1990 Seattle Mariners season

The 1990 Seattle Mariners season was the 14th for the Seattle Mariners in Major League Baseball. 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, the most in MLB in 1990.^[2]

1990 Seattle Mariners
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Kingdome
City	Seattle, Washington
Record	77–85 (.475)
Divisional place	5th
Owners	Jeff Smulyan
General managers	Woody Woodward
Managers	Jim Lefebvre
Television	KSTW-TV 11
Radio	KIRO 710 AM (Dave Niehaus, Rick Rizzs, Joe Simpson)
← 1989 Seasons 1991 →

Offseason

• November 13, 1989: Jeff Schaefer was signed as a free agent by the Mariners.^[3]
• December 7, 1989: Pete O'Brien was signed as free agent by the Mariners.^[4]

Regular season

• June 2: Randy Johnson threw a no-hitter versus the Detroit Tigers,^[5][6] the first for the franchise.^[7] He was also the tallest pitcher (6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)) in Major League history to throw a no-hitter. It was the 2101st game in Mariners history, played on a Saturday night in the Kingdome.
• 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.^[8] Through 2022, it remains the only occurrence of consecutive homers by a father and son in MLB history.

Opening Day starters

• Scott Bankhead
• Greg Briley
• Darnell Coles
• Alvin Davis
• Brian Giles
• Ken Griffey Jr.
• Jeffrey Leonard
• Pete O'Brien
• Harold Reynolds
• Dave Valle

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

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 v t e Sources:
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

• June 4: 1990 Major League Baseball draft
  • Marc Newfield was selected by the Mariners in the first round (sixth pick), and he signed on June 10.^[9]
  • Bret Boone was selected by the M's in the fifth round, and he signed on June 8.^[10]
• June 18: Darnell Coles was traded by the Mariners to the Detroit Tigers for Tracy Jones.^[11]
• June 19: Mario Díaz was traded by the Seattle Mariners to the New York Mets for Brian Givens.^[12]
• August 29: Ken Griffey, Sr. was signed as a free agent by the Mariners.^[13]
• September 18: Rick Rentería was released by the Mariners.^[14]

Roster

1990 Seattle Mariners
Roster
Pitchers 15 Scott Bankhead 34 Dave Burba 45 Bryan Clark 34 Keith Comstock 55 Rich DeLucia 37 Gary Eave 23 Mike Gardiner 39 Erik Hanson 47 Gene Harris 36 Brian Holman 38 Mike Jackson 51 Randy Johnson 27 Brent Knackert 42 Vance Lovelace 53 Scott Medvin 54 José Meléndez 48 Dennis Powell 31 Jerry Reed 40 Mike Schooler 37 Russ Swan 18 Bill Swift 1,30 Matt Young		Catchers  9 Scott Bradley 17 Matt Sinatro 10 Dave Valle Infielders  7 Mike Brumley 43 Dave Cochrane 21 Alvin Davis 29 Brian Giles 11 Edgar Martínez 14 Tino Martinez 12 Pete O'Brien  4 Harold Reynolds 2,56 Jeff Schaefer 13 Omar Vizquel		Outfielders  8 Greg Briley 19 Jay Buhner 33 Darnell Coles 28 Henry Cotto 30 Ken Griffey 24 Ken Griffey Jr. 25 Tracy Jones 00 Jeffrey Leonard		Manager  5 Jim Lefebvre 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 game together. The game was played in the Kingdome against the Kansas City Royals on August 31.^[15] The Griffeys became the first father-and-son teammates to hit back-to-back home runs on September 14.^[8]

Line Score

August 31, Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	2
Seattle	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	x	5	10	1
W: Johnson (13-8)  L: Davis (7-10)
Home Runs: Pecota (4) Attendance: 27,166 Time: 2:27

Batting

Kansas City Royals	AB	R	H	RBI	Seattle Mariners	AB	R	H	RBI
Seitzer, 3b	4	0	0	0	Reynolds, 2b	5	0	1	0
McRae, cf	4	0	1	0	Griffey, lf	4	1	1	0
Tartabull, dh	3	0	1	0	Griffey Jr., cf	4	1	1	0
Jackson, lf	3	1	1	0	Davis, dh	2	3	2	1
Macfarlane, c	4	0	1	0	O'Brien, 1b	3	0	0	0
Eisenreich, rf	3	0	0	1	Buhner, rf	3	0	2	1
Pecota, 1b	3	1	1	1	Martinez, 3b	2	0	1	1
White, 2b	3	0	1	0	Schaefer. 3b	2	0	1	1
Jeltz, ss	3	0	0	0	Bradley, c	4	0	1	0
NONE	0	0	0	0	Vizquel, ss	3	0	0	0
Totals	30	2	6	2	Totals	32	5	10	4

Pitching

Kansas City Royals	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Davis L (7-10)	6.2	9	5	4	6	1
Sanchez	1.1	1	0	0	0	0
Totals	8.0	10	5	4	6	1

Seattle Mariners	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Johnson W (13-8)	7.1	5	2	2	2	4
Swift SV (3)	1.2	1	0	0	0	0
Totals	9.0	6	2	2	2	4

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	236.0	18	9	3.24	211
Matt Young	34	225.1	8	18	3.51	176
Randy Johnson	33	219.2	14	11	3.65	194
Brian Holman	28	189.2	11	11	4.03	121
Rich DeLucia	5	36.0	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	128.0	6	4	2.39	42
Russ Swan	11	47.0	2	3	3.64	15
Gary Eave	8	30.0	0	3	4.20	16
Scott Bankhead	4	13.0	0	2	11.08	10
Mike Gardiner	5	12.2	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:^[16]