Mariner Talk Chat Forum

Since we're about to finish our 50th year without ever winning a pennant, it made me wonder how we would have done if any of these five scenarios had taken place instead:

(note: in all these scenarios, it's highly likely the Kingdome gets built a few years earlier; however, this would likely change the timeline on if, when and where T-Mobile Park gets built)

THE CLEVELAND INDIANS MOVE TO SEATTLE: in 1964 the Indians were seriously considering moving to Seattle but didn't because they looked at Sick's Stadium, said "What a shithole", and decided to stay in Cleveland. If they had moved to Seattle, how would this have turned out? Obviously geography will create some variances but the franchise would likely have continued to be a loser for the first 25-30 years and then maybe turned into something, but impossible to say. Probably a good thing that this move didn't happen.

THE KANSAS CITY A'S MOVE TO SEATTLE: in 1967 the A's were seriously considering moving to Seattle but didn't because they looked at Sick's Stadium, said "What a shithole", and decided to move to Oakland instead. With Charles O' Finley doing what he did and the juggernaut A's teams already being built, Seattle likely would have been raising banners left and right over the next ten years. Imagine Reggie Jackson in 1969 (47 home runs) at Sick's where it was 345 to the power alleys. And without being underneath the "50 feet of crap" as Billy Beane said in Moneyball, they probably build a winning tradition exceeding what they did in Oakland. Why oh WHY couldn't this move had happened?

THE PILOTS DON'T MOVE TO MILWAUKEE: there's no way Bud Selig would have bought the team and kept it in Seattle, so if ownership had kept plugging along, their front office probably would have been different than what it was in Milwaukee so highly likely no Harvey's Wallbangers. Now, if we'd ended up with those guys, they would have DESTROYED the Kingdome. But anyway, it's impossible to predict how this would have turned out although our best guess is probably that it couldn't have been any worse than what we've gotten out of the Mariners.

THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS DON'T WHINE ABOUT HAVING TO START IN 1971: the Pilots and Royals were supposed to start in 1971 but the Royals whined, got their way, and forced a not-ready Pilot franchise to start with them in 1969. If the Pilots had started in 1971 Sick's would have been ready (albeit still a shithole), and the move to the Kingdome would have happened shortly thereafter. Impossible to predict how the franchise's fortunes would have gone, but at least they wouldn't have moved. Another thing for sure is that over their entire history the Mariners should have been every single game making Royals' players take at least one dirt bath per game. Some things should never be forgiven.

THE WHITE SOX MOVE TO SEATTLE: after the 1972 season the Sox were considering moving to Seattle while the A's were considering moving to Chicago. However, the Sox' players screwed this up by actually being good in 1972 so they stayed...and then went right back to sucking. If they'd moved to Seattle their history, like the Indians, probably wouldn't be much different. Probably a good thing this move didn't happen.

Oh, and one more:

IF THE MARINERS DIDN'T SUCK

Man, not even a "harumph" out of the Forum.

DavidGee24 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2026 6:52 pm

Man, not even a "harumph" out of the Forum.

I read it Gee Man.

In all those scenarios I wouldn’t have picked the Mariners.

Didn’t want to support a team that had a prior history in another city. Very un-British for a sports team to relocate. Only ever happened once and unlikely to happen again.

mostonmike wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2026 7:26 pm

I read it Gee Man.

In all those scenarios I wouldn’t have picked the Mariners.

Didn’t want to support a team that had a prior history in another city. Very un-British for a sports team to relocate. Only ever happened once and unlikely to happen again.

Bear in mind that these all took place between 1964 and 1972 so I think we would have gotten used to it by now. My introduction to baseball was in 1975 (I quickly became a Reds fan). The idea that I could have been introduced to the game sooner, to a world championship Seattle A's team followed by who knows how many championships in the ensuing 50+ years sounds good to me!

"Un-British" LOL. "In today's entertainment news, in a blockbuster deal Liverpool has traded The Beatles to London for The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and pound considerations".

The top 5 Un-British traits are
1) Queue-jumping, we love queues
2) Showing any emotion, apologise immediately if you do
3) Being loud and confident, the Mariners are helping me avoid that
4) Not mentioning the weather at least every hour
5) Refusing to accept a cup of (cuppa) tea solves everything.

Which of your 5 scenarios would have been better?

The Pilots never moving would be interesting. Most likely ends in abject failure, bankruptcy and relocation perhaps to Florida and baseball never comes back.

mostonmike wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2026 8:40 pm

The Pilots never moving would be interesting. Most likely ends in abject failure, bankruptcy and relocation perhaps to Florida and baseball never comes back.

I think you're right. That franchise was doomed the moment the Royals whined "But we wanna play NOW!!!" Seriously, George Brett should be walking around to this day looking like Pig Pen from Peanuts from all the dirt baths we should have made him take. But yeah, if they'd stuck it out for another year or two before moving we probably would have at the very least blown their chance to come into the league with Toronto.