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MLB Network’s Jon Morosi: Red-hot Mariners might have something in common with 2001 team

Apr 9, 2019, 12:15 PM | Updated: 3:34 pm

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On Wednesday, the Mariners matched a 2002 HR record set by the Cleveland Indians. (AP)

(AP)

MLB Network and FOX Sports reporter Jon Morosi isn’t saying the red-hot Seattle Mariners are going to end up putting together a record-setting season like the 2001 M’s. But there are similarities in the makeup of both teams that are worth pointing out.

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“Maybe, maybe – I’m not saying it’s gonna be 116 wins – but maybe this team is borrowing a little bit of that characteristic from that ’01 team,” Morosi said to 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock and Salk on Tuesday morning during one of his interviews that occur every other week during the baseball season.

So what is that characteristic? Well, in 2001 the Mariners weren’t expected to be much of a contender. Alex Rodriguez had left in free agency for a record contract from Texas following a 2000 playoff run with Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. had been traded a year prior to that to Cincinnati. Randy Johnson was in Arizona. Jay Buhner was dealing with injuries and nearing the end of his career.

Edgar Martinez was still around, however. There was an exciting new player named Ichiro Suzuki in right field, a defensive superstar in center field (Mike Cameron), and veterans in key spots with plenty left in the tank like Bret Boone, John Olerud and Jamie Moyer. And they all helped the Mariners take baseball by storm and tie the all-time record with 116 wins in a season when nobody saw them coming.

Well, the 2019 Mariners similarly parted way with several superstars and weren’t expected to be in the postseason mix, but they enter Tuesday with a 10-2 record (a franchise-best start) and have been torching opposing pitching. And while they don’t look exactly like the 2001 squad, the current M’s may be riding a similar wave helped out by how they were brought together with lowered expectations.

“Of course that most famous of all Mariners teams, the ’01 team … that was a team that was not known for having superstars,” Morosi said. “And it ended up being in some ways, of course they did. But that was the Griffey-less, A-Rod-less team that was collectively very good, and the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.”

The 2001 Mariners famously clicked despite having a lot of roster changes in the previous offseason, and Morosi wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle’s trip to Japan to start the season ended up giving this year’s team a comparable chemistry.

“I really think, and (Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto) made this comment I know publicly too, that opening the season in Japan may have helped this team,” Morosi said. “I think that that’s a lot of time for a new group together to coalesce and be part of the same organization and develop those bonds. It’s remarkable sometimes when you change this much of the roster, somehow it works and somehow it clicks.”

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While Morosi doesn’t expect them to maintain their incredible .945 OPS as a team, he said there is reason to believe the M’s could continue to be a potent offensive squad.

“I’ve heard Jerry Dipoto say this publicly, they believe internally based on a lot of their modeling and metrics that this is sustainable. That they’ve got a group of guys that they believe can put the ball out of T-Mobile (Park),” Morosi said. “I think we talked about it in our very first conversation this year about (Domingo) Santana and his ability to hit the ball out of just about any ball park. Jay Bruce, he can be streaky but six homers in 11 games is pretty good. Of course (Bruce’s) average is not very high but the production’s been there. (Tim) Beckham looks excellent. (Edwin) Encarnación of course had a very big inning (hitting two home runs Monday night) in the midst of a very strong start.

“When you look at the track record of some of the guys here … there is enough there to dream on this team a little bit, especially when look at the pitching struggles there in Anaheim and the Rangers still going through their rebuild. There are some wins to be had in this division. In the American League writ large, there is space for a surprise team, and maybe that team is Seattle.”

To hear the full 15-minute conversation with Morosi from Brock and Salk, listen in the player embedded in this post or download a podcast version at this link.

Also from Jon Morosi’s interview with Brock and Salk:

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