1995 Seattle Mariners season

The 1995 Seattle Mariners season was the 19th in the history of the franchise. The team finished with a regular season record of to win their first American League (AL) West title, after having been down by as many as 13 games in early August. They were tied the California Angels for first place at the end of the 144-game season. In a one-game tiebreaker, the Mariners defeated the Angels 9–1 to make the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

In the postseason, the Mariners defeated the New York Yankees in the best-of-five AL Division Series after losing the first two games in New York. The series ended on Edgar Martínez' walk-off 11th-inning double. In the AL Championship Series against the favored Cleveland Indians, Seattle won the opener at home and the third game on the road but fell in six games.

Offseason

Notable transactions October 14, 1994: Alex Diaz was selected off waivers by the Mariners from the Milwaukee Brewers. November 29: Félix Fermín signed as a free agent with the Mariners. November 29: Jeff Darwin designated for assignment. December 19: Luis Sojo signed a one-year contract. December 21: Jay Buhner re-signed with the Mariners on a three-year contract. December 21: Eric Anthony was released by the Mariners.

Offseason summary On November 30, 1994, the Mariners became the first MLB team to publish an official website, called "Seattle Mariners Home Plate".

The start of the 1995 season was delayed by the ongoing players strike, which had ended the 1994 season in August. As the strike continued, the Mariners and all MLB teams began spring training with replacement players. In late March, the Mariners had provisional rosters of replacement players that included a few strikebreaking former MLB players, including Jim Paciorek, Marty Pevey, and Randy McCament. However, the strike ended on April 2, the day before replacement players were scheduled to start the regular season. A shortened 144-game MLB season started on April 26, with the Mariners' Opening Day the following night.

Regular season

Season standings

Note: Teams played 144 games instead of the normal 162 as a consequence of the 1994–95 strike.Seattle and California each played 145 games due to the one-game tiebreaker.

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starting lineup PlayerBatters34Darren BraggLF28Joey Cora2B24Ken Griffey Jr.CF19Jay BuhnerRF11Edgar MartínezDH23Tino Martinez1B16Mike Blowers3B6Dan WilsonC10Félix FermínSSStarting pitcher51Randy JohnsonSource:

Season summary Ken Griffey Jr. suffered a severe left wrist injury on May 26 while making a catch at the wall that sidelined him until mid-August. The Mariners stayed afloat at around .500, and their historic late season comeback tied the California Angels. The Mariners honored the West Coast Negro Baseball Association Seattle Steelheads when they wore 1946 Steelheads uniforms on September 9 against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals wore Kansas City Monarchs uniforms. The Mariners beat the Royals 6–2 at the Kingdome. Randy Johnson won his first Cy Young Award. The award came at the end of a banner year: Johnson (18–2, 2.48 ERA, 294 strikeouts) narrowly missed becoming the first AL pitching Triple Crown winner since Detroit's Hal Newhouser in 1945. Johnson's .900 winning percentage broke Ron Guidry's 1978 record, and his strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 12.35 broke Nolan Ryan's single-season record.

Pennant chase On August 21, the Mariners () were 12½ games behind the California Angels (). Two weeks later, the lead narrowed to 5½ games, as the Angels went 1–12 while the Mariners were 8–5. After another two weeks, the lead was down to three games, and the teams were even at on the morning of September 21. Seattle led by as many as 3 games. On September 30, with two games left in season, the Mariners only needed one win to clinch their first playoff appearance in franchise history but couldn't hold it, as they lost their final two games at the Texas Rangers. The Angels won their final five games to tie the Mariners at , requiring a one-game playoff for the division title. Also on a five-game winning streak, the New York Yankees secured the new wild card berth at .

Game log

Regular season

|-style=background:#bfb | 1 || April 27 || Tigers || 3–0 || Johnson (1–0) || Bergman (0–1) || Ayala (1) || 34,656 || 1–0 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 2 || April 28 || Tigers || 9–2 || Bosio (1–0) || Doherty (0–1) || — || 19,336 || 2–0 || W2 |-style=background:#bfb | 3 || April 29 || Tigers || 11–1 || Fleming (1–0) || D. Wells (0–1) || Converse (1) || 27,264 || 3–0 || W3 |-style=background:#fbb | 4 || April 30 || Tigers || 1–10 || Moore (2–0) || B. Wells (0–1) || — || 19,743 || 3–1 || L1

|-style=background:#bfb | 5 || May 1 || @ Rangers || 4–1 || Davis (1–0) || Rogers (0–2) || Ayala (2) || 19,104 || 4–1 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 6 || May 2 || @ Rangers || 15–3 || Nelson (1–0) || Heredia (0–1) || — || 17,983 || 5–1 || W2 |-style=background:#bfb | 7 || May 3 || @ Rangers || 5–1 || Bosio (2–0) || Pavlik (0–1) || — || 17,375 || 6–1 || W3 |-style=background:#fbb | 8 || May 5 || @ Angels || 0–10 || Patterson (1–0) || Fleming (1–1) || — || 30,230 || 6–2 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 9 || May 6 || @ Angels || 5–7 || Williams (1–1) || Wells (0–2) || L. Smith (4) || 21,882 || 6–3 || L2 |-style=background:#bfb | 10 || May 7 || @ Angels || 3–2 || Johnson (2–0) || Finley (0–3) || Ayala (3) || 24,868 || 7–3 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 11 || May 9 || @ Athletics || 5–7 || Wengert (1–1) || Converse (0–1) || — || 8,125 || 7–4 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 12 || May 10 || @ Athletics || 4–7 || Ontiveros (2–1) || Fleming (1–2) || Eckersley (4) || 8,495 || 7–5 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb | 13 || May 11 || @ Athletics || 1–3 || Harkey (1–1) || Villone (0–1) || Eckersley (5) || 9,444 || 7–6 || L3 |-style=background:#bfb | 14 || May 12 || White Sox || 6–4 || Johnson (3–0) || Alvarez (1–2) || Risley (1) || 18,166 || 8–6 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 15 || May 13 || White Sox || 6–5 || Davis (2–0) || Fernandez (1–2) || Ayala (4) || 40,653 || 9–6 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb | 16 || May 14 || White Sox || 2–10 || Abbott (2–1) || Converse (0–2) || — || 19,475 || 9–7 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 17 || May 16 || @ Royals || 2–4 (5) || Haney (1–0) || Fleming (1–3) || — || 12,330 || 9–8 || L2 |-style=background:#bfb | 18 || May 17 || @ Royals || 4–0 || Wells (1–2) || Gubicza (1–3) || — || 12,020 || 10–8 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 19 || May 18 || @ Royals || 2–3 (14) || Brewer (1–1) || Converse (0–3) || — || 14,793 || 10–9 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 20 || May 19 || @ Twins || 6–8 || Radke (2–1) || Davis (2–1) || Aguilera (6) || 14,639 || 10–10 || L2 |-style=background:#bfb | 21 || May 20 || @ Twins || 10–6 || Belcher (1–0) || Erickson (1–4) || — || 13,762 || 11–10 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 22 || May 21 || @ Twins || 5–2 || Johnson (4–0) || Tapani (2–2) || Ayala (5) || 12,918 || 12–10 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb | 23 || May 22 || @ Tigers || 8–10 || Boever (3–0) || Carmona (0–1) || Henneman (4) || 9,167 || 12–11 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 24 || May 23 || Red Sox || 4–5 (10) || Belinda (3–0) || Frey (0–2) || Ryan (3) || 11,868 || 12–12 || L2 |-style=background:#bfb | 25 || May 24 || Red Sox || 15–6 || Carmona (1–1) || Pierce (0–3) || Nelson (1) || 10,041 || 13–12 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 26 || May 25 || Red Sox || 4–3 || Belcher (2–0) || Z. Smith (0–1) || Ayala (6) || 12,194 || 14–12 || W2 |-style=background:#bfb | 27 || May 26 || Orioles || 8–3 || Johnson (5–0) || McDonald (0–2) || — || 15,256 || 15–12 || W3 |-style=background:#fbb | 28 || May 27 || Orioles || 4–11 || Mills (3–0) || Wells (1–3) || — || 20,797 || 15–13 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb | 29 || May 28 || Orioles || 5–2 || Bosio (3–0) || Brown (4–2) || Ayala (7) || 16,785 || 16–13 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 30 || May 29 || Yankees || 8–7 (12) || Ayala (1–0) || Bankhead (1–1) || — || 18,948 || 17–13 || W2 |-style=background:#bfb | 31 || May 30 || Yankees || 7–3 || Nelson (2–0) || Perez (2–2) || — || 10,709 || 18–13 || W3 |-style=background:#bfb | 32 || May 31 || Yankees || 11–9 || Wells (2–3) || MacDonald (0–1) || Ayala (8) || 13,035 || 19–13 || W4

|-style=background:#fbb | 33 || June 2 || @ Red Sox || 5–6 || Belinda (4–0) || Torres (0–2) || — || 33,476 || 19–14 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 34 || June 3 || @ Red Sox || 8–10 || Cormier (2–0) || Carmona (1–2) || Ryan (6) || 27,301 || 19–15 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb | 35 || June 4 || @ Red Sox || 1–2 (10) || Wakefield (3–0) || Ayala (1–1) || — || 28,512 || 19–16 || L3 |-style=background:#bfb | 36 || June 5 || @ Orioles || 2–0 || Johnson (6–0) || McDonald (1–3) || — || 36,732 || 20–16 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 37 || June 6 || @ Orioles || 6–12 || Moyer (1–1) || Fleming (1–4) || — || 33,556 || 20–17 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb | 38 || June 7 || @ Orioles || 10–2 || Bosio (4–0) || Brown (5–3) || — || 38,407 || 21–17 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 39 || June 8 || @ Orioles || 2–8 || Mussina (5–3) || Torres (0–3) || — || 40,730 || 21–18 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb | 40 || June 9 || @ Yankees || 11–1 || Belcher (3–0) || Perez (3–3) || — || 19,650 || 22–18 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 41 || June 10 || @ Yankees || 3–2 || Nelson (3–0) || Howe (1–2) || Ayala (9) || 25,279 || 23–18 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb | 42 || June 11 || @ Yankees || 7–10 || Howe (2–2) || Frey (0–3) || Wetteland (7) || 26,037 || 23–19 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 43 || June 12 || Royals || 9–10 || Meacham (2–2) || Villone (0–2) || Montgomery (9) || 11,628 || 23–20 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb | 44 || June 13 || Royals || 1–3 || Haney (3–1) || Torres (0–4) || Montgomery (10) || 10,223 || 23–21 || L3 |-style=background:#fbb | 45 || June 14 || Royals || 1–2 || Appier (9–2) || Belcher (3–1) || Montgomery (11) || 12,585 || 23–22 || L4 |-style=background:#fbb | 46 || June 16 || Twins || 1–10 || Radke (3–6) || Johnson (6–1) || — || 20,762 || 23–23 || L5 |-style=background:#bfb | 47 || June 17 || Twins || 6–4 || Bosio (5–0) || Trombley (0–2) || Ayala (10) || 16,751 || 24–23 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb | 48 || June 18 || Twins || 2–1 || Risley (1–0) || Tapani (4–6) || — || 24,707 || 25–23 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb | 49 || June 19 || @ White Sox || 6–8 || McCaskill (3–2) || Fleming (1–5) || Hernandez (11) || 22,406 || 25–24 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb | 50 || June 20 || @ White Sox || 9–5 || Johnson (7–1) || Alvarez (1–2) || — || 25,868 || 26–24 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 51 || June 21 || @ White Sox || 4–5 (10) || McCaskill (4–2) || Risley (1–1) || — || 21,228 || 26–25 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb | 52 || June 22 || @ White Sox || 3–2 || Torres (1–4) || Abbott (3–3) || Ayala (11) || 20,836 || 27–25 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 53 || June 23 || Angels || 4–14 || Langston (6–1) || Belcher (3–2) || — || 14,282 || 27–26 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb | 54 || June 24 || Angels || 3–2 || Johnson (8–1) || Finley (5–6) || — || 31,275 || 28–26 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 55 || June 25 || Angels || 5–7 || Boskie (6–1) || Bosio (5–1) || Smith (19) || 14,325 || 28–27 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb | 56 || June 26 || Angels || 7–3 || Torres (2–4) || Anderson (1–1) || — || 18,126 || 29–27 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 57 || June 27 || Athletics || 4–6 || Harkey (4–4) || Belcher (3–3) || Eckersley (16) || 9,767 || 29–28 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb | 58 || June 28 || Athletics || 5–7 || Van Poppel (1–1) || Nelson (3–1) || — || 15,165 || 29–29 || L2 |-style=background:#bfb | 59 || June 29 || Athletics || 5–2 || Bosio (6–1) || Arce (1–2) || Ayala (12) || 13,701 || 30–29 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb | 60 || June 30 || Rangers || 2–10 || Gross (3–7) || Torres (2–5) || — || 12,137 || 30–30 || L1

|-style=background:#bfb | 61 || July 1 || Rangers || 2–0 || Belcher (4–3) || Pavlik (4–4) || Ayala (13) || 17,323 || 31–30 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb