The 2018 Seattle Mariners sit at 54-31, their best record at this point in the season in 15 years. I made a post before the season started saying this team didn't inspire much optimism, but halfway into the season, they have proven me quite wrong. They inspire TONS of optimism. These guys never quit and never believe they have lost until the game is final. The Mariners fans who have stuck through all the losing seasons, all the just barely missing the playoffs, keep expecting this team to go on a major slide and fall from playoff contention. But this team is proving in every game they won't let a single game go without giving it their all, which leads me to believe they'll treat their entire season the same way.
These Mariners are also fun to watch. Marco Gonzalez and Wade LeBlanc were never the splashiest of acquisitions, and they won't light up radar guns. But they're incredibly entertaining in social media and are clearly competitive, seeing their reactions to inning-ending strikeouts. Mitch Haniger is becoming one of the most likable guys in the bigs, and Ben Gamel is that type of gamer every team needs, diving for catches in the outfield and diving home to score a go-ahead run. Edwin Diaz has become the best closer in baseball. Jean Segura may end up missing the All-Star game, despite being near the top of the league in hitting and playing great D. Dee Gordon is an absolute spark plug and is filling in extremely well at 2nd base. Kyle Seager isn't having his best year offensively, but defensively is SHINING, and if he can avoid errors the rest of the way should win the gold glove.
The funny thing about this run this team is going on is how the usual leaders of the team aren't really the reason for the success. Robinson Cano is in the middle of serving an 80 game suspension for taking a banned substance. Kyle Seager, as mentioned earlier, is having a slightly down year offensively. Felix Hernandez is having a wildly inconsistent season. Despite all this, these Mariners manage to persevere. They find ways to win.
I find myself comparing this team to the 1995 team that made the playoffs. I do this a lot whenever the Mariners have some modicum of success, but this team I firmly believe it. First off, they could bring back the 1995 rallying cry of "Refuse to Lose" because of how this team has come back in games. But look at these similarities:
A tall lefty that has dominated, notching numerous 10+ strikeout games: Check. (Johnson--Paxton)
Losing the sweet-swinging lefty hitting team leader for multiple months but persevering in his absence: Check. (Griffey--Cano)
One of the fastest players in the league, recently acquired: Check. (Coleman--Gordon)
OR... you could say a 2nd baseman acquired in the offseason who provides a spark at the top of the lineup (Cora--Gordon)
Having gone through a long playoff drought into the late teens: Check. (19 years--17 years)
A veteran right handed starter who has thrown a no-hitter in his career.: Check. (Bosio--Hernandez)
A power hitting right fielder who has become a cult icon in Seattle: Check. (Buhner--Haniger)
I could go on, but I'd probably be stretching it, and besides, do you need any more proof? This team won't win multiple games in a row by 5+ runs, but they know how to win close and win period. They know how to play as a team and every guy knows his job/role.
Of course, this team could "Mariner" it and fall out of the 2nd Wild Card spot, despite having an 8 game lead over the next team at the moment. But this team has brought even the biggest of doubters around, myself included. I think they've shown me that they won't let themselves get plagued by injuries or inconsistency. They won't let themselves have a losing streak that sets them back a ways. They simply refuse to lose.
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