MLB Network’s Virk: When to buy in to first-place Mariners

With the offense surprisingly leading the way, the Seattle Mariners are off to their best start in more than two decades.

Atop AL West, Mariners and A’s are creating a ‘scrappy’ rivalry

The Mariners sit atop the AL West nearly one-quarter of the way into the season at 22-14, which matches their bet mark to begin a season since 2003. They hold a three-game lead in the division over the Athletics and have the second-best record in the American League.

Are the 2025 Mariners for real? MLB Network’s Adnan Virk was asked when the right time to buy in on the M’s is when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Thursday.

“I always try to look at (the season) in terms of thirds. Memorial Day definitely is a benchmark,” Virk said. “I say to myself, ‘OK, a team that is successful right now is in decent shape.’ I think it’s something like two-thirds of teams who are in playoff position by Memorial Day end up making the playoffs, so I feel pretty good (then).”

Memorial Day or June 1 is commonly referred to as a time when a team’s performance is telling of where they’re heading. However, Virk feels it’s more of a benchmark for teams that aren’t playing well.

“I definitely look at it more from a negative perspective,” he said. “If my team is struggling on Memorial Day, for example, the Orioles are almost 10 games under .500. They have been one of the bigger stories in the sport, just how bad they’ve been. So to me, if I’m the Orioles on Memorial Day and I’m still not good, I’m saying, ‘OK, we’ve got to make some massive changes here, make some trades and accept our fate.’”

Mariners fans certainly know that where a team stands on Memorial Day isn’t necessarily where they’ll be at the end of the season. Seattle was in first place in the AL West with a 3 1/2-game lead at 29-26 on Memorial Day last season, and it saw a 10-game division lead in June slip away in record-setting fashion.

MLB Standings

So when is it time fully buy-in on the M’s?

“For Seattle specifically, well, when I start sort of quote unquote buy the Kool-Aid and feel pretty good, I’d wait until the All Star break,” Virk said. “I mean, Memorial Day is almost here, a few more weeks. If they’re still hitting, OK, great. But if I can sustain that and I’m going into July and the All-Star break and my team is still a top-five, top-ten offense, I feel pretty good about it.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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