This past year has been an eventful time for Seattle sports fans, leaving many with unanswered questions regarding the future landscape of each team. Whether it was the Mariners narrowly missing out on the playoffs and continuing the longest playoff drought in all of North American professional sports, or the Seahawks dealing with a constant barrage of injuries, finishing with a losing record for the first time in Russell Wilson’s career, the current position of the various franchises has left fans wondering ‘what’s next?’
The Seahawks finished with a 7-10 record, missing out on the playoffs. To add insult to injury, Seattle will not have their first-round draft selection after trading it away to the New York Jets in exchange for the injury riddled star safety, Jamal Adams. Stranded at a crossroads, many members of the fanbase are left wondering if it is time to trade franchise quarterback Russell Wilson and commence a rebuild.
When asked if he believes Russell Wilson is staying, Roosevelt senior and Seahawks fan Maco Danacay stated, “I do. Part of that’s just me being optimistic because, you know, Russell Wilson has been there for as long as I’ve been a fan… I’m pretty sure he stated that he doesn’t want to leave a couple of times, or at least he stated that he wants to win more championships with Seattle.”
Dacanay wasn’t alone in feeling this way, Seattle Times sportswriter Larry Stone stated, “They need to take a hard look at every aspect of their philosophy. They need to use their ample cap space wisely. But they don’t need to clean house.”
Even when the team missed the playoffs, Stone believes that “The Seahawks’ 4-2 finish with an increasingly healthy Wilson, a resurgent Rashaad Penny and a strong-performing offensive line showed that the offense, under rookie coordinator Shane Waldron, has a blueprint for success.”
While the Seahawks trended downward, the Mariners went above and beyond expectations. Before the 2021-22 season, ESPN predicted the Mariners to finish the season 70-92, with only a 1.7% chance of making the playoffs.
The Mariners would go on to stun the sports world, going 90-72, finishing second in the AL West and just outside of the final wild card spot. Despite their unforeseen success, there are still questions regarding sustainability. This is due to Seattle’s -55 run differential, and finishing last in the league in batting average at .226. A team’s overall batting average usually can be a measurement of their success, as it is the amount of times the ball is hit divided by attempts.
Roosevelt history teacher and Mariners fan Ian Malcolm says, “I think that [Scott] Servais did a great job managing and they gelled and it’s always been ‘will ownership actually like kick money in’ and it looks like they’re finally committed to winning. And yeah, I’m super excited.”
Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto started off free agency strong, trading for 2nd baseman Adam Frazier from the San Diego Padres and signing reigning American League Cy Young pitcher Robbie Ray to a 5-year $115 million deal, filling two big holes on the roster. The Cy Young is an award granted annually to the best pitcher in each of the major leagues, the AL and the NL.
In an introductory news conference, Ray says “Seeing the vision and direction of this team, I just want to be part of it.” Coming off a career year in Toronto, Ray will look to continue his dominance as Seattle’s new ace pitcher.
The Mariners added Ray and Frazier to an already strong roster, “…we got Logan Gilbert, and we’ve got Gonzales and our bullpen was good and still got J.P. Crawford and maybe Lewis will get healthy… counting Kelenic turning it around and getting better,” says Malcolm.
While the Mariners have historically been one of the most mediocre teams in sports history, the start for the Kraken franchise was measurably worse. After 46 games, the Kraken have a record of 15-27-4, which is tied for third worst in the league, and a goal differential of -38.
This past offseason, the front office had made an emphasis on bringing in a strong goalie tandem, taking Chris Driedger from the Florida Panthers in the expansion draft and signing Philipp Grubauer to a six-year, $35.4 million deal. Grubauer spent the past 3 seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, where he would become one of the top goalies in the league finishing second in voting for the Vezina Trophy award, which is awarded to the best goaltender in the NHL.
While Seattle opened up the checkbook to bring in elite goaltenders, the play has not translated as they had hoped with Grubauer statistically playing the worst he has in his career. The underperforming goaltender is giving up over 3 goals per game and has one of the lowest save percentages in the league.
“I think he’s [Grubauer] doing okay in Seattle”, says Roosevelt senior and Kraken fan Ryan Jansen, “And same with Driedger. And they’re both just doing okay.”
While the team is not in playoff contention now, the future is bright, with various young players in the system, said Jansen. “I think we have a really bright future because we have some older veterans who can lead the younger guys on the way and I think we have some pretty good prospects coming up.”
Seattle sports fans have faced it all: a twenty-year playoff drought, watching fan favorites get sidelined due to injury, and years of underperforming across the major leagues. But hope remains among many loyal supporters. As Dacanay says, “We’ll come back stronger next year, go Hawks.”
