=== Backdrop 1995 ===

For those of you who just joined us from the East Coast, or perhaps who weren't born yet, in 1995 the Mariners rescued baseball from the ugly 1994 players' strike. 

With a new stadium voted down, and one foot literally out the door to Tampa Bay, the Mariners saw Edgar Martinez post a 165 OPS+ ... and 20 runs created more than anybody else in the league, including 50-50 man Albert Belle ... and charged from -13 games down to overtake the Angels.

The city finally "getting it," 20 years on, as to what Major League baseball is all about ... they voted in a new stadium and the Mariners, heroically, scrambled to the ALCS. Before succumbing to one of the six or eight greatest post-WWII teams.

More importantly, MLB saw its TV ratings snap back after the drama and heroism of the 1995 postseason. 

When Edgar took John Wetteland out to CF for a grand slam that tied the 1995 ALCS, Brent Musburger masterfully waved his arms in a "shush" motion and called for over 2:00 minutes of on-air silence.  The camera panned back and forth, back and forth ... hitting the stands, hitting Edgar's fist pump, hitting Paul O'Neill's ugly, sour look with his hands folded across his chest in RF, back to people in the stands hugging one another, back to the M's dugout, back to a different Yankee trying to hold back the tears ...

The cheers and tears went on and on and on, and when Musburger finally resumed commenting on the game, MLB was completely forgiven for 1994.

.

===1996 ===

The Mariners were armed with three HOF'ers plus Jay Buhner, but not with Randy Johnson, who injured his back in 1995 performing both as staff ace and closer in the same poseseason. They finished second in the division.

.

=== 1997 ===

Last week, Kelly and I noodled around looking for 120 OPS+ teams on baseball-reference.com.  We missed the 1997 Seattle Mariners, who at 119 had the highest team OPS+ that I know of, post-1945, other than that of the Big Red Machine.

The 1997 Mariners scored fully 5.7 runs per baseball game, in 162 consecutive games, boasting this terrifying lineup:

• 165 OPS+, 56 homers, 147 RBI, 125 R -- Ken Griffey Jr
• 165 OPS+, .456 OBP with 28 homers and 35 doubles - Edgar
• 40 homers, 109 RBI, 105 runs, 120 walks! - Jay Buhner

• 300/350/500 - ARod
• OPS+ of 123, 120, 110, 109, 96 -- the other five guys!

But this 119 OPS+ juggernaut was practically a rotation-first team:

• 20-4, 2.28, with 291 strikeouts in 213 innings - Randy Johnson
• 16-9, 3.61, with a 189/84 control ratio - Jeff Fassero
• 17-5, 3.86, en route to 263 career wins - Jamie Moyer

I believe that it was this season in which Randy Johnson started 30 games and the Mariners won 27 of them.

This ballclub was obviously more talented than the 2001 team that won 116 games, but didn't have Pat Gillick available to select the Scrubs for the 4-5 rotation slots and for the bullpen.

.

Part 2