Since the team's founding in 1976, the Seattle Mariners have become one of the most important social institutions in Seattle. Beginning with the brief tenure of the Seattle Pilots and the legal battle with MLB to bring baseball back to the city, the early years were a struggle, as were the 1980s. In 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. made his debut and established himself as one of the most talented players of his era. The Mariners had their first season above .500 in 1991 and then moved into their most successful years in team history. Led by manager Lou Piniella and future Hall of Famers Edgar Martinez, Griffey Jr., and Randy Johnson, the Mariners won their first division title in 1995 and defeated the New York Yankees in dramatic fashion in game 5 of the American League Division Series, one of the most iconic moments in team history. When voters had rejected an earlier vote to build the team a new stadium to replace the Kingdome, the state legislature seized on the team's momentum to build a new stadium that would ensure their place in the Northwest forever. In 2001 rookie player Ichiro Suzuki led the team to an MLB record of 116-46 and won both the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year awards. While the team struggled for most of its fifty-year run, new management in the front office and a retooled farm system got the Mariners into the playoffs in 2022 and again in 2025, where they fell just short of the World Series. In You Gotta Love These Guys David F. Schmitz recounts the full history of the Seattle Mariners, covering the team on the field, the larger history off the field, and the team's impact as a social institution on Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
Industry Reviews
"As the voice of the Seattle Mariners since 1983, I had a front row seat for most of the greatest moments in the history of the Mariners. Reading David Schmitz's book You Gotta Love These Guys made me relive those great memories and all the chills and thrills and goosebumps came back! It was 1995 all over again, the season that saved baseball in Seattle! So, if you want to know all about the history of the Mariners franchise from Bochte and Bannister to Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar, to Ichiro and Felix, to Julio and Cal, you're gonna love this book! Schmitz takes us on this incredible journey from Opening Day at the Kingdome in 1977 until the present day at T-Mobile Park. You're gonna love all the stories from the players and so many others who wrote the history of the Mariners. Enjoy the ride!"--Rick Rizzs, Voice of the Seattle Mariners "David Schmitz's exhaustive research has produced an insightful and essential book on the Seattle Mariners' first fifty years. Aided by interviews with generational greats like Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki, along with key franchise personnel from inception to present, the uniquely Northwest tale of Major League Baseball in Seattle is well told here."--David Eskenazi, Northwest baseball historian and collector "In this fascinating book, David Schmitz brings to life the ups and downs--and there were many--of the Seattle Mariners. This is one of the best researched and most readable books on baseball that I have yet encountered. Fans of America's pastime will enjoy it, even if they don't root for the Mariners."--Steven J. Brady, associate professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University
