A commentary on Klipsun writer Jeffrey Guiliani’s time as a fan of the Seattle Mariners

STORY BY JEFFREY GIULIANI | PHOTOS BY NICK DANIELSON

2001.

It was one of the most magical seasons in the history of baseball.

No team had ever won more games in a season than the Seattle Mariners, posting a stunning 116–46 record.

The magic would run out though, just one step away from the World Series. The New York Yankees knocked off the Mariners 12–3 in Game five and their postseason was over.

It’s still over.

Since losing to the Yankees on Oct. 22, 2001, the Mariners have not made the playoffs.

It’s a brutal streak that is the second longest out of any team in the four major sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) in North America. Only the Buffalo Bills can boast a longer stretch of futility, having not made the NFL playoffs since 1999.

I’ve been following the Mariners since I could walk. Growing up, I played baseball along with my two brothers. We lived and breathed the game. I still remember watching the Mariners on our grainy tube TV. Edgar Martinez, Bret Boone, John Olerud, so many great characters and personalities to root for.

What happened?

There has been hope before. Many big name free agents and promising draft picks have come through the Emerald City in the last 15 years, rarely living up to their potential. They often had trouble adjusting to Safeco Field’s dimensions and characteristics. Power hitters saw their home run totals plummet as the thick marine air from the Puget Sound kept potential dingers in the yard.

Only ace pitcher Felix Hernandez has offered any hope when he came aboard in 2005, establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

2010 was supposed to be the year, with “Believe Big” as the season’s motto. But things fell apart quickly. That team was nowhere near as talented as the talking heads thought. Chone Figgins, the big free agent acquisition, ended up being a disaster. The return of Ken Griffey Jr. in his old age wasn’t enough and there was little to “Believe Big” in.

Since 2001, 10 different men have managed the Mariners. Managers come and go, but teams with stability do not see that kind of turnover. Each came with hopes and pledges to right the Mariners’ figurative ship and lead Seattle to the Promised Land. And each time, those prayers went unanswered.

The Promised Land: The World Series. It’s a place the Seattle Mariners have never sniffed. They have the dubious honor of being just one of two teams to never play in a World Series. The other team is the Washington Nationals, whose first season was in 2005.

The Mariners started playing in 1977.

Yet the fans continue to stick around, although, enthusiasm has waned. In 2001, the Mariners averaged 44,000 fans per home game.

The low point came in 2012 when the average plummeted to just a shade over 20,000 per game. The faithful, like myself, stick around.

The last time the Mariners made the playoffs, I was in the second grade. I am currently finishing my senior year of university.

What drives a person to stick with a continuing loser, a team that has done nothing of value for 15 years?

It’s about staying true to the things you believe in. That’s something that sports fans and non-sports fans can relate to.

Life is about sticking to your guns and not fleeing when the going gets tough. That’s one of the great things about sports. It taught me from a young age that loyalty matters.

Watching losing baseball for 15 years is tough. Baseball by far has the longest season of any major sport, 162 games. Do the math on that, it’s been thousands of games of waiting.

But here’s the silver lining, the light at the end of the tunnel: One day, the Mariners will win. They will get back to the playoffs, get to the World Series and they will win it.

The years of drudgery will make that moment even sweeter. Ask a Kansas City Royals fan. They doubled the Mariners’ playoff drought from 1985 to 2015; that’s 30 years without a playoff baseball team.

And they are the reigning World Series champs.

I believe that time will come for the Mariners in my lifetime. This 2016 season has been the most promising start in a decade.

That 2001 team won with strong pitching and small ball. It appears that is how the 2016 team is built too. Most recent World Series champions have won that way, and the Mariners will too.

I just hope it won’t take another 15 years.