1977 Seattle Mariners season
The 1977 Seattle Mariners season was the first season in franchise history, which was established via the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion. The creation of the Mariners brought baseball back to Seattle, which had been without a major league team since the Seattle Pilots left for Milwaukee to become the Brewers in April 1970.
1977 Seattle Mariners | |
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Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
Results | |
Record | 64–98 (.395) |
Divisional place | 6th |
Other information | |
Owner(s) | Danny Kaye |
General manager(s) | Dick Vertlieb/Lou Gorman |
Manager(s) | Darrell Johnson |
Local television | KING-TV 5 (NBC) |
Local radio | KVI 570 AM (Dave Niehaus, Ken Wilson) |
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The Mariners ended the 1977 season by narrowly avoiding last place (held by the Oakland A's), finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 64–98 (.395), 38 games behind the AL West champion Kansas City Royals.
Offseason
- September 3, 1976: Former Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson is hired to be the team's first manager. Lou Gorman, Seattle's director of baseball operations, states that Johnson will help in scouting players for the upcoming expansion draft.[1]
- October 1, 1976: Dave Johnson was purchased by the Mariners from the Baltimore Orioles.[2]
- October 22, 1976: Diego Seguí was purchased by the Mariners from the San Diego Padres.[3]
- November 5, 1976: The 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft was held. The Mariners (along with their expansion partners, the Toronto Blue Jays) selected 30 players to fill their major league roster.
- April 1, 1977: Mike Kekich was purchased by the Mariners from the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo.[4]
Regular season
The first game
Linescore
April 6, Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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California | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
Seattle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
W: Frank Tanana (1–0) L: Diego Seguí (0–1) | ||||||||||||
HRs: Joe Rudi (1) |
Boxscore
Batting
California Angels | AB | R | H | RBI | Seattle Mariners | AB | R | H | RBI |
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Remy, 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Collins, DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Grich, ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Báez, 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Bonds, rf | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Braun, LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Baylor, dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Stanton, RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Rudi, lf | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Stein, 3B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Solaita, 1b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Meyer, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bochte, cf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Jones, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chalk, 3b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Stinson, C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Humphrey, c | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Reynolds, SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Totals | 37 | 7 | 9 | 7 | Totals | 34 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Pitching
California Angels | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | Seattle Mariners | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
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Tanana, W, (1–0) | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | Seguí, L, (0–1) | 3.2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Montague | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
Totals | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | Totals | 9.0 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
Other notable events
- April 10, 1977: Designated hitter Juan Bernhardt hit the first home run in team history.[6]
- April 13, 1977: The first extra innings game in team history resulted in a 3–2 win over the Minnesota Twins.
- May 19, 1977: The first shutout win in team history was a 3–0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
- July 1, 1977: The Milwaukee Brewers played their first game in Seattle since 1969, when they were the Seattle Pilots. The Brewers beat the hometown Mariners, 2–1.
- July 8, 1977: Scored the most runs of the season in a 13–11 win against the Minnesota Twins.
Season standings
AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Kansas City Royals | 102 | 60 | 0.630 | — | 55–26 | 47–34 |
Texas Rangers | 94 | 68 | 0.580 | 8 | 44–37 | 50–31 |
Chicago White Sox | 90 | 72 | 0.556 | 12 | 48–33 | 42–39 |
Minnesota Twins | 84 | 77 | 0.522 | 17½ | 48–32 | 36–45 |
California Angels | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 28 | 39–42 | 35–46 |
Seattle Mariners | 64 | 98 | 0.395 | 38 | 29–52 | 35–46 |
Oakland Athletics | 63 | 98 | 0.391 | 38½ | 35–46 | 28–52 |
Record vs. opponents
1977 American League Records Sources: | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 6–8 | 5–6 | 5–5 | 11–4 | 12–3 | 4–7 | 11–4 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 | 7–3 | 4–6 | 10–5 |
Boston | 8–6 | — | 7–3 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 8–3 | 10–1 | 6–4 | 12–3 |
California | 6–5 | 3–7 | — | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 4–7 | 5–10 | 9–6 | 5–10 | 6–4 |
Chicago | 5–5 | 7–3 | 7–8 | — | 6–4 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 6–5 | 10–5 | 3–7 | 10–5 | 10–5 | 6–9 | 8–3 |
Cleveland | 4–11 | 7–8 | 4–6 | 4–6 | — | 8–7 | 3–7 | 11–4 | 2–9 | 3–12 | 7–3 | 7–3 | 2–9 | 9–5 |
Detroit | 3–12 | 6–9 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 7–8 | — | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 2–8 | 10–5 |
Kansas City | 7–4 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 7–8 | 7–3 | 8–3 | — | 8–2 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 11–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 |
Milwaukee | 4–11 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 4–11 | 5–10 | 2–8 | — | 3–8 | 8–7 | 5–5 | 7–3 | 5–5 | 8–7 |
Minnesota | 4–6 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 5–10 | 9–2 | 5–5 | 5–10 | 8–3 | — | 2–8 | 8–6 | 7–8 | 8–7 | 9–1 |
New York | 7–8 | 7–8 | 7–4 | 7–3 | 12–3 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 8–2 | — | 9–2 | 6–4 | 7–3 | 9–6 |
Oakland | 2–8 | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 6–8 | 2–9 | — | 7–8 | 2–13 | 7–3 |
Seattle | 3–7 | 1–10 | 6–9 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 4–11 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 8–7 | — | 9–6 | 4–6 |
Texas | 6–4 | 4–6 | 10–5 | 9–6 | 9–2 | 8–2 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 3–7 | 13–2 | 6–9 | — | 7–4 |
Toronto | 5–10 | 3–12 | 4–6 | 3–8 | 5–9 | 5–10 | 2–8 | 7–8 | 1–9 | 6–9 | 3–7 | 6–4 | 4–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- April 20, 1977: Pete Broberg was traded by the Mariners to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Jim Todd to the Mariners on October 25.[7]
- May 2, 1977: Dave Johnson was purchased from the Mariners by the Minnesota Twins.[2]
- June 7, 1977: Tony Phillips was drafted by the Mariners in the 16th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.[8]
- July 27, 1977: Dave Pagan was traded by the Mariners to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Rick Honeycutt to the Mariners on August 22.[9]
- August 2, 1977: Stan Thomas was traded by the Mariners to the New York Yankees for future considerations.[10]
- September 9, 1977: Bill Laxton and cash were traded by the Mariners to the Cleveland Indians for Ray Fosse.[11]
Roster
1977 Seattle Mariners | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Game log
1977 Game Log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September/October
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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C | Bob Stinson | 105 | 297 | 80 | .269 | 8 | 32 |
1B | Dan Meyer | 159 | 582 | 159 | .273 | 22 | 90 |
2B | José Báez | 91 | 305 | 79 | .259 | 1 | 17 |
3B | Bill Stein | 151 | 566 | 144 | .259 | 13 | 67 |
SS | Craig Reynolds | 135 | 420 | 104 | .248 | 4 | 28 |
LF | Steve Braun | 139 | 451 | 106 | .235 | 5 | 31 |
CF | Ruppert Jones | 160 | 597 | 157 | .263 | 24 | 76 |
RF | Leroy Stanton | 133 | 454 | 125 | .275 | 27 | 90 |
DH | Juan Bernhardt | 89 | 305 | 74 | .243 | 7 | 30 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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Dave Collins | 120 | 402 | 96 | .239 | 5 | 28 |
Carlos López | 99 | 297 | 84 | .283 | 8 | 34 |
Larry Milbourne | 86 | 242 | 53 | .219 | 2 | 21 |
Julio Cruz | 60 | 199 | 51 | .256 | 1 | 7 |
Skip Jutze | 42 | 109 | 24 | .220 | 3 | 15 |
Larry Cox | 35 | 93 | 23 | .247 | 2 | 6 |
Jimmy Sexton | 14 | 37 | 8 | .216 | 1 | 3 |
Ray Fosse | 11 | 34 | 12 | .353 | 0 | 5 |
Tommy Smith | 21 | 27 | 7 | .259 | 0 | 4 |
Puchy Delgado | 13 | 22 | 4 | .182 | 0 | 2 |
Kevin Pasley | 4 | 13 | 5 | .385 | 0 | 2 |
Joe Lis | 9 | 13 | 3 | .231 | 0 | 1 |
Tom McMillan | 2 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Glenn Abbott | 36 | 204.1 | 12 | 13 | 4.45 | 100 |
Dick Pole | 25 | 122.1 | 7 | 12 | 5.15 | 51 |
Gary Wheelock | 17 | 88.1 | 6 | 9 | 4.89 | 47 |
Rick Jones | 10 | 42.1 | 1 | 4 | 5.10 | 16 |
Paul Mitchell | 9 | 39 | 3 | 3 | 4.99 | 20 |
Doc Medich | 3 | 22.1 | 2 | 0 | 3.63 | 3 |
Frank MacCormack | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 4 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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John Montague | 47 | 182.1 | 8 | 12 | 4.29 | 98 |
Diego Seguí | 40 | 110.2 | 0 | 7 | 5.69 | 91 |
Tom House | 26 | 89.1 | 4 | 5 | 3.93 | 39 |
Dave Pagan | 24 | 66 | 1 | 1 | 6.14 | 30 |
Stan Thomas | 13 | 58.1 | 2 | 6 | 6.02 | 14 |
Bob Galasso | 11 | 35 | 0 | 6 | 9.00 | 21 |
Rick Honeycutt | 10 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 4.34 | 17 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Enrique Romo | 58 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 2.83 | 105 |
Bill Laxton | 43 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4.95 | 49 |
Mike Kekich | 41 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5.60 | 55 |
Tommy Moore | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.91 | 13 |
Steve Burke | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.87 | 6 |
Greg Erardi | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 | 5 |
Byron McLaughlin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
Farm system
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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A-Short Season | Bellingham Mariners | Northwest League | Bobby Floyd |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bellingham[13]
References
- Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of '76, Dan Epstein, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2014.
- Dave Johnson page at Baseball-Reference
- Diego Segui page at Baseball Reference
- Mike Kekich page at Baseball-Reference
- Game log for April 6, 1977
- Griffeys made home run history in '90 | Mariners.com: News
- Jim Todd page at Baseball Reference
- Tony Phillips page at Baseball Reference
- Dave Pagan page at Baseball Reference
- Stan Thomas page at Baseball Reference
- Ray Fosse page at Baseball Reference
- http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1977&t=SEA
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007