Sports: Seattle Mariners Tickets

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The Seattle Mariners are a popular Major League Baseball team located in Seattle, Washington. The team is included in the West Division of the American League.The Seattle Mariners were awarded a franchise in 1976 by the American League. The franchise was allocated as an expansion team. This brought back Major League Baseball back to Seattle after the departure the Seattle Pilots in 1970 to Milwaukee. The Pilots later became the Milwaukee Brewers. They now play in the rival National League.

The Seattle Mariners played their very first game on April 6, 1977. The game was attended by a sold-out crowd of 57,762 at Kingdome. In the very first game they lost 7-0 to the California Angels. During the 1970s and 1980s, that is the early period of the team, it was famed as a by perennial non-achiever. In fact, they finished either the very last or next-to-last in their division in 10 out of their first 13 seasons. The team recorded their first win until 1991.

However the team was not short of star performers. There was Gaylord Perry who was the famed spitballer. He was later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. Perry spent the last two years of his career that spanned more than 20 seasons with Seattle and was called "The Ancient Mariner." Then there was Alvin Davis who was declared as the American League Rookie of the Year in 1984. Two time All-star Harold Reynolds was also three-time Gold-Glover award winner. In spite of all the star cast the team showed poor performance and despairing results.

Not that there were no years of glory. In 1979, they hosted the 1979 All-Star Game. Then came the individual achievements. Gaylord Perry scored his 300th career win in 1982. Jim Presley's 10th game-winning grand slam came on the very opening day in 1986. One of the most memorable promotions was "Funny Nose Glasses Night."

2006 Season Preview:

The opening game at Safeco Field might have been only one of 162. But the game was a big statement about the spirit of the team. The promise is the 2006 season is going to be different for the Mariners. Part of the eventful day was Kenji Johjima, who was the first Japanese catcher to begin a game in the major leagues. He was homered in the fifth inning of the team's games against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday for his very first hit.

Then the news is that the Mariners have sent the injured Kevin Appier to the minor leagues. One hopes that the move will give him time to get back to health and return to the majors. The opening day loss of 5-4 loss to the Angels quieted the crowd of 45,515. In fact the defeat was hideously similar to the team's 93 defeats in 2005. But for the discerning fan there were plenty of good things too. As it was summarized by Mariners Manager Mike Hargrove, ''We went out and played hard. We played to win."