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2012 Mariners Season Review

IT HAPPENED IN 2012 -- SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Felix Hernandez threw the 23rd perfect game in Major League history Aug. 15 vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.
  • Kyle Seager led the team with 20 home runs and 86 RBI, joining Alvin Davis as the only other Mariner with a 20 HR-85 RBI season in either of first two MLB seasons.
  • 6 Mariners pitchers (Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmsen) combined to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers June 8 at Safeco Field…tied a MLB record for most pitchers used in a no-hitter.
  • Scored 21 runs May 30 in a 21-8 win at Texas…2nd-most runs in a game in club history and most by MLB team this season.
  • Recorded the 3rd-best ERA in club history at 3.76, trailing only 2001 (3.54) and 1990 (3.69)…the starters (3.93) and relievers (3.37) ranked #4 and #5 respectively in the American League.
  • Recorded the best fielding percentage in the Majors with a .988 mark (72 E, 6012 TC)…did not commit an error in 102 of 162 games.
  • Recorded six 1-0 wins, leading the Majors and setting a club record.
  • Jason Vargas (July) and Felix Hernandez (August) named American League Pitchers of the Month.
  • Trio of Miguel Olivo (68 GS) Jesus Montero (55 GS) and John Jaso (39 GS) combined to set a club record by catchers in home runs (26), slugging percentage (.463), extra-base hits (60), total bases (282), go-ahead RBI (23), game-winning RBI (14).
  • Kyle Seager ranked 2nd in the AL (T3rd in MLB) with 44 2-out RBI.
  • Hisashi Iwakuma posted the best ERA by a rookie starter in club history (2.65)…went 8-4, 2.65 in 16 starts to rank 3rd amongst AL starters (min. 15 GS)…also 7th amongst all AL pitchers with a 3.16 ERA (min. 100.0 IP).
  • Jason Vargas led the team with 14 wins (14-11, 3.85) and quality starts (22), and set career-highs in wins, starts (33), innings (217.1) and strikeouts (141).
  • Michael Saunders hit 19 home runs and led the team with 21 stolen bases…fell one HR short of becoming the Mariners first 20 HR-20 SB player since Mike Cameron in 2002.
  • John Jaso led the team in batting (.276), OBP (.395) and SLG (.456).
  • Tom Wilhelmsen ranked T7th in the AL with 29 saves...appeared in 73 games, T7th-mot in the AL, and T4th-most in single-season club history.
  • Homered in 18 consecutive games Sept. 9-29 (25 total HR) from Sept. 9-29, the 2nd-longest streak of games with a HR in club history (19 in 1999).
  • Played in a Major League-high 25 rubber-matches (tied with LAA)…went 12-13 in games to decide a 3-game series (23-28-2 overall series record).
  • Justin Smoak hit .341 (31x91) with 6 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI over his last 27 games to raise his season average from .189 to .217.
  • Brendan Ryan led all MLB shortstops with 27 defensive runs saved.
  • The Mariners 9 Minor League affiliates combined to go 496-406 (.550), leading all organizations in wins and winning percentage, and setting a MiLB record…6 of the 9 affiliates qualified for the postseason.

WINS AND LOSSES…the Mariners posted a 75-87 record (.463)…went 39-36 (.520) following the All-Star break, the 8th-best winning percentage in the American League…finished in 4th place in the AL West for the third consecutive season, and seventh time in the last nine seasons…posted back-to-back winning months in July (15-11) and August (15-12), the first time with consecutive winning months since 2009…went 40-41 at Safeco Field and 35-46 on the road…went 15-1 over a 16-game span at Safeco Field July 26-Aug. 22, including an 8-game home win streak Aug. 14-22 (T4th-longest home win streak in club history)…8-game win streak was also tied for the 7th-longest in club history, and longest since an 8-game streak in June 2007…108 of 162 games were decided by 3 or fewer runs (25-28 in 1-run games, 13-16 in 2-run games, 14-12 in 3-run games)…went 5-10 in extra-inning affairs, including a 4-2 loss in 18 innings Sept. 18 vs. Baltimore (T4th-longest game in club history).

IMPROVEMENT…with a 75-87 record (6 wins shy of finishing .500), the Mariners had an 8-win improvement from 2011 (67-95) and a 14-win improvement from 2010 (61-101)…the offense improved with 40 more home runs (149 in ’12, 109 in ’11) and scored 63 more runs (619 in ’12, 556 in ’11).

AWARD SEASONKyle Seager was named the Mariners MVP position player for 2012, RHP Felix Hernandez the MVP pitcher for the fifth consecutive season and C/DH John Jaso the Unsung Hero in awards presented by the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America…additionally, INF Munenori Kawasaki was the Mariners nominee for the MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Award and Hernandez was a nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award and one of 10 finalists for the Hutch Award.

PERFECT GAMEFelix Hernandez threw the 23rd perfect game in Major League history Aug. 15 in a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field in Seattle…here are some statistical facts about the historical performance:

  • The perfect game was the 23rd in Major League history, the 14th in the American League, and the first in Mariners history (5,700th game in club history including post-season).
  • Recorded 12 strikeouts in the perfect game, the 4th-most in a perfect game trailing 14 by Sandy Koufax (1965) and Matt Cain (2012) and 13 by Randy Johnson (2004).
  • Native Venezuelan became the 2nd pitcher born outside the United States to throw a perfect game…Dennis Martinez (Nicaragua) retired all 27 batters he faced for the Expos at Dodger Stadium in 1991.

COMBINED NO-HITTER…Six Mariners pitchers collaborated for the 10th combined no-hitter in Major League history June 8 in a 1-0 win over the Dodgers at Safeco Field…it was the 3rd no-hitter in club history…Kevin Millwood (6.0), Charlie Furbush (0.2), Stephen Pryor (0.1), Lucas Luetge (0.1), Brandon League (0.2) and Tom Wilhelmsen (1.0) tied the MLB record for most pitchers used in a no-hitter (HOU vs. NYY, 6/11/03).

A CRAZY SEASON…the 2012 season featured just about every baseball oddity you can imagine…Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game (8/15 vs. TB) and six pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter (6/8 vs. LAD)…the offense scored a 2012 MLB-high 21 runs (5/30 at TEX) and tied a Major League record with 20 strikeouts (9/25 at LAA)…were also on the opposing side of a perfect game (Philip Humber, 4/21 vs. CWS), a cycle (Aaron Hill, 6/18 at ARI) and an inside-the-park home run (Ryan Roberts, 6/20 at ARI).

FIT FOR A KINGFelix Hernandez went 13-9 with a 3.06 ERA (79 ER, 232.0 IP) with 5 shutouts and 223 strikeouts in 33 starts…among AL starters ranked 1st in shutouts, 2nd in complete games (5), 2nd in innings pitched, T3rd in strikeouts, T4th in games started and T5th in quality starts (21)…he also led the Majors with 12 starts where he allowed 1 or fewer runs in 8.0 or more innings (R.A. Dickey was 2nd w/7)…recorded 11 no-decisions to tie for the AL lead, posting a 2.45 ERA…had 4 ND allowing 1 R or less in 8.0+ IP.

200 K, 200.0 IP CLUBFelix Hernandez recorded his 4th consecutive season with 200.0 IP and 200 strikeouts…is the first pitcher in club history with four consecutive 200 K, 200.0 IP seasons, and joins Justin Verlander (DET) as the only active pitchers with four straight 200 K, 200.0 IP seasons since 2009.

SIMPLY SEAGER…Kyle Seager led the team in home runs (20), RBI (86), doubles (35), extra base hits (56) and games played (155)…he became the 12th player in club history (24th time) to record a season with at least 20 HR, 35 2B and 85 RBI (first since Jose Lopez in 2009)…Seager is also just the 2nd player in club history to record 20 HR and 85 RBI in either of his first two Major League seasons, joining Mr. Mariner Alvin Davis, who set Mariners rookie records with 27 home runs and 116 RBI during his debut season in 1984.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DINGERS…the Mariners finished the season with 8 players with double-digits in home runs, joining the Yankees (10 players) and A’s (8 players) as the only teams with at least 8 players with 10+ home runs…Kyle Seager (20), Justin Smoak (19), Michael Saunders (19), Jesus Montero (15), Dustin Ackley (12), Miguel Olivo (12), John Jaso (10) and Casper Wells (10) all reached double-digits in longballs, marking the first time since 1997 (9 players) that 8 or more Mariners had 10+ home runs…this season also  marked the first time with 4 players with 15+ home runs since 2009 (Branyan/Griffey Jr./Gutierrez/Lopez).

CLOSE GAMES…the Mariners played 53 1-run games (25-28), tied for the 2nd-most among American League teams (MIN – 54, KC – 53)…also went 13-16 in 2-run games…82 of 162 games (50.6%) were decided by 2 or fewer runs…also ranked T3rd in the AL playing 15 extra-inning games (5-10).

ROOF MOVEMENT…the Safeco Field roof was open for 71 of 81 games, tying the record set in 2006…went 37-34 (.521) with the roof open, and 2-3 (.400) with the roof closed and 1-4 (.200) when there was a roof movement.

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