout crowd of 45,657 flashed sellout signs such as "Who Let The Dog In," "A-Wad," and "Pay-Rod." Paper money floated onto the field, and he was booed ferociously through all three games. The fans also were frustrated that A-Rod had the insensitivity to add his name to a letter from prominent Dallas officials asking Boeing to relocate in the Metroplex. It was half-price family night sponsored by Boeing Employees Credit Union.

APRIL 26

Seattle 7, at New York 3: This win completed a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium for only the second time in club history. It also gave the Mariners an 18-4 start. "We started off good playing our division, but people wondered if we were for real. Then we came in here and showed people that we are for real," said reliever Jeff Nelson, who played with the Yankees the previous five seasons.

APRIL 28

Seattle 8, at Chicago 5: Seattle became the first team in big-league history to win 20 games in the season's opening month. They were the eighth club in history to start 20-4. "No one has ever won 20 before in April. No one? Not one team, in all the years?" said utility player Mark McLemore, who had four hits. "Wow!" Manager Lou Piniella added, "The 20 wins are something to be proud of. When you think of the history of this game, so many excellent teams, that no one has ever done it in April before. In a humble way, we are very pleased." Closer Kazu Sasaki also picked up his 13th save, the most in April in big-league history.

MAY 2

Seattle 5, Boston 1: In the first pitcher-hitter meeting between two Japanese-born players in the big leagues, Red Sox right-hander Hideo Nomo hit Ichiro with a fastball in the back during his fifth-inning at-bat. "I never imagined that the first hit-by-pitch in the major leagues would be by a Japanese pitcher," Ichiro said.

MAY 20

Seattle 6, New York 2: It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but the Mariners would be the only team to defeat Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens before he would win 20 games in front of the largest regular-season crowd (45,953) at Safeco. Bret Boone had three-run double in the first inning off Clemens, who gave up five earned runs, six hits, struck out nine but walked five in seven innings. "We went 31-9 in our first 40 games. If we went 31-9 in our next 40 games, we'd have the greatest record in the history of the game," Boone said afterward. "We all know that's not going to happen. I guarantee over the course of the season, we're going to lose two in a row again." He was correct, just barely.

MAY 26

Seattle 7, at Kansas City 2: The victory marked the franchise high-water mark and was an indication this season was not a fluke. The Mariners went 23 games above .500 (35-12) with an 11-1/2-game lead on the division. The club's previous high mark of 22 was set three times. Pitcher Aaron Sele became the first starting pitcher to open a season 7-0, joining reliever Roy Thomas, who started out with that record in 1985. Sele, in his next start, would set the record at 8-0.

JUNE 8

Seattle 7, San Diego 1: The win was the last in a club-record 15-game winning streak that allowed the Mariners to put a 17-game lead on the division with a 47-12 record. That tied the 1912 New York Giants for the second-best mark after 59 games. "In this business you accept the good with the bad, and right now it's good," Piniella said.

JUNE 21

Seattle 12, at Oakland 10: The A's had a 6-0 first-inning lead, but the Mariners, with four home runs, came back to win. It may have crushed the A's belief they could catch the Mariners in the AL West. "They have the best pitching staff in the league, I honestly believe that," A's star Jason Giambi said. Teammate John Jaha added, "The Yankees have been great through the years, but this team right now is as good as any I've seen." Bret Boone had his only pinch-hit home run, a three-run shot, to spark the comeback.

JULY 2

Seattle 9, at Texas 7 (10 innings): On the day six Seattle players were named to the All-Star Game, the Mariners took win No. 60 in their 81st game. Ichiro's two-out, ninth-inning home run off reliever Jeff Zimmerman sent it into extra innings. "You can't expect Ichiro to hit a two-run homer," said Boone. "But the way this club has played, you've come to expect something."

JULY 6

Seattle 13, Los Angeles 0: As if to answer GM Pat Gillick's call for a No. 1 starter, Freddy Garcia stepped up for perhaps his best outing of the season. He threw a nine-inning shutout, allowing four singles and carrying a no-hitter into the sixth. It quieted 53,072 at Dodger Stadium. "Freddy looks like he's right on the verge of breaking through, he really is," Piniella said. "He's getting close to putting it all together." It was his second straight shutout.

JULY 8

Seattle 9, Los Angeles 2: The victory gave the Mariners a 63-24 record. They were the fourth team in history to have 63 or more wins at the All-Star break. It also was announced before the game that the Mariners would have eight All-Star representatives, tying the 1946 Red Sox for second among host teams behind the 1939 Yankees, who had nine.

JULY 23

Seattle 3, at Minnesota 2: The Mariners finished a four-game sweep of the once-contending Twins, saved by a remarkable eighth-inning throw by Charles Gipson to cut off the tying run at the plate. Chad Allen had tried to score from second on a hard single to center, but Gipson took the ball on a bounce and fired to the plate on the fly, nailing Allen by a half step.

AUG. 4

Seattle 8, at Cleveland 5: The club reached a milepost along their journey, 50 games above .500 at 80-30, setting off the ire of mathematicians, who couldn't grasp baseball's century-held view of .500.

AUG. 5

At Cleveland 15, Seattle 14 (11 innings): It was an amazing evening as the Mariners led 12-0 in the third and 14-2 in the sixth, but the Indians put together an historic rally to tie the game in the ninth and won it in the 11th. A 12-run comeback has happened only twice in major-league history, the last time 76 years earlier. "It was like cutting your fingernail and bleeding to death," reliever Norm Charlton said. "We couldn't stop it."

AUG. 14

Seattle 6, at Boston 3 (11 innings): Jamie Moyer had his sixth straight excellent outing, but this was a strange one. He had hit Carl Everett earlier in the game, then Everett hit a home run off him in the fifth. As he rounded the bases, Everett yelled at Moyer, pointed to the sky to thank God, then made an obscene gesture in Moyer's direction as he crossed the plate. "I have no idea what his problem was," Moyer said.

AUG. 19

Seattle 10, at New York 2: Mike Cameron hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in a career-high eight runs, tying the club mark. The New York media had built up this series but the Mariners took two of three. "I think this weekend lent a lot of credence to what we've done — to this point," Piniella said. "This series showed the character of our ballclub again, after losing the first game and coming back to take two from a good baseball team."

AUG. 23

Seattle 5, Detroit 1: Even before the end of August, the Mariners established the club record for wins in a season at 92. Rookie Joel Pineiro was the winning pitcher. "It's nice to be out there and get the 92nd win," he said. "It's something I'll have for myself." Ichiro also took over the league lead in hitting at .348.

AUG. 25

Seattle 3, Cleveland 2 (11 innings): This was the game in which reliever Arthur Rhodes' fashion statement was lost on Cleveland's Omar Vizquel. Vizquel asked the umpire to have Rhodes remove his diamond stud earrings because they were a distraction. It nearly starter a brawl, and Rhodes was ejected before he even threw a pitch. "I'm not going to let a guy who weighs 125 pounds tell me to take my earrings out," Rhodes said.

AUG. 30

Seattle 4, at Tampa Bay 0: The shutout, by Freddy Garcia and three relievers, allowed the Mariners win remain unbeaten in 27 straight road series, a major-league record. They also had their third 20-win month.

SEPT. 5

Seattle 12, Tampa Bay 6: The Mariners became the 81st team since 1900 to win 100 games. "It means more than I thought it would," Piniella said. "I didn't think I'd get this emotional."

SEPT. 19

Seattle, 5, Anaheim 0: For the fourth time in club history, the Mariners clinched a playoff berth — and all four times were against the Angels. The celebration was respectful and spiritual after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. There was a minute of silence, a prayer, some patriotic singing and an impromptu flag-waving parade around the diamond by the players. Mike Cameron said, "It was the best way we could show our love for the Seattle fans and the people of America. ... It was beautiful."

SEPT. 23

At Oakland 7, Seattle 5: Just after clinching a playoff spot, the Mariners went to Oakland and got swept. It ended their unbeaten road series streak and gave them their first losing streak (four games) of more than two all season.

SEPT. 25

Seattle 13, at Texas 2: This was their 56th road win, an AL record. They won two more road games to finish with 59.

OCT. 5

Seattle 6, Texas 2: Jamie Moyer became the second pitcher in club history to win 20 games (joining Randy Johnson). He also was the oldest pitcher (38) to do it for the first time. Moyer won 25 games before age 30. But following trades and releases, when it looked like his career was over, he has won 126 games. "Getting traded, getting released, losing, they all come into play," he said. "If you allow it, you can find ways to become a better pitcher."

OCT. 6

Seattle 1, Texas 0: Bret Boone's first-inning home run held up as the Mariners tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most victories in a season with 116. Boone's blast also gave him 141 RBI, enough to become the first second baseman since Rogers Hornsby in 1925 to win the RBI title. In addition, Ichiro would win the batting title and Freddy Garcia the ERA crown. Mark McLemore said, "Everybody in here wants to win the World Series title. Everybody. That's what it's all about."