1990 Seattle Mariners season

1990 Seattle Mariners
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionWest
BallparkKingdome
CitySeattle, Washington
Record77–85 (.475)
Divisional place5th
OwnerJeff Smulyan
General managerWoody Woodward
ManagerJim Lefebvre
TelevisionKSTW-TV 11
RadioKIRO 710 AM
(Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs,
Joe Simpson)

The 1990 Seattle Mariners season was the 14th for the Seattle Mariners in Major League Baseball (MLB). Under second-year manager Jim Lefebvre, they finished fifth in the American League West at 77–85 (.475). It was the second-best record in the M's history up to that point in time; the win total was one behind the club record set in 1987.[1] The Mariners hit six grand slams, most in MLB.[2]

Offseason

  • November 13, 1989: Jeff Schaefer signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[3]
  • December 7: Pete O'Brien signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[4]
  • January 24, 1990: Jim Presley traded to the Atlanta Braves for Gary Eave and Ken Pennington.[5]

Regular season

  • April 1990: Ken Griffey Jr. named the American League (AL) Player of the Month after batting .388 with five home runs.[6]
  • June 2: Randy Johnson threw a no-hitter versus the Detroit Tigers,[7][8] the first for the franchise.[9] He was also the tallest pitcher, at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), in MLB history to throw a no-hitter. It was the 2,101st game in Mariners history. Johnson was later named the AL Pitcher of the Month for June.[10]
  • July 10: Griffey Jr. and Johnson on the AL All-Star Game roster.[11]
  • September 14: Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning against the California Angels.[12] It remains the only time in MLB history that a father and son hit consecutive home runs, as of the end of the 2025 season.
  • In his first full major league season, Edgar Martínez led the team with a .302 batting average.[13]
  • Griffey Jr. and second baseman Harold Reynolds won AL Gold Glove Awards.[14]

Opening Day starters

Season standings

AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Oakland Athletics 103 59 .636 — 51‍–‍30 52‍–‍29
Chicago White Sox 94 68 .580 9 49‍–‍31 45‍–‍37
Texas Rangers 83 79 .512 20 47‍–‍35 36‍–‍44
California Angels 80 82 .494 23 42‍–‍39 38‍–‍43
Seattle Mariners 77 85 .475 26 38‍–‍43 39‍–‍42
Kansas City Royals 75 86 .466 27½ 45‍–‍36 30‍–‍50
Minnesota Twins 74 88 .457 29 41‍–‍40 33‍–‍48

Record vs. opponents

1990 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore — 4–9 7–5 6–6 6–7 6–7 8–3 7–6 6–6 6–7 4–8 3–9 8–4 5–8
Boston 9–4 — 7–5 6–6 9–4 8–5 4–8 5–8 4–8 9–4 4–8 8–4 5–7 10–3
California 5–7 5–7 — 5–8 7–5 5–7 7–6 7–5 9–4 6–6 4–9 5–8 8–5 7–5
Chicago 6–6 6–6 8–5 — 5–7 5–7 9–4 10–2 7–6 10–2 8–5 8–5 7–6 5–7
Cleveland 7–6 4–9 5–7 7–5 — 5–8 6–6 9–4 7–5 5–8 4–8 7–5 7–5 4–9
Detroit 7–6 5–8 7–5 7–5 8–5 — 5–7 3–10 6–6 7–6 6–6 7–5 6–6 5–8
Kansas City 3–8 8–4 6–7 4–9 6–6 7–5 — 4–8 8–5 8–4 4–9 7–6 5–8 5–7
Milwaukee 6–7 8–5 5–7 2–10 4–9 10–3 8–4 — 4–8 6–7 5–7 4–8 5–7 7–6
Minnesota 6–6 8–4 4–9 6–7 5–7 6–6 5–8 8–4 — 6–6 6–7 6–7 5–8 3–9
New York 7–6 4–9 6–6 2–10 8–5 6–7 4–8 7–6 6–6 — 0–12 9–3 3–9 5–8
Oakland 8–4 8–4 9–4 5–8 8–4 6–6 9–4 7–5 7–6 12–0 — 9–4 8–5 7–5
Seattle 9–3 4–8 8–5 5–8 5–7 5–7 6–7 8–4 7–6 3–9 4–9 — 7–6 6–6
Texas 4–8 7–5 5–8 6–7 5–7 6–6 8–5 7–5 8–5 9–3 5–8 6–7 — 7–5
Toronto 8–5 3–10 5–7 7–5 9–4 8–5 7–5 6–7 9–3 8–5 5–7 6–6 5–7 —

Notable transactions

  • May 24, 1990: Traded Gary Eave to the San Francisco Giants for Russ Swan.[16]
  • June 4: 1990 MLB draft:
    • Marc Newfield was selected by the Mariners in the first round (sixth pick), and he signed on June 10, receiving a $220,000 bonus.[17][18]
    • Dave Fleming selected by the Mariners in the third round.[19]
    • Bret Boone was selected by Seattle in the fifth round, and he signed on June 8.[20]
    • Mike Hampton selected by the Mariners in the sixth round.[19]
  • June 18: Darnell Coles was traded by the Mariners to the Detroit Tigers for Tracy Jones.[21]
  • June 19: Mario Díaz was traded by the Mariners to the New York Mets for Brian Givens.[22]
  • August 29: Ken Griffey Sr. signed as a free agent with the Mariners.[23]
  • September 18: Rick Renteria was released by the Mariners.[24]

Roster

1990 Seattle Mariners
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

  • 16 Gene Clines (hitting)
  •  6 Bob Didier (bullpen)
  • 22 Rusty Kuntz (first base)
  • 20 Mike Paul (pitching)
  •  3 Bill Plummer (third base)

The Griffeys

  • Ken Griffey Sr. joined his son (Ken Griffey Jr.) to become the first father and son to play in a MLB game together. The game was played in the Kingdome against the Kansas City Royals on August 31.[25] The Griffeys became the first father-and-son teammates to hit back-to-back home runs on September 14.[12]

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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
C Dave Valle 107 308 66 .214 7 33
1B Pete O'Brien 108 366 82 .224 5 27
2B Harold Reynolds 160 642 162 .252 5 55
3B Edgar Martínez 144 487 147 .302 11 49
SS Omar Vizquel 81 255 63 .247 2 18
LF Jeffrey Leonard 134 478 120 .251 10 75
CF Ken Griffey Jr. 155 597 179 .300 22 80
RF Greg Briley 125 337 83 .246 5 29
DH Alvin Davis 140 494 140 .283 17 68

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
Henry Cotto 127 355 92 .259 4 33
Scott Bradley 101 233 52 .223 1 28
Jay Buhner 51 163 45 .276 7 33
Mike Brumley 62 147 33 .224 0 7
Jeff Schaefer 55 107 22 .206 0 6
Darnell Coles 37 107 23 .215 2 16
Brian Giles 45 95 22 .232 4 11
Tracy Jones 25 86 26 .302 2 15
Ken Griffey, Sr. 21 77 29 .377 3 18
Tino Martinez 24 68 15 .221 0 5
Matt Sinatro 30 50 15 .300 0 4
Dave Cochrane 15 20 3 .150 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
Erik Hanson 33 236 18 9 3.24 211
Matt Young 34 2251⁄3 8 18 3.51 176
Randy Johnson 33 2192⁄3 14 11 3.65 194
Brian Holman 28 1892⁄3 11 11 4.03 121
Rich DeLucia 5 36 1 2 2.00 20

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
Bill Swift 55 128 6 4 2.39 42
Russ Swan 11 47 2 3 3.64 15
Gary Eave 8 30 0 3 4.20 16
Scott Bankhead 4 13 0 2 11.08 10
Mike Gardiner 5 122⁄3 0 2 10.66 6

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
Mike Schooler 49 1 4 30 2.25 45
Mike Jackson 63 5 7 3 4.54 69
Keith Comstock 60 7 4 2 2.89 50
Gene Harris 25 1 2 0 4.74 43
Brent Knackert 24 1 1 0 6.51 28
Bryan Clark 12 2 0 0 3.27 3
Dave Burba 6 0 0 0 4.50 4
Scott Medvin 5 0 1 0 6.23 1
Vance Lovelace 5 0 0 0 3.86 1
Jerry Reed 4 0 1 0 4.91 2
José Meléndez 3 0 0 0 11.81 7
Dennis Powell 2 0 0 0 9.00 0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Calgary Cannons Pacific Coast League Tommy Jones
AA Williamsport Bills Eastern League Rich Morales
A San Bernardino Spirit California League Keith Bodie
A Peninsula Pilots Carolina League Jim Nettles
A-Short Season Bellingham Mariners Northwest League P. J. Carey
Rookie AZL Mariners Arizona League Dave Myers
Source:[26]

References

  1. ^ "Wild Johnson dampens end for Mariners". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 4, 1990. p. D2.
  2. ^ "Team Batting Event Finder: 1990, All Teams, Home Runs, With Runners on 123". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  3. ^ "Jeff Schaefer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  4. ^ "Signing of O'Brien heralds loose purse string for M's". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 8, 1989. p. C1.
  5. ^ "Mariners trade Presley to Braves for infielder, pitcher". UPI. January 24, 1990. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  6. ^ "ESPN.com: Ken Griffey Jr. Career Notes". ESPN. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  7. ^ "Mariner sails away with a no-hitter". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 3, 1990. p. 1G.
  8. ^ "Box Score of Randy Johnson's No-Hitter". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  9. ^ "Johnson tosses no-hitter". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. June 3, 1990. p. 3B.
  10. ^ "Pitcher of the Month Award Winners | History". MLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  11. ^ "1990 All-Star Game Box Score, July 10". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Griffeys hit back-to-back HRs". Idahonian. Moscow. Associated Press. September 15, 1990. p. 3D.
  13. ^ "Franchise Timeline - 1990s | Seattle Mariners". MLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  14. ^ "GUILLEN, BONDS AMONG GOLDEN GLOVE WINNERS". Deseret News. Associated Press. December 5, 1990. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  15. ^ "Seattle Mariners vs California Angels Box Score: April 9, 1990". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  16. ^ "Mariners Deal Eave To Giants". The Seattle Times. May 24, 1990. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  17. ^ Marc Newfield page at Baseball Reference
  18. ^ "Marc Newfield Stats & Scouting Report". Baseball America. March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  19. ^ a b "1990 Seattle Mariners Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  20. ^ "Bret Boone Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  21. ^ Darnell Coles page at Baseball Reference
  22. ^ "Mario Diaz Stats".
  23. ^ Ken Griffey page at Baseball Reference
  24. ^ Rick Renteria page at Baseball Reference
  25. ^ "Griffeys make history". Lawrence Journal-World. Kansas. Associated Press. September 1, 1990. p. 1B.
  26. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
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