The Mariners’ Mash: Will Home Runs Tell the Story of Seattle’s 2019 Season?
When a baseball team starts the season with home runs in 20 consecutive games, people tend to pay attention, but how long will the long ball last?
While the Seattle Mariners recorded home runs in the first 20 games of the season, the streak has since ended but the hits have not. The M’s have at least one home run in 24 of their 25 matchups this season, with the game-high being five on March 28 versus Boston and then tied on April 8 against Kansas City. The team has a total of 56 homers, the most of any team in baseball, and they hold a steady margin of 12 over the second-place LA Dodgers.
Regardless of the impressive numbers, the question still remains. Will the home runs continue and will the Mariners be able to hit them when it matters? Last season, Seattle hit 176 home runs in 162 games and had five games where they hit four home runs, but never exceeded four.
Also noteworthy is the fact that the Mariner’s home run leader from 2018 was Nelson Cruz (37 HR) but he has moved on to the Minnesota Twins as of this season. Without Cruz to steadily bring in the extra base hits, it’s important that Seattle has someone to fill that powerful void. Currently, recent acquisition Jay Bruce leads the team with nine home runs while Daniel Vogelbach is close on his heels with eight.
While Bruce has been in the league since 2008 and previously built a reputation in the National League as a consistent hitter, Vogelbach is a different case. With only 79 games played since his debut season in 2016, he could almost still be considered a greenhorn when it comes to the game. But in 37 games last season Vogelbach recorded 18 hits, which he has already tied this season in just 25 games.
Other key factors in the Seattle offense include outfielder Mitch Haniger, who was second on the team with 26 home runs last season and has collected seven so far this year. There are currently five other players on the active roster with five homers or more in 2019 and just four players in the whole League who have more dingers than Bruce. Only Khris Davis of the Oakland Athletics has more home runs in the American League than Bruce.
Obviously, it takes more than just a powerhouse offense to win games. The Mariners are 16–9 and are ranked first in the AL West, but it isn’t purely the home runs that will keep those positive numbers coming. Hard to believe it’s a coincidence that during Seattle’s six-game skid a few weeks ago, they only hit a total of six homers when they have been averaging over two (2.24) per game this season.
It’s no doubt that both offense and defense needs to come together to keep up the success, but it can’t be ignored that the Mariners might just have found the key to the playoffs. If only they can manage to keep their eye on the ball for roughly the next 140 games.
