48 years, zero pennants: Mariners one win away from historic breakthrough

The Seattle Mariners survived an instant classic Game 5 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, getting clutch homers from both Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suarez to turn a 2-1 deficit in the eighth into a 6-2 victory. The M's now lead the series, 3-2, as the scene shifts back to Toronto for Game 6 on Sunday night, one way away from reaching the Fall Classic.

The stakes are already high enough. But for Seattle, this is somehow even more than just a potential pennant-clincher. This is a chance to rewrite decades of despair, to exorcise playoff demons and finally go where literally every other team has gone before: the World Series.

Yes, seriously: The Mariners have never reached the World Series, not a single time in nearly 50 years of baseball since their inaugural season in 1977. They're the only currently active Major League team never to have done so, a club they have the chance to triumphantly exit with a win on Sunday or Monday.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

How the Mariners got to the doorstep of their first World Series

The Mariners entered the 2025 season looking to erase the memory of 2024, when they not only coughed up the AL West to the Houston Astros yet again but also finished one game out of a Wild Card spot despite winning eight of their final 10 games to close the regular season.

The starting rotation wasn't quite as untouchable as everyone expected, as Bryce Miller struggled to find a rhythm amid injury issues and George Kirby struggled through an uncharacteristically down year. But after years of waiting for some offense to arrive, Seattle finally found itself a lineup, thanks to both an MVP-caliber season from catcher Cal Raleigh and resurgent seasons from Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco. Jerry Dipoto completed the overhaul by acquiring Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor at the trade deadline, and the Mariners peaked at just the right time, going 17-8 in September while running away with a division title.

Heading into October, the Mariners looked like arguably the most complete team in the AL, with a deep and balanced offensive attack and plenty of options to turn to in the rotation. They got all they could handle from the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS, getting taken to extra innings in the decisive Game 5. But finally, after 15 innings and a Herculean bullpen effort, Polanco delivered the game-winning hit to sent Seattle on to the next round.

Now, for the first time in a quarter century, the Mariners are on the doorstep of their first-ever World Series appearance. But even still, just one win away from a pennant, Seattle knows that the work is just beginning. Because if any franchise and fan base knows how quickly October can break your heart, it's the M's.

Mariners history is littered with close calls and October heartbreak

The Mariners haven't been here very often; it took them nearly two decades to finally make the postseason at all, and they've played October baseball just five times since their inaugural year back in 1977. Three of those five have brought them to the ALCS, the doorstep of a pennant and a shot at a World Series title. But all three times, they've come up short.

The magical 1995 team, which almost certainly saved the future of baseball in Seattle, took a 2-1 lead over Cleveland in the ALCS only to lose three straight (including being shut out in Game 6 at home). But that group was still clearly ascendant, with young stars on the come like Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson. Surely better things were to come, right?

Unfortunately, the 1990s were a very poor time to try and ascend in the American League. The Mariners peaked around the turn of the millennium, reaching the ALCS in both 2000 and 2001 while fielding some of the best regular-season teams in MLB history. But they ran into the dynastic New York Yankees both times: 2000 saw Seattle's bullpen fritter away a chance to take a 2-0 series lead, while the 2001 team flopped in five games.

Griffey. The Big Unit. Alex Rodriguez. Edgar Martinez. Felix Hernandez. Some of the best players in recent baseball history (heck, some of the best of all time) have put on the Mariners uniform over the years. And yet, they've never been able to kick down the door and play on baseball's biggest stage — a club they can finally join with a win on Sunday or Monday.

There is something of a silver lining, though. While the Mariners are the only team to have never reached the World Series, they've got some company when it comes to actually winning it all.

How many teams have never won a World Series?

Including Seattle, five MLB teams have yet to hoist the commissioner's trophy, a list that includes two of the game's newest franchises (Rays, Rockies) in addition to the long-suffering Brewers and Padres.

The Rays are the only team on this list to have made the World Series twice, both in 2020 and in 2008. The Rockies (2007, swept by the Red Sox), Padres (1998, swept by the Yankees) and Brewers (1982, seven-game loss to the Cardinals) have all only made one appearance.

Will the Mariners finally be able to join them, and maybe even capture their first-ever title? We'll have to wait and find out.