2008 Seattle Mariners season

2008 Seattle Mariners
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1977)
Western Division (since 1977)
Location
Safeco Field (since 1999)
Seattle, Washington (since 1977)
Results
Record	61–101 (.377)
Divisional place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	Nintendo of America (represented by Howard Lincoln)
General manager(s)	Bill Bavasi, Lee Pelekoudas
Manager(s)	John McLaren (dismissed June 20), Jim Riggleman
Local television	FSN Northwest (Dave Niehaus, Dave Sims, Rick Rizzs, Mike Blowers)
Local radio	KOMO (English) (Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs) KSZN (Spanish) (Alex Rivera, Julio Cruz)
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The 2008 Seattle Mariners season was the 32nd Major League Baseball season in the team's history. Coming off the heels of the previous 2007 season, in which the M's finished with their first winning record since 2003, the team was widely expected to once again compete for the American League West division championship. The team was bolstered by some major roster additions during the previous offseason, most notably starting pitchers Érik Bédard and Carlos Silva. However, by the end of May, it became apparent that the team had gone back to its losing ways of the 2004–06 seasons. Despite their losing ways, they won their first and last game of the season. Their longest winning-streak of the season is 4 games after a Cleveland sweep at the end of August and a 12-6 win against the Texas Rangers on the first day of September. However, standing at 57-87, their longest losing-streak of the season is 12 games, 11 on the road, 1 at home, after being swept by the L.A. Angels, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and suffering a loss at the last homestand opener against the L.A. Angels. On September 23, the Mariners became the first club to spend $100 million in payroll and lose 100 games. The team finished the season with a 61–101 (.377) record, last in the West for the 4th time in 5 years, and second worst in the majors.

With the team underperforming and underachieving, a number of people who had become scapegoats for the team's underperformance were dismissed during the season, most notably general manager Bill Bavasi, field manager John McLaren, first baseman Richie Sexson, and designated hitter José Vidro.

Offseason

• December 20, 2007 Signed free agent RHP Carlos Silva
• January 8, 2008 Signed free agent INF Miguel Cairo
• January 31, 2008 Signed free agent OF Brad Wilkerson
• February 8, 2008 Traded OF Adam Jones, LHP George Sherrill, and minor league pitchers Tony Butler, Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio to the Baltimore Orioles for LHP Érik Bédard
• Dismissed all coaches hired under Mike Hargrove except hitting coach Jeff Pentland and hired former MLB managers Jim Riggleman (bench coach), Sam Perlozzo (third base coach), and Lee Elia (special assistant to the manager), as well as Mel Stottlemyre (pitching coach), Norm Charlton (bullpen coach), and Eddie Rodriguez (first base coach).

Regular season

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	100	62	0.617	—	50–31	50–31
Texas Rangers	79	83	0.488	21	40–41	39–42
Oakland Athletics	75	86	0.466	24½	43–38	32–48
Seattle Mariners	61	101	0.377	39	35–46	26–55

Record vs. opponents

Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	–	6–12	4–5	4–4	4–3	5–3	3–6	3–3	7–11	0–5	8–2	3–15	4–5	6–12	11–7
Boston	12–6	–	4–3	5–1	5–2	6–1	1–8	4–3	9–9	6–4	6–3	8–10	9–1	9–9	11–7
Chicago	5–4	3–4	–	11–7	12–6	12–6	5–5	9–10	2–5	5–4	5–1	4–6	3–3	1–7	12–6
Cleveland	4–4	1–5	7–11	–	11–7	10–8	4–5	8–10	4–3	5–4	4–5	5–2	6–4	6–1	6–12
Detroit	3–4	2–5	6–12	7–11	–	7–11	3–6	7–11	4–2	3–6	7–3	3–4	6–3	3–5	13–5
Kansas City	3–5	1–6	6–12	8–10	11–7	–	2–3	6–12	5–5	6–3	7–2	3–5	2–7	2–5	13–5
Los Angeles	6–3	8–1	5–5	5–4	6–3	3–2	–	5–3	7–3	10–9	14–5	3–6	12–7	6–3	10–8
Minnesota	3–3	3–4	10–9	10–8	11–7	12–6	3–5	–	4–6	5–5	5–4	3–3	5–5	0–6	14–4
New York	11–7	9–9	5–2	3–4	2–4	5–5	3–7	6–4	–	5–1	7–2	11–7	3–4	9–9	10–8
Oakland	5–0	4–6	4–5	4–5	6–3	3–6	9–10	5–5	1–5	-	10–9	3–6	7–12	4–6	10–8
Seattle	2–8	3–6	1–5	5–4	3–7	2–7	5–14	4–5	2–7	9–10	–	3–4	8–11	5–4	9–9
Tampa Bay	15–3	10–8	6–4	2–5	4–3	5–3	6–3	3–3	7–11	6–3	4–3	–	6–3	11–7	12–6
Texas	5–4	1–9	3–3	4–6	3–6	7–2	7–12	5–5	4–3	12–7	11–8	3–6	–	4–4	10–8
Toronto	12–6	9–9	7–1	1–6	5–3	5–2	3–6	6–0	9–9	6–4	4–5	7–11	4–4	–	8–10

Roster

2008 Seattle Mariners
Roster
Pitchers 58 Cha Seung Baek 43 Miguel Batista 45 Érik Bédard 48 Roy Corcoran 41 R.A. Dickey 31 Ryan Feierabend 54 Sean Green 34 Félix Hernández 36 César Jiménez 57 Mark Lowe 26 Randy Messenger 35 Brandon Morrow 59 Eric O'Flaherty 20 J. J. Putz 53 Arthur Rhodes 18 Ryan Rowland-Smith 52 Carlos Silva 60 Justin Thomas 56 Jarrod Washburn 40 Jared Wells 49 Jake Woods		Catchers 15 Jamie Burke  9 Jeff Clement  2 Kenji Johjima 32 Rob Johnson Infielders 29 Adrián Beltré  5 Yuniesky Betancourt 13 Miguel Cairo 23 Tug Hulett 39 Bryan LaHair  4 José López 10 Greg Norton 44 Richie Sexson 27 Matt Tuiasosopo 61 Luis Valbuena  3 José Vidro		Outfielders 50 Wladimir Balentien 16 Willie Bloomquist 28 Raúl Ibañez 25 Charlton Jimerson 12 Mike Morse  8 Jeremy Reed 51 Ichiro Suzuki  6 Brad Wilkerson		Manager  7 John McLaren 47 Jim Riggleman Coaches 37 Norm Charlton (bullpen) 40 Jeff Pentland (hitting) 22 Sam Perlozzo (third base) 55 Lee Elia (bench) 47 Jim Riggleman (bench)  1 Eddie Rodríguez (first base) 30 Mel Stottlemyre (pitching) 58 Jose Castro (hitting)

In-season transactions

• April 2, 2008 Placed pitcher J. J. Putz on the 15-day disabled list, and purchased the contract of pitcher Roy Corcoran from Tacoma of the Pacific Coast League (AAA).
• April 11, 2008 Recalled IF Greg Norton from Triple-A Tacoma; designated OF Charlton Jimerson for assignment.
• April 14, 2008 Selected the contract of LHP Arthur Rhodes from Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx; Recalled RHP R.A. Dickey from Triple-A Tacoma; Placed OF Mike Morse on 15-day disabled list with a dislocated left shoulder; Optioned LHP Eric O'Flaherty to Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx.
• April 15, 2008 Placed LHP Érik Bédard on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 9, with inflammation in his left hip.
• April 16, 2008 Recalled RHP Brandon Morrow from Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx; Re-signed OF Charlton Jimerson to a Minor League contract, he had been designated for assignment on April 10.
• April 22, 2008 Activated RHP J. J. Putz from the 15-day disabled list; optioned RHP R.A. Dickey to Triple-A Tacoma.
• April 25, 2008 Signed C Kenji Johjima to a 3-year, $24 million contract extension through 2011.
• April 26, 2008 Activated LHP Érik Bédard from the 15-day disabled list; optioned RHP Roy Corcoran to Triple-A Tacoma.
• April 30, 2008 Recalled C Jeff Clement and OF Wladimir Balentien from Triple-A Tacoma; Designated INF Greg Norton and OF Brad Wilkerson for assignment.
• May 5, 2008 Traded Greg Norton to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named or cash considerations; Released nonroster OF Bronson Sardinha.
• May 7, 2008 Released OF Brad Wilkerson, he had been designated for assignment on April 30.
• May 18, 2008 Optioned C Jeff Clement to Triple-A Tacoma.
• May 19, 2008 Recalled OF Jeremy Reed from Triple-A Tacoma; claimed RHP Tracy Thorpe off waivers from Toronto.
• May 21, 2008 Designated RHP Cha Seung Baek for assignment.
• May 22, 2008 Recalled RHP R.A. Dickey from Triple-A Tacoma.
• May 27, 2008 Acquired RHP Jared Wells from the San Diego Padres for RHP Cha Seung Baek.
• May 28, 2008 Optioned RHP Jared Wells to Triple-A Tacoma; Activated RHP Anderson Garcia from the 15-day disabled list and optioned him to Single-A High Desert.
• June 13, 2008 Placed RHP J. J. Putz on the 15-day disabled list with a hyper-extended right elbow; Recalled RHP Roy Corcoran from Triple-A Tacoma.
• June 16, 2008 Recalled C Jeff Clement from Triple-A Tacoma; Optioned OF Wladimir Balentien to Triple-A Tacoma.
• June 24, 2008 Acquired LHP Nelson Payano from the Atlanta Braves to complete the May 5 trade.
• July 1, 2008 Placed RHP Félix Hernández on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle retroactive to June 24; Recalled LHP Cesar Jimenez from Triple-A Tacoma.
• July 7, 2008 Released RHP Anderson Garcia.
• July 10, 2008 Recalled RHP Jared Wells from Triple-A Tacoma; Selected the contract of INF Tug Hulett from Triple-A Tacoma; Placed LHP Érik Bédard on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 5, with stiffness in his left shoulder; Released INF Richie Sexson.
• July 11, 2008 Activated RHP Félix Hernández from the 15-day disabled list; Optioned RHP Jared Wells to Triple-A Tacoma.
• July 17, 2008 Optioned INF Tug Hulett to Triple-A Tacoma; Signed OF Julio Morban and RHP Francisco Valdivia.
• July 18, 2008 Recalled 1B Bryan LaHair from Triple-A Tacoma.
• July 20, 2008 Activated RHP J. J. Putz from the 15-day disabled list; Optioned LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith to Triple-A Tacoma.
• July 25, 2008 Signed RHP Jorge Sosa to a Minor League contract.
• July 30, 2008 Claimed RHP Luis Munoz off waivers from Pittsburgh and optioned him to Double-A West Tenn.
• July 31, 2008 Acquired RHP Gaby Hernandez from the Florida Marlins in exchange for LHP Arthur Rhodes.
• August 13, 2008 Released DH/INF José Vidro (Designated for assignment on August 5)

Front office/coaching staff

• June 9, 2008 Dismissed hitting coach Jeff Pentland and named special assistant Lee Elia as his replacement
• June 16, 2008 Dismissed general manager Bill Bavasi and named vice president/assistant GM Lee Pelekoudas as interim GM
• June 19, 2008 Dismissed field manager John McLaren and named bench coach Jim Riggleman as interim manager. Elia promoted to bench coach and minor league hitting instructor Jose Castro promoted to hitting coach.

Individual accomplishments

• May 18 OF Ichiro Suzuki breaks the franchise stolen base record of 290 previously held by Julio Cruz in a game against the San Diego Padres
• June 17 RHP Félix Hernández throws an immaculate inning (retiring all three batters via strikeout using the minimum nine pitches needed to do so) against the Florida Marlins, becoming the thirteenth American League pitcher to do so
• June 23 Félix Hernández hits a grand slam off New York Mets pitcher (and fellow Venezuelan) Johan Santana, becoming the first pitcher in franchise history to hit a home run, as well as the first American League pitcher to hit a grand slam in modern Interleague play
• July 6 C Jamie Burke pitched in the 15th inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers after catching the previous six innings. Burke, who had made four relief appearances in the minor leagues, was saddled with a loss and became the first position player to receive a decision as a pitcher since 2000.
• July 15 Ichiro Suzuki plays in his eighth consecutive Major League Baseball All-Star Game
• July 29 Ichiro Suzuki records his 3,000th major-league hit (1,278 in Nippon Professional Baseball and 1,722 in MLB) in a game against the Texas Rangers
• September 1 3B Adrián Beltré hit for the cycle against the Texas Rangers, becoming the fourth Mariner to accomplish the feat. Beltre's cycle came hours after Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew hit for the cycle in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, marking the first time two players hit for the cycle in the same day since 1920.
• September 18 Ichiro Suzuki completes his 200th hit of the season, completing 8 straight seasons of accomplishing the feat, tying the record for number of 200+ hit consecutive seasons. Hall of Famer Willie Keeler is the only other person to have achieved this milestone, from 1894 through 1901.

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In. Min. games 40., listed by average.

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Ichiro Suzuki	162	686	213	.310	6	42
José López	159	644	191	.297	17	89
Raúl Ibañez	162	635	186	.293	23	110
Yuniesky Betancourt	153	559	156	.279	7	51
Willie Bloomquist	71	165	46	.279	0	9
Jeremy Reed	97	286	77	.269	2	31
Adrián Beltré	143	566	148	.266	25	77
Jamie Burke	48	92	24	.261	1	8
Bryan LaHair	45	146	34	.250	3	10
Miguel Cairo	108	221	55	.249	0	23
José Vidro	85	308	72	.234	7	45
Jeff Clement	66	203	46	.227	5	23
Kenji Johjima	112	379	86	.227	7	39
Wladimir Balentien	71	243	49	.202	7	24

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	SV	ERA	SO
Félix Hernández	31	200.2	9	11	0	3.45	175
Carlos Silva	28	153.1	4	15	0	6.46	69
Érik Bédard	15	81	6	4	0	3.67	72
Miguel Batista	44 (20 starts)	115	4	14	1	6.26	73
Jarrod Washburn	28 (26 starts)	153.2	5	14	1	4.69	87

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; SV = Saves; W = Wins; L = Losses; H = Holds; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	H	SV	ERA	SO
Sean Green	72	79	4	5	17	1	4.67	62
J. J. Putz	47	46.1	6	5	0	15	3.88	56
Eric O'Flaherty	7	6.2	0	1	2	0	20.25	4
Mark Lowe	57	63.2	1	5	1	1	5.37	55
Roy Corcoran	50	72.2	6	2	8	3	3.22	39
Cha Seung Baek	10 (1 start)	30	0	1	0	0	5.40	15
Ryan Rowland-Smith	47 (12 starts)	118.1	5	3	1	2	3.42	77
R.A. Dickey	32 (14 starts)	112.1	5	8	0	0	5.21	58
Arthur Rhodes	36	22	2	1	13	1	2.86	26
Brandon Morrow	45 (5 starts)	64.2	3	4	3	10	3.34	75

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tacoma Rainiers	Pacific Coast League	Daren Brown
AA	West Tenn Diamond Jaxx	Southern League	Scott Steinmann
A	High Desert Mavericks	California League	Jim Horner
A	Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	Midwest League	Terry Pollreisz
A-Short Season	Everett AquaSox	Northwest League	José Moreno
Rookie	Pulaski Mariners	Appalachian League	Rob Mummau
Rookie	AZL Mariners	Arizona League	Andy Bottin

Major League Baseball Draft

2008 Seattle Mariners draft picks
Information
Owner	Nintendo of America
General Manager(s)	Bill Bavasi Lee Pelekoudas Jack Zduriencik
Manager(s)	John McLaren Jim Riggleman
First pick	Joshua Fields (Rule 4) Reegie Corona (Rule 5)
Draft positions	20 (Rule 4) 2 (Rule 5)
Number of selections	50 (Rule 4) 2 (Rule 5)
Players signed (Rule 4)	36
Links
Results	Baseball-Reference The Baseball Cube
Official Site	The Official Site of the Seattle Mariners
Years	2007 • 2008 • 2009

Below is a complete list of the Seattle Mariners draft picks from the two 2008 Major League Baseball drafts.

The Seattle Mariners took part in both the Major League Baseball Rule 4 draft and the Rule 5 draft in 2008.

The 2008 Major League Baseball Draft was held on June 5 and June 6, 2008. He Mariners made the 20th selection in the draft, selecting Joshua Fields. The Mariners selected a total of 50 players and signed 36 of those selected players.

In the 2008 Rule 5 draft the Mariners selected two players, one in the Major League phase and one in the Triple-A phase. They also had three players selected by other teams, two in the Triple-A phase and one in the Double-A phase.

Key

Round (Pick)	Indicates the round and pick the player was drafted
Position	Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play
Bold	Indicates the player signed with the Mariners before the deadline
Italics	Indicates the player did not sign with the Mariners before the deadline
Bold italics	Indicates a player was signed after the deadline

Table

Round (Pick)	Name	Position	School	Ref
1 (20)	Joshua Fields	Right-handed pitcher	University of Georgia
2 (20)	Dennis Raben	Outfielder	University of Miami
3 (98)	Aaron Pribanic	Right-handed pitcher	University of Nebraska
4 (132)	Steven Hensley	Right-handed pitcher	Elon University
5 (162)	Brett Lorin	Right-handed pitcher	Long Beach State University
6 (192)	Jarrett Burgess	Outfielder	Florida Christian School
7 (222)	Nate Tenbrink	Third baseman	Kansas State University
8 (252)	Bobby LaFromboise	Left-handed pitcher	University of New Mexico
9 (282)	William Morrison	Right-handed pitcher	Western Michigan University
10 (312)	Nate Newman	Right-handed pitcher	Pepperdine University
11 (342)	Matt Jensen	Second basemen	Clovis East High School
12 (372)	Kenn Kasparek	Right-handed pitcher	University of Texas
13 (402)	Ryan Royster	Outfielder	University of California, Davis
14 (432)	Luke Burnett	Right-handed pitcher	Louisiana Tech University
15 (462)	Jacob Shaffer	Outfielder	Northern Kentucky University
16 (492)	Bennett Billingsley	Second baseman	Lenoir Community College
17 (422)	Michael Dennhardt	Right-handed pitcher	Don Bosco Preparatory High School
18 (552)	Travis Howell	Catcher	Long Beach State University
19 (582)	Taylor Lewis	Right-handed pitcher	Yavapai College
20 (612)	Frederick Bello	Shortstop	Cerro Coso Community College
21 (642)	Jordan Alvis	Right-handed pitcher	Middle Tennessee State University
22 (672)	Blake Nation	Right-handed pitcher	Georgia Southern University
23 (702)	Brandon Maurer	Right-handed pitcher	Orange Lutheran High School
24 (732)	Henry Contreras	Catcher	California State University, Los Angeles
25 (762)	Paul Robinson	Second baseman	Paris Junior College
26 (792)	Taylor Stanton	Right-handed pitcher	Diablo Valley College
27 (822)	Tommy Johnson	Catcher	Marshall University
28 (852)	Scott Savastano	Shortstop	Franklin Pierce College
29 (882)	Stephen Penney	Right-handed pitcher	University of California, Riverside
30 (912)	Brad Reid	Right-handed pitcher	Bellevue College
31 (942)	Randy Castillo	Right-handed pitcher	Aiea High School
32 (972)	Nick Love	Right-handed pitcher	Bellevue College
33 (1002)	Kyle Brown	Left-handed pitcher	University of California, Santa Barbara
34 (1032)	Ty Tostenson	Outfielder	Oak Ridge High School
35 (1062)	Nicholas Czyz	Left-handed pitcher	University of Kansas
36 (1092)	Chris Kirkland	Right-handed pitcher	University of Memphis
37 (1122)	Brandon Pullen	Left-handed pitcher	San Diego State University
38 (1152)	Andres Esquibel	Right-handed pitcher	University of Kansas
39 (1182)	Christian Staehely	Right-handed pitcher	Princeton University
40 (1212)	Troy Channing	Catcher	Foothill High School
41 (1242)	Henry Cotto	Outfielder	GateWay Community College
42 (1272)	Randy Molina	First baseman	Stanford University
43 (1302)	Mike Kindel	Outfielder	Springboro High School
44 (1332)	Donnie Jobe	Second baseman	Elon University
45 (1360)	Andrew Kittredge	Right-handed pitcher	Joel E. Ferris High School
46 (1387)	Alvin Rittman	Outfielder	Germantown High School
47 (1414)	Richard O'Donald	Right-handed pitcher	John Dickinson High School
48 (1468)	D. J. Mauldin	Right-handed pitcher	California Polytechnic State University
49 (1468)	Joshua Rodriguez	Catcher	South Mountain College
50 (1495)	Walker Kelly	Left-handed pitcher	Arlington Heights High School

Rule 5 draft

Key

Pick	Indicates the pick the player was drafted
Previous team	Indicates the previous organization, not Minor league team

Table

Phase	Pick	Name	Position	Previous team	Notes	Ref
Major League	2	Reegie Corona	Shortstop	New York Yankees	Corona was returned to the Yankees before the regular season.
Triple-A	2	Pat Ryan	Right-handed pitcher	Milwaukee Brewers	none

References

• Game Logs:

1st Half: Seattle Mariners Game Log on ESPN.com

2nd Half: Seattle Mariners Game Log on ESPN.com

• Batting Statistics: Seattle Mariners Batting Stats on ESPN.com
• Pitching Statistics: Seattle Mariners Pitching Stats on ESPN.com
• 2008 Seattle Mariners season at Baseball Reference
• 2008 Seattle Mariners team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• Seattle Mariners Team page at www.mlb.com