With the Yankees and Giants on track to open the 2026 season tonight on Netflix and the rest of the league scheduled to follow suit tomorrow, it is time, for the 16th consecutive year, to look into my crystal ball and make my picks for the division, league, and major award winners for the upcoming season.
East: Blue Jays
Central: Tigers
West: Mariners
Wild Cards: Yankees, Red Sox, Astros
AL Champion: Tigers
Cy Young: Tarik Skubal
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball. As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners began life in 1977, joining the American League along with the Toronto Blue Jays to settle a lawsuit over the Pilots move to Milwaukee. I’ve seen 306 players wearing the Mariners uniform during the 46 games I’ve attended live, including the final night game at the original Comiskey Park, the first two games of their sweep of the White Sox in the 2000 ALDS, and a visit to T-Mobile Park in 2023.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Kyle Seager | 6 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | 3 |
| Richie Sexson | 3 |
| Cal Raleigh | 3 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Ichiro Suzuki | 19 |
| Kyle Seager | 18 |
| Michael Saunders | 12 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Ichiro Suzuki | 8 |
| Raul Ibanez | 6 |
| Kyle Seager | 6 |
| Mitch Haniger | 6 |
| J.P. Crawford | 6 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Kyle Seager | 11 |
| Mike Cameron | 8 |
| Alvin Davis | 7 |
| Mitch Haniger | 7 |
| Cal Raleigh | 7 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Michael Saunders | 3 |
| Mitch Haniger | 3 |
| 9 tied with | 2 |
Triples Continue reading →
Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what in the 2025 MLB season. With the Division Series round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.
East: Red Sox
While the Red Sox returned to the postseason as a wild card, the Blue Jays managed to take home their first division title since 2015.
Central: Guardians
The Tigers held first place for most of the season, but a late September surge by the Guardians gave them the crown.
West: Mariners
Hey, that’s two right now. After years of falling short, the Mariners finally held off the Astros to take home their first division title since 2001.
Wild Cards: Rays, Twins, Orioles
Not a single correct guess here. The Twins and Orioles bottomed out, while the Rays hung around the race for most of the season, but couldn’t make a run. Instead, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tigers topped the wild card standings.
AL Champion: Guardians
Well, their hot run couldn’t last forever. Since the Guardians are out, the field looks to be wide open. What a story it would be for the Mariners to make their first World Series appearance.
Cy Young: Garrett Crochet
While Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner, Crochet has a chance to get some support here.
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
It’s going to come down to Rodriguez’s teammate Cal Raleigh or Aaron Judge, who had another monster season.
With the Cubs and Dodgers having already gotten their seasons off to an early start in Tokyo, the North American portion of the 2025 baseball season is scheduled to kick off on Thursday, with a full slate of games featuring all 30 teams. For the fifteenth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.
East: Red Sox
Central: Guardians
West: Mariners
Wild Cards: Rays, Twins, Orioles
AL Champion: Guardians
Cy Young: Garrett Crochet
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
The North American portion of the 2024 baseball season is scheduled to kick off on Thursday, with a full slate of games featuring all 30 teams. For the fourteenth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.
East: Rays
Central: Guardians
West: Mariners
Wild Cards: Astros, Blue Jays, Yankees
AL Champion: Yankees
Cy Young: Tristan McKenzie
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
Another season of baseball season is in the books, with the White Sox disappointing their fans with their worst record since 1970 while the Cubs teased their fanbase with expectations of the postseason before their September swoon. Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 43 games that I attended this season.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Luis Robert | 10 |
| Jake Burger | 6 |
| Andrew Vaughn | 6 |
| Christopher Morel | 4 |
| Dansby Sawnson | 4 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Andrew Benintendi | 39 |
| Eloy Jimenez | 29 |
| Luis Robert | 28 |
| Andrew Vaughn | 28 |
| Elvis Andrus | 27 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Andrew Benintendi | 21 |
| Luis Robert | 19 |
| Continue reading → |
With the All-Star Game in the books and a few days of rest before the second half kicks off, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 24 games I attended at three different stadiums, starting with:
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Luis Robert | 8 |
| Jake Burger | 5 |
| Andrew Vaughn | 4 |
| 7 tied with | 2 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Andrew Benintendi | 26 |
| Luis Robert | 18 |
| Jake Burger | 15 |
| Elvis Andrus | 14 |
| Andrew Vaughn | 14 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Luis Robert | 13 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 12 |
| Continue reading → |
After three straight seasons of strange occurrences, the 2023 baseball season looks to kick off tomorrow without any COVID or lockout effects in sight. For the thirteenth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.
East: Yankees
Central: Guardians
West: Astros
Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Mariners, White Sox
AL Champion: Yankees
Cy Young: Alek Manoah
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season, which will be announced next week. It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate. Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.
Most Valuable Player: Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani
Had Shohei Ohtani not had the season he had last year, he would easily walk away with this award. But, as they say, familiarity builds, if not contempt, at least complacency. So Aaron Judge, who broke the American League home run record, will take home the prize.
Cy Young Award: Dylan Cease, Alek Manoah, Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander returned from Tommy John surgery at age 39 and won 18 games while posting a 1.75 ERA. Seems a little suspicious to my eyes, but he will easily take home this award.
Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, Brandon Hyde, Scott Servais
As usual, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season. Scott Servais should have won this award last year, but I don’t think he will make up for it this year. Brandon Hyde led the Orioles to a 31-game improvement over the previous year and their first winning season since 2016. That should get him the award.
Rookie of the Year: Steven Kwan, Julio Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman
Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season. While all three had very successful seasons, my guess would be that Julio Rodriguez brings this award back to Seattle.