1989 Seattle Mariners season

The 1989 Seattle Mariners season was their 13th since the franchise creation, and the team finished in sixth place in the American League West division, with a record of . The Mariners were led by first-year manager Jim Lefebvre. and

The season was enlivened by the arrival of 19-year-old Ken Griffey Jr., the 1st overall pick of the 1987 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. The team traded for fellow future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in May, sending out All-Star Mark Langston.

In August, owner George Argyros sold the team to Jeff Smulyan.

Offseason

November 15, 1988: Luis DeLeÃÂ³n signed as a free agent with the Mariners.
December 7: Jeffrey Leonard and Tom Niedenfuer signed as free agents with the Mariners.
In spring training, Ken Griffey Jr. set preseason team records for hits (32), RBIs (20), and total bases (49).

Regular season

Ken Griffey Jr. made his MLB debut on opening day, April 3, against the defending American League champion Oakland Athletics. Griffey hit a double in his first at-bat. During the 1989 season, Griffey was selected as card number one in the 1989 Upper Deck baseball card set.
Jeffrey Leonard represented the Mariners in the All-Star Game.
Owner George Argyros sold the team in August to a group headed by Indianapolis communications magnate Jeff Smulyan.
The Mariners had the lowest payroll in the majors in , at $7.6 million.
Second baseman Harold Reynolds won a Gold Glove Award. Griffey finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.
Closer Mike Schooler had 33 saves, a franchise record broken by Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

March 27, 1989: Steve Balboni was traded by the Mariners to the New York Yankees for Dana Ridenour.
May 25: Mark Langston and a player to be named later were traded by the Mariners to the Montreal Expos for pitchers Randy Johnson, Brian Holman, and Gene Harris. The Mariners completed the deal by sending Mike Campbell to the Expos on July 31.
June 5: Roger Salkeld drafted third overall by the Mariners in the 1989 MLB draft. Brian Turang was drafted by the Mariners in the 51st round of the draft.
June 12: Steve Trout was released by the Mariners.

Major league debuts

Batters:
Ken Griffey Jr. and Omar Vizquel (April 3)
Pitchers:
Clint Zavaras (June 3)

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers