B aseball players often say that the best feeling in the world is coming out to the ballpark knowing you have a good chance of winning that day In 2001 just about every day felt like that for the Seattle Mariners and their fans It was The magic of the 2001 sea son was put in motion in 1999 when the team opened Safeco Field immediately considered one of the best ball parks in all of baseball Safeco Field routinely sold out in 2001 Approximately 3 5 million fans came out to watch the Mariners play that year And they had a lot to cheer about One of the highlights was Ichiro Suzuki a 27-year-old rookie from Japan He had been a star player in Japan before coming to Seattle and the American League AL The player who became known simply as Ichiro was a fan favorite right away with his dazzling catches in right field But it was his batting and base Right fielder Ichiro Suzuki helped turn the 2001 Seattle Mariners into Right fielder Ichiro Suzuki helped turn the 2001 Seattle Mariners into baseball’s top team during the regular season baseball’s top team during the regular season THE GREATEST SEASON 5
EEEverything Went Everything Went y g Right Right Sometimes teams just get lucky and Sometimes teams just get lucky and Sometimes teams just get lucky and sometimes teams are lucky and sometimes teams are luck and sometimes teams are lucky and sometimes teams are lucky and good During the 2001 season the good During the 2001 season the Mariners were both They were hot Mariners were both They were hot from the start going 20 5 in April from the start going 20 5 in April When the Mariners followed up with When the Mariners followed up with a 20 7 May baseball fans real a 20 7 May baseball fans real lll ized something unusual was going ized something unusual was going on in Seattle The 2001 Mariners on in Seattle The 2001 Mariners faced 18 different teams during the faced 18 different teams during the regular season They had a winning regular season They had a winning record against every one of them record against every one of them record against every one of them We were great but you had to get We were great but you had to get breaks and we got all of them breaks and we got all of them breaks and we got all of them s id M in Bt said Mariners second baseman Bret said Mariners second baseman Bret Boone Boone Boone nd b fh d running that really set him apart He stunned the baseball world by batting an AL-best 350 and collecting 242 hits during his first season With incredible speed on the base paths Ichiro was routinely able to bunt for hits and steal bases In fact he stole 56 bases in his first year another AL best Ichiro combined with a veteran lineup to make the 6 SEATTLE MARINERS Mariners one of Major League Baseball’s MLB best hitting teams that season They led the AL in several batting categories including team batting average and runs batted in RBIs Second baseman Bret Boone was a breakout star in 2001 He hit 331 with an AL best 141 RBIs First baseman John Olerud designated hit ter Edgar Martinez and center fielder Mike Cameron were also key middle-of-the-order batters The Mariners pitching staff was among the best in baseball As a team they had the lowest earned run average ERA and gave up the fewest hits in the AL Starting pitch ers Freddy Garcia and Jamie Moyer anchored the veteran pitching staff Jeff Nelson was one of the most reliable relief pitchers in baseball They all threw to Dan Wilson a strong defensive catcher
Mariners second baseman Bret Boone enjoyed a career year in 2001 hitting 37 home runs and driving in 141 runs The team also had an experienced leader Manager Lou Piniella had already led the Cincinnati Reds to a World Series title He was one of the most respected managers in baseball With all those pieces in place the Mariners had one of the best regular seasons in MLB history In fact their 116 wins tied an MLB record that was nearly 100 years old The only other team to win that THE GREATEST SEASON 7
