Marco Gonzales, Seattle Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners are a little over a week away from opening the 2021 season. Unlike last season’s abridged 60 game slate, there is an entire season of baseball scheduled this time around. There are some interesting personal stats that current and former M’s players can reach. Some of them are personal, and a few others are team-related.
Mitch Haniger didn’t play in 2020 due to injuries. The same milestones Haniger chased when he was initially hurt in 2019 are still in play. Hanniger needs 11 RBI to reach 200 for his career, and 28 makes him the 36th Mariners player to reach the mark. Additionally, with 24 more doubles, he will be the 27th player in team history to reach 100.
Kyle Seager went over the 200 home run mark last season, finishing at 207. He is fourth behind Jay Buhner at 307. So right now, it looks like he will end his Mariners career at this spot unless they decide to exercise his $15M option for 2022. That’s unlikely likely unless Seager has a season well above what he’s done in recent years.
Getting back to doubles, Seager has 280. He needs 16 to pass Ichiro for third and 20 to become the third Seattle player to reach 200. Seager can also pass Ichiro for fifth in walks with 44 more. At 1,267 career hits, not only is 1,300 in range but so is 1,400. He also needs:
J.P. Crawford is five walks and 12 RBI away from 100 in each category. Catcher Tom Murphy is 26 RBI away from 100. If Dylan Moore repeats his feat of the last two years, he’ll become the only Seattle player to field all-seven non-battery positions plus DH in three different seasons.
Marco Gonzales, Seattle’s opening day starter for the third year in a row, has several milestones to reach this coming season. Gonzales pitched in 96 Major League games with 88 starts, so he should go over 100 in both categories in 2021. He pitched in 84 games for the Mariners while starting 81, so he should break 100 in those categories as well. Gonzales has an MLB record of 41-29 losses. With the Mariners, he’s 37-20, so hopefully, he will reach 50 Major League wins and 50 M’s wins.
So far, @MarcoGonzales_ has 476 innings pitched with the Mariners. Once he breaks 500, Gonzales qualifies for the M’s all-time ERA list. If his 3.97 holds, that ties him for ninth place with Jamie Moyer. Finally, Gonzales enters 2021 with 420 career strikeouts (386 in Seattle). He should break 500, quite possibly by the All-Star break.
James Paxton in his return to Seattle, has a few milestones as well. Paxton is tied for the lead in ERA at 3.42 on the Mariners all-time list with Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Randy Johnson. A better era than that this season and moves Big Maple up to number one by himself. Paxton has a career win-loss record of 57-33. He likely goes over 60 this season and may break 70 as well. Nine more wins give him 50 with the Mariners.
Of course, his “bread and butter” is strikeouts. He enters 2021 with 829 K’s. If Paxton stays healthy this year, there is no reason why he shouldn’t break 1,000. With the Mariners, Paxton has 617 strikeouts, 10th in franchise history. Again staying healthy this season, Paxton could challenge Freddy Garcia (819) for 6th place. Along the way, he’ll pass Joel Pineiro (658), Iwakuma (714), and Erik Hanson (740).
Scott Servais heads into his sixth season managing the Seattle Mariners. He is second in Seattle Mariners history with 348 victories. If Servais doesn’t reach 400 (likely 420), he’s either fired or will be looking for a new job at season’s end. If the Mariners go 87-75, Servais will be only the second manager in team history with a .500 winning percentage.
Former Seattle Mariner player Nelson Cruz is moving upon the all-time home run list. He has 417 career home runs, 11 more, and “Boomstick” passes Mike Piazza for 50th all-time. If the almost 41-year-old sluggers jacks 33 more, he can take sole possession of 40th place. Edwin Encarnacion is in 52nd place with 424. He remains unsigned this spring, and it looks as though his MLB career has come to an end. That’s too bad, he was only 65 RBI short of cracking the top 100.
Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols has 662 home runs. That’s only 34 dingers shy of fourth-place held by former Mariner Alex Rodriguez. Pujols becomes the second player in MLB history (Hank Aaron) with 700 HRS and 600 doubles if he gets there.
Miguel Cabrera is chasing history as well. The Tigers DH needs 13 homers for 500 and 134 hits to reach 5,000. Yadier Molina of the Cardinals needs 11 games caught to be the sixth man in MLB history to backstop 2000. With 68 more he passes Gary Carter for fourth all-time.
Which one of these milestones are you looking forward to in 2020? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.