1990 Seattle Mariners season
| 1990 Seattle Mariners | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Kingdome |
| City | Seattle, Washington |
| Record | 77–85 (.475) |
| Divisional place | 5th |
| Owner | Jeff Smulyan |
| General manager | Woody Woodward |
| Manager | Jim Lefebvre |
| Television | KSTW-TV 11 |
| Radio | KIRO 710 AM (Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs, Joe Simpson) |
The 1990 Seattle Mariners season was the 14th for the Seattle Mariners in Major League Baseball (MLB). Under second-year manager Jim Lefebvre, they finished fifth in the American League West at 77–85 (.475). It was the second-best record in the M's history up to that point in time; the win total was one behind the club record set in 1987.[1] The Mariners hit six grand slams, most in MLB.[2]
Offseason
- November 13, 1989: Jeff Schaefer signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[3]
- December 7: Pete O'Brien signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[4]
- January 24, 1990: Jim Presley traded to the Atlanta Braves for Gary Eave and Ken Pennington.[5]
Regular season
- April 1990: Ken Griffey Jr. named the American League (AL) Player of the Month after batting .388 with five home runs.[6]
- June 2: Randy Johnson threw a no-hitter versus the Detroit Tigers,[7][8] the first for the franchise.[9] He was also the tallest pitcher, at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), in MLB history to throw a no-hitter. It was the 2,101st game in Mariners history. Johnson was later named the AL Pitcher of the Month for June.[10]
- July 10: Griffey Jr. and Johnson on the AL All-Star Game roster.[11]
- September 14: Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning against the California Angels.[12] It remains the only time in MLB history that a father and son hit consecutive home runs, as of the end of the 2025 season.
- In his first full major league season, Edgar Martínez led the team with a .302 batting average.[13]
- Griffey Jr. and second baseman Harold Reynolds won AL Gold Glove Awards.[14]
Opening Day starters
- Harold Reynolds, 2B
- Ken Griffey Jr., CF
- Alvin Davis, DH
- Jeffrey Leonard, RF
- Pete O'Brien, 1B
- Greg Briley, LF
- Edgar Martínez, 3B
- Dave Valle, C
- Brian Giles, SS
- Brian Holman, P[15]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 103 | 59 | .636 | — | 51–30 | 52–29 |
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 68 | .580 | 9 | 49–31 | 45–37 |
| Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | .512 | 20 | 47–35 | 36–44 |
| California Angels | 80 | 82 | .494 | 23 | 42–39 | 38–43 |
| Seattle Mariners | 77 | 85 | .475 | 26 | 38–43 | 39–42 |
| Kansas City Royals | 75 | 86 | .466 | 27½ | 45–36 | 30–50 |
| Minnesota Twins | 74 | 88 | .457 | 29 | 41–40 | 33–48 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–3 |
| California | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 5–7 |
| Cleveland | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 5–8 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Detroit | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 3–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 4–9 | 10–3 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 |
| New York | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 0–12 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–8 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 12–0 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 9–3 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 4–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 4–8 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- May 24, 1990: Traded Gary Eave to the San Francisco Giants for Russ Swan.[16]
- June 4: 1990 MLB draft:
- Marc Newfield was selected by the Mariners in the first round (sixth pick), and he signed on June 10, receiving a $220,000 bonus.[17][18]
- Dave Fleming selected by the Mariners in the third round.[19]
- Bret Boone was selected by Seattle in the fifth round, and he signed on June 8.[20]
- Mike Hampton selected by the Mariners in the sixth round.[19]
- June 18: Darnell Coles was traded by the Mariners to the Detroit Tigers for Tracy Jones.[21]
- June 19: Mario Díaz was traded by the Mariners to the New York Mets for Brian Givens.[22]
- August 29: Ken Griffey Sr. signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[23]
- September 18: Rick Renteria was released by the Mariners.[24]
Roster
| 1990 Seattle Mariners | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
The Griffeys
- Ken Griffey Sr. joined his son (Ken Griffey Jr.) to become the first father and son to play in a MLB game together. The game was played in the Kingdome against the Kansas City Royals on August 31.[25] The Griffeys became the first father-and-son teammates to hit back-to-back home runs on September 14.[12]
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dave Valle | 107 | 308 | 66 | .214 | 7 | 33 |
| 1B | Pete O'Brien | 108 | 366 | 82 | .224 | 5 | 27 |
| 2B | Harold Reynolds | 160 | 642 | 162 | .252 | 5 | 55 |
| 3B | Edgar Martínez | 144 | 487 | 147 | .302 | 11 | 49 |
| SS | Omar Vizquel | 81 | 255 | 63 | .247 | 2 | 18 |
| LF | Jeffrey Leonard | 134 | 478 | 120 | .251 | 10 | 75 |
| CF | Ken Griffey Jr. | 155 | 597 | 179 | .300 | 22 | 80 |
| RF | Greg Briley | 125 | 337 | 83 | .246 | 5 | 29 |
| DH | Alvin Davis | 140 | 494 | 140 | .283 | 17 | 68 |
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 | 127 | 355 | 92 | .259 | 4 | 33 |
| Scott Bradley | 101 | 233 | 52 | .223 | 1 | 28 |
| Jay Buhner | 51 | 163 | 45 | .276 | 7 | 33 |
| Mike Brumley | 62 | 147 | 33 | .224 | 0 | 7 |
| Jeff Schaefer | 55 | 107 | 22 | .206 | 0 | 6 |
| Darnell Coles | 37 | 107 | 23 | .215 | 2 | 16 |
| Brian Giles | 45 | 95 | 22 | .232 | 4 | 11 |
| Tracy Jones | 25 | 86 | 26 | .302 | 2 | 15 |
| Ken Griffey, Sr. | 21 | 77 | 29 | .377 | 3 | 18 |
| Tino Martinez | 24 | 68 | 15 | .221 | 0 | 5 |
| Matt Sinatro | 30 | 50 | 15 | .300 | 0 | 4 |
| Dave Cochrane | 15 | 20 | 3 | .150 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erik Hanson | 33 | 236 | 18 | 9 | 3.24 | 211 |
| Matt Young | 34 | 2251⁄3 | 8 | 18 | 3.51 | 176 |
| Randy Johnson | 33 | 2192⁄3 | 14 | 11 | 3.65 | 194 |
| Brian Holman | 28 | 1892⁄3 | 11 | 11 | 4.03 | 121 |
| Rich DeLucia | 5 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 2.00 | 20 |
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 | 55 | 128 | 6 | 4 | 2.39 | 42 |
| Russ Swan | 11 | 47 | 2 | 3 | 3.64 | 15 |
| Gary Eave | 8 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 4.20 | 16 |
| Scott Bankhead | 4 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 11.08 | 10 |
| Mike Gardiner | 5 | 122⁄3 | 0 | 2 | 10.66 | 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 | 49 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 2.25 | 45 |
| Mike Jackson | 63 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4.54 | 69 |
| Keith Comstock | 60 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2.89 | 50 |
| Gene Harris | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.74 | 43 |
| Brent Knackert | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.51 | 28 |
| Bryan Clark | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.27 | 3 |
| Dave Burba | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 4 |
| Scott Medvin | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.23 | 1 |
| Vance Lovelace | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 1 |
| Jerry Reed | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.91 | 2 |
| José Meléndez | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.81 | 7 |
| Dennis Powell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
Farm system
- Source:[26]
References
- ^ "Wild Johnson dampens end for Mariners". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 4, 1990. p. D2.
- ^ "Team Batting Event Finder: 1990, All Teams, Home Runs, With Runners on 123". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- ^ "Jeff Schaefer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ "Signing of O'Brien heralds loose purse string for M's". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 8, 1989. p. C1.
- ^ "Mariners trade Presley to Braves for infielder, pitcher". UPI. January 24, 1990. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
- ^ "ESPN.com: Ken Griffey Jr. Career Notes". ESPN. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ "Mariner sails away with a no-hitter". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 3, 1990. p. 1G.
- ^ "Box Score of Randy Johnson's No-Hitter". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ "Johnson tosses no-hitter". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. June 3, 1990. p. 3B.
- ^ "Pitcher of the Month Award Winners | History". MLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ "1990 All-Star Game Box Score, July 10". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ a b "Griffeys hit back-to-back HRs". Idahonian. Moscow. Associated Press. September 15, 1990. p. 3D.
- ^ "Franchise Timeline - 1990s | Seattle Mariners". MLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ "GUILLEN, BONDS AMONG GOLDEN GLOVE WINNERS". Deseret News. Associated Press. December 5, 1990. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ "Seattle Mariners vs California Angels Box Score: April 9, 1990". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ^ "Mariners Deal Eave To Giants". The Seattle Times. May 24, 1990. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
- ^ Marc Newfield page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Marc Newfield Stats & Scouting Report". Baseball America. March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
- ^ a b "1990 Seattle Mariners Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
- ^ "Bret Boone Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
- ^ Darnell Coles page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Mario Diaz Stats".
- ^ Ken Griffey page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rick Renteria page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Griffeys make history". Lawrence Journal-World. Kansas. Associated Press. September 1, 1990. p. 1B.
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007