2001 Seattle Mariners: The American League Division Series

The Mariners had reached the playoffs by winning the American League West title with a 116-46 record. The 116 wins tied the record of the 1906 Chicago Cubs. Seattle had 57 wins and 24 losses at Safeco Field and was slightly better on the road with a record of 59 wins and 22 losses. The Mariners had winning records against every team they played during the regular season.

Cleveland had reached the best-of-five first round of the playoffs by winning the American League Central Division title with a 91-71 record. It was the sixth time the Indians had reached the playoffs since 1995.

Game One: October 9, 2001
Indians 5, Mariners 0
Safeco Field, Seattle

To start the first game of the series, Seattle manager Lou Piniella selected right-hander Freddy García. García finished the season with a record of 18-6 with a league-leading 3.05 earned-run average in 238⅔ innings pitched. On the mound for manager Charlie Manuel and the Cleveland Indians was right-hander Bartolo Colón (14-12, 4.09 ERA in 222⅓ innings). Mariners fans looked forward to the beginning of the series, as described in the Tacoma News Tribune: “Tuesday morning, the crowd gathered outside Safeco Field under a gray sky, moving towards the stadium in hopeful herds. Parking lot moguls lost no time in the push for postseason markups. Rates climbed to $40 per car at lots closest to the stadium.”1

For the first three innings, neither García nor Colón allowed a run. The crowd eagerly awaited anything they thought would produce a good outcome for the Mariners. “Once the game began the crowd waited and hoped through the first three innings, pouncing on every positive, urging the team forward,” wrote the News Tribune.2 García allowed a double to Ellis Burks in the second inning and a walk to Kenny Lofton in the third, while Colón gave up a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki in the first inning, a double to Stan Javier in the second, and another single to Suzuki in the third.

In the top of the fourth, Roberto Alomar led off with a double and scored on Juan González’s single for the game’s first run. A walk to Jim Thome and an infield single by Burks loaded the bases with nobody out. Back-to-back singles by Travis Fryman and Marty Cordova gave Cleveland their second and third runs. García then stopped the Indians from putting the Mariners any further in the hole when he struck out Einar Díaz and Lofton and got Omar Vizquel to fly out to left field.

The score remained 3-0 until the top of the sixth inning, when consecutive one-out singles by Fryman, Cordova, and Díaz gave the Indians another run and a lead of 4-0. After the run-scoring single by Díaz, Piniella took the ball from García and summoned Norm Charlton, who got the final two outs of the inning.

Charlton set the Indians down in order in the seventh inning. José Paniagua came on in relief to start the eighth inning and gave up a home run to Burks to make the score 5-0.

Colón kept the Mariners off the scoreboard for the first eight innings, allowing six hits while walking two and striking out 10 before being relieved by Bob Wickman. Wickman preserved the win and the shutout by getting Edgar Martínez to pop out to Vizquel at short and striking out John Olerud and Mike Cameron. The News Tribune suggested that “Tuesday’s game was a sobering reminder of the uncertainty of the postseason.”3

“I don’t think they thought we had an aura of invincibility at all,” said the Mariners’ Mark McLemore. They’ve beaten us. … So they know as well as we do, it does not matter about the season. The season is over with. It’s who’s the best today, right now.”4

Game Two: October 11, 2001
Mariners 5, Indians 1
Safeco Field, Seattle

In the second game of the ALDS, Lou Piniella sent Jamie Moyer to the hill to face Cleveland’s Chuck Finley. Moyer had finished the regular season with a 20-6 record and a 3.43 ERA, while Finley posted an 8-7 record and a 5.54 ERA. After the game, the New York Daily News wrote, “Eight days separate the birthdays of Jamie Moyer and Chuck Finley. Light years separated their performances yesterday.”5

Moyer set the Indians down in order in the first inning, while Ichiro Suzuki walked to lead off the first for Seattle. Mike Cameron followed with a home run that gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

Seattle continued an early assault on Finley and went ahead 4-0 as Bret Boone singled and Edgar Martínez followed with a home run. “On radio the home run by Martínez sailed into a sea of crackling static, and Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus erupted in a fit of vocal apoplexy,” wrote the News Tribune. “Mariners up four-zip. Life was good.”6 Finley had thrown 14 pitches and had yet to record an out. He retired the next three in order and ended the first inning having thrown 26 pitches.

The Mariners held the 4-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth, which began with their third home run of the game, this one by David Bell. Bell’s solo home run accounted for Seattle’s final run. Of the Mariners’ six hits in the game, half were home runs. After giving up a single to Ichiro, Finley had thrown 66 pitches, and Manuel sent in David Riske, who struck out Cameron and Boone to end the inning.

Through six frames, Moyer had not allowed a run while scattering three singles and a walk. He yielded back-to-back singles to Ellis Burks and Jim Thome to open the seventh inning. Moyer had thrown 86 pitches and was lifted in favor of Jeff Nelson, who walked Travis Fryman to load the bases. Marty Cordova grounded into a double play that scored Burks. The Mariners now led 5-1.

That proved to be all of the scoring in the game, and the Mariners evened the series with a 5-1 win. “I’ll tell you what,” said Piniella, “it was as close to a must win as you could want.”7

Game Three: October 13, 2001
Indians 17, Mariners 2
Jacobs Field, Cleveland

The Mariners and Indians flew to Cleveland for the third game of the series, on Saturday, October 13. In the first two games, the Indians had scored a total of six runs, while the Mariners had scored just the five runs in Game Two. Rain had been in the forecast, but the Tacoma News Tribune commented that rather than wet weather, it rained hits. “Though forecast, rain wasn’t what upset Saturday’s matchup between the Mariners and the Cleveland Indians. The Indians embarrassed the Mariners, 17-2.”8 Said a fan at a Kitsap County tavern that afternoon: “Yeah, it’s raining out. It’s raining Cleveland hits.”9

On the mound for the Indians was CC Sabathia, and for the visiting Mariners it was Aaron Sele. The Mariners ended up scoring just two runs. In the top of the first inning, Ichiro Suzuki led off with a single and went to third base on a double by Mike Cameron. After Sabathia struck out Bret Boone, Edgar Martínez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Sabathia walked John Olerud to force in a run before inducing a pair of foul popouts off the bats of Jay Buhner and Dan Wilson.

In the top of the seventh inning, David Bell led off with a double against Sabathia. After Mark McLemore walked, Ichiro singled to score Bell with the Mariners’ second run.

The Indians, on the other hand, scored early and often. They plated two in the first on a run-scoring double by Roberto Alomar and a run-scoring single by Juan González. They took a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run triple by Omar Vizquel. In the third inning, the lead increased to 8-1, highlighted by a leadoff home run by González. A home run by Kenny Lofton in the fifth inning made the score 9-1. In the sixth, a home run by Jim Thome, a run-scoring single by Jolbert Cabrera, and a sacrifice fly by Lofton extended the Indians’ advantage to 12-1.

Cleveland added five runs in the eighth inning on a three-run double by Vizquel. Consecutive run-scoring doubles by Roberto Alomar and Juan González made the final score 17-2 with the Indians now holding a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five series.

“The Indians’ top five hitters – Lofton, Vizquel, Alomar, González and Thome – had produced only six hits and one RBI in 41 at-bats in the first two games in Seattle,” noted the New York Daily News.10 In Game Three, the quintet combined for 14 hits and 15 RBIs. Eight of Cleveland’s runs were charged to Mariners reliever Paul Abbott, a starter during the regular season. As the Daily News noted, “Lofton broke an 0-10 start to the series with a homer off Abbott, giving Cleveland rookie starter CC Sabathia plenty of room to work with.”11

Vizquel finished with four hits and six runs batted in. “No one wants to get embarrassed on national television like that,” Seattle outfielder Mike Cameron said afterward. “If you’ve got any type of pride about yourself – and I’m sure everyone in here has a lot of pride about themselves – it’s embarrassing. We need to get ourselves ready to play.”12

In the regular season, Seattle paced the American League with a .288 batting average and 3.54 earned-run average while committing just 83 errors in 162 games. Through the first three games of the ALDS, Ichiro Suzuki and David Bell combined for 10 of the Mariners’ 19 hits. The rest of the team was 9-for-73, a paltry .123 batting average. The trio of John Olerud, Mark McLemore, and Bret Boone especially struggled, going 1-for-31 with 15 strikeouts. Seattle’s pitching, meanwhile, had ceded 21 earned runs in 26 innings for a 7.27 ERA, and its usually sure-handed defense had made four errors.

Game Four: October 14, 2001
Mariners 6, Indians 2
Jacobs Field, Cleveland

The Mariners, looking to even the series, sent Freddy García to the hill to oppose Bartolo Colón of the Indians. Holding the Mariners scoreless for the first six innings in this game, Colón had now shut them out for 14 straight innings, setting the record for scoreless frames in an American League Division Series. But Seattle wouldn’t exit the playoffs without a whimper.

The Indians scored first, when Juan González hit the second pitch of the second inning for a home run. The Indians held that slim lead until the top of the seventh inning. Dan Ruiz of the News Tribune described how the tide changed for the Mariners: “Nine outs away from what could have been a disappointing end to their season, the Mariners suddenly found themselves ahead of the Cleveland Indians, 3-1, in the middle of the seventh inning.”13 Seattle’s John Olerud led off with a walk and took second on Stan Javier’s single. Colón had Olerud picked off second base, but his wild throw allowed Olerud to get to third base. A walk to Mike Cameron loaded the bases for Al Martin, pinch-hitting for Dan Wilson. Martin grounded into a force out at home plate, leaving the bases filled for David Bell. Bell drove in Javier with a sacrifice fly, and a single by Ichiro scored Cameron. Mark McLemore followed with another single to drive in Martin. Danys Báez replaced Colón and got out of the inning with no more damage by retiring Edgar Martínez on a groundout.

García faced two batters in the bottom of the seventh, giving up a double to González before inducing a groundout from Jim Thome that advanced González to third base. Jeff Nelson replaced García and struck out Ellis Burks, but Burks reached first base on a passed ball. A groundball by Travis Fryman forced Burks at second base and scored González, making it 3-2, Seattle.

The Mariners added to their lead in the eighth inning on a double by Cameron that scored Javier, and “Edgar Martínez sealed the victory in the ninth with a two-out, two-run home run off Paul Shuey.”14 The Indians and Mariners headed back to Safeco Field in Seattle for a deciding Game Five.

Game Five: October 15, 2001
Seattle Mariners 3, Cleveland Indians 1
Safeco Field, Seattle

The series came down to a deciding Game Five at Safeco Field. A New York Daily News correspondent wrote, “The Mariners hadn’t played games where their season depended on winning and they never had their character tested. The last two days changed all that, as the Cleveland Indians pushed them to the brink of elimination in their best-of-five AL Division Series.”15 Piniella elected to start Moyer on three days’ rest.

Opening the second inning, Indians starter Chuck Finley walked Edgar Martínez and John Olerud. A hit batsman loaded the bases. Finley nearly escaped the jam by striking out Dan Wilson and David Bell, but a single by Mark McLemore scored Martínez and Olerud to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

Because the pitcher’s mound at Safeco Field is almost as close to the visitors dugout as it is to the home plate, Moyer could sense a shift in the mood of the Indians. “They weren’t very cheerful, they were pretty quiet,” he said.16

But in the top of the third inning, he heard the Indians talking. Cleveland got a run back after Travis Fryman doubled, advanced to third base on a fly out by Marty Cordova, and scored on a single by Kenny Lofton. The Mariners now led 2-1.

For the next couple of innings, neither Moyer nor Finley allowed a run. Finley came out of the game in the bottom of the fifth after loading the bases with one out on singles by McLemore and Suzuki and a walk to Stan Javier. He was relieved by David Riske, who got out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout.

For six innings Moyer baffled Cleveland hitters with his pinpoint control and mix of speeds. In the postgame scrum, Omar Vizquel shook his head and paid him the highest of compliments: “The guy is like Greg Maddux. He’s a master. He throws 85 miles an hour, tops, but he plays with your mind. You know what he is going to throw, but you can’t hit it.”17 Riske was replaced in the bottom of the sixth inning by Ricardo Rincón, who remained in the game until the bottom of the seventh inning, when he was replaced by Danys Báez. After Báez struck out Bret Boone, a Edgar Martínez singled to score Ichiro, who had led off with a single and gone to second on a sacrifice by Javier. The Mariners now led 3-1.

That ended the scoring as Jeff Nelson, Arthur Rhodes, and Kazuhiro Sasaki combined to hold the Indians off the scoreboard over the final three frames. This clinched the American League Division Series for the Mariners, who would now face the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.

The ALDS proved to be highly competitive. Although the 2001 Mariners made history, the Cleveland Indians, winners of the American League Central by six games over the Minnesota Twins, were no slouches. The series demonstrated that in a five-game set, any team is capable of defeating another. It also showed that Seattle – despite setting an AL record with 116 regular-season wins – could be beaten.

After an over 20-year career in law enforcement, KEVIN LARKIN renewed his interest in baseball by researching and writing about it. He has published a number of books on the sport including Baseball in the Bay State and Gehrig: Game by Game, which chronicles the major-league career of Lou Gehrig, game by game. He has written a number of stories for SABR and also fact-checks for SABR, which he said was the best decision he ever made when he joined. He is working on two projects on the Civil War as well as a story on the sport of stock car racing in the area where he lives. He also has a radio show once a month on a local radio station where he talks about baseball.

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org. the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the Seattle Times.

 

NOTES

1 Kim Eckart and Sean Robinson, “Fans Say Ya Gotta Have Faith,” Tacoma (Washington) News Tribune, October 10, 2001: A1.

2 Eckart and Robinson.

3 Eckart and Robinson.

4 Adam Rubin, “Tribe Shuts Out Record-Holders,” New York Daily News, October 11, 2001: 67.

5 Adam Rubin, “Moyer Helps Mariners Level Indians, Series,” New York Daily News, October 12, 2001: 102.

6 Sean Robinson and Kim Eckart, “Mariners Turn It Around,” Tacoma News Tribune, October 12, 2001: 1.

7 John McGrath, “Power and Finesse,” Tacoma News Tribune, October 12, 2001: 25.

8 Kim Eckart, “Raining Cleveland Hits,” Tacoma News Tribune October 14, 2001: 1.

9 Eckart, “Raining Cleveland Hits.”

10 Adam Rubin, “Cleveland Shocks,” New York Daily News, October 14, 2001: 58.

11 Rubin, “Cleveland Shocks.”

12 Rubin, “Cleveland Shocks.”

13 Dan Ruiz, “Mariners Survive a Surreal, Scary Seventh,” Tacoma News Tribune, October 15, 2001: 18.

14 Adam Rubin, “Mariners Finally Get to Colon,” New York Daily News, October 15, 2001: 74.

15 Adam Rubin, “Battle Back from Brink,” New York Daily News, October 16, 2001: 84.

16 Craig Hill, “Moyer Remains Dominant against Indians,” Tacoma News Tribune, October 16, 2001: 20.

17 John Harper, “Lefty’s Junk Proves Very Valuable,” New York Daily News, October 16, 2001: 84.