Tales from the Seattle Mariners Dugout

Reliever Bill Caudill handcuffed unsuspecting victims--including the team owner's wife--to the dugout bench. Larry Andersen, Richie Zisk, and Joe Simpson made sure that everywhere bewildered manager Rene Lachemann went during the 1982 season, some JELL-O was sure to follow-- from his hotel bathroom sink, tub, and toilet (filled to the brim) to a postgame can of beer. Jay Buhner, one of the stars in the Seattle Mariners' 1995 "Refuse to Lose" season, maintained the team's proud, prank-filled history well into the '90s with his "blurping"--vomiting on command.

It's a good thing Mariners players had a sense of humor, because for many years the play on the field wasn't going to keep one's spirits high. The franchise shot out of the gates with a noticeable limp, losing a combined 202 games over their first two seasons. Twelve consecutive losing campaigns later, they finally posted a winning record in 1991. Four years later, they won their first division title and then their first playoff series, thanks to Edgar Martinez's unforgettable two-run double to clinch the '95 American League Division Series against the Yankees.

The team's losing ways quickly became a thing of the past, as the play on the field overshadowed the need to make light of it off the field. The pinnacle of the Mariners franchise occurred in 2001, when Seattle won a record-tying 116 games and seemed unstoppable--until they arrived in New York for a playoff series against the Yankees and saw first-hand the devastation of the September 11 terrorist attacks. According to some on that team, the Mariners lost their competitive edge, and then the series.

Tales from the Seattle Mariners Dugout chronicles Seattle's rise from a hopeless and hapless franchise in the 1970s and '80s to a proud team in the 1990s that went on to capture three division championships and earn four playoff appearances. It's a must-read walk down memory lane for every fan of the team.