This Date In Royals History--1985 Edition: February 27

A look at the young Seattle Mariners, a team hoping to climb higher in the standings in 1985.

Up next in our tour through the AL West, it’s the Seattle Mariners, who finished in a tie for fifth with Chicago in 1984. However, their 74-88 mark was only two wins behind the franchise’s best season (1982) at the time, a solid rebound from losing 102 games in 1983. So perhaps things were looking up in the Pacific Northwest.

At least the Mariners were a young team. Reigning AL Rookie of the Year, first baseman Alvin Davis, was 24. Shortstop Spike Owen was a few weeks from his 24th birthday. Third baseman Jim Presley was also 24. Center fielder Dave Henderson was 26. Left fielder Phil Bradley was about to turn 26. And that’s just the regular position players. Youngsters like catcher Dave Valle, outfielder Ivan Calderon, third baseman Darnell Coles, second baseman Harold Reynolds, and an infielder named Danny Tartabull all got a little playing time in the majors in 1984.

The pitching staff was likewise full of younger players. The rotation featured Mark Langston, Mike Moore, and Matt Young, with Young ironically the oldest at 25. The Mariners also plucked Mike Morgan from Toronto in the Rule 5 draft. Jim Beattie was the outlier in the rotation; not only did his name not start with “M,” but he was 30.

The Mariners did need to rely on the old adage about the best thing about young players: they get better. While the offense was not far below league average (4.21 runs per game; league average was 4.42), the pitchers posted an ERA of 4.48, ahead of only Oakland in the AL. Since Seattle did little in the offseason to supplement the staff, they were certainly banking on the current pitchers to improve.

With all the young players and a 15-12 closing stretch in 1984, manager Chuck Cottier and Mariners fans had reason for at least some cautious optimism.

Today’s birthdays: Greg Cadaret (1962), Matt Stairs (1968), Matt Peacock (1994)