They are halfway to history. But now comes the hard part for the Seattle Mariners. They have to write the end of this amazing story.
And when you have launched yourself on one of the most spectacular liftoffs any baseball team has ever taken, there is no pressure like the pressure to finish the flight.
Just ask Sparky Anderson.
Seventeen years ago, his 1984 Tigers started off their season by going an unprecedented and still-unmatched 35-5. Eventually, they ended their season by steamrolling the Padres in the World Series. But in between, their legendary manager never stopped sweating out what he often has called the hardest season of his managerial life.
All these years later, Anderson can still feel the perspiration on his brow as he ponders the parallels between his team and the 2001 Mariners.
"The thing is, they have to win," Anderson told us Rumblers and Grumblers. "They can't lose. If they lose ... "
He paused to let the near-impossibility of that prospect sink in. Then he said:
"You realize what that is? A 19, 20-game lead and you LOSE? So to me, it's much tougher now, because everybody already thinks they've won. There's nobody you could talk to now who will say they haven't already won. But it doesn't work that way. You've still got to do it."
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In the next breath, however, Anderson was flicking on his turn signal and predicting: "They're GONNA win. We never had a lead like that. We only had a seven-, eight-game lead. If we'd have had an 18-, 19-game lead, I'd have kicked back and gone to the Bahamas."
And the great thing about the one and only Sparky is that he might have. But in truth, those Tigers were almost never seriously threatened. They led by 10 games the week before the All-Star break. They led by 13 in the first week of August. They won by 16.
But he still has every reason to be in awe of the Mariners and their outrageous first half. What this team has done rightfully ranks with the most astounding half-seasons in history. Let's mull it over for a few moments:
How amazing is it to be 38 games over .500 a week before the All-Star break? Before this season, the Mariners had never even been 23 games over .500 at any point in of their 25 seasons on earth. If they can get to 40 over at the break, the Elias Sports Bureau reports they would become just the second team ever to do that, joining only those equally out-of-control '98 Yankees.
The 21-game lead the Mariners held when play was through Sunday was the largest on that date by any team in modern history. The '98 Yankees' largest lead all year was 22 games, and they got there on the final weekend of the season.
Three months into the season, the Mariners are still playing at close to a .750 winning percentage. Now maybe that's no big whoop to Shaq's Lakers or Jordan's Bulls. But in baseball, it's about as unlikely as Rey Sanchez slugging .750. In the history of the NBA, 37 teams have had a winning percentage of .750 or higher. In the history of major-league baseball, exactly one team has done that -- the 1906 Cubs.
These days, it's not just a shock to see the Mariners lose. It's a shock even to see them trailing for an inning or two. Of their first 80 games, they held a lead in 68 of them. And at one point, they went a whole month -- from May 22 to June 22 -- in which they were ahead in every game but one.
Not that it matters much if they do fall behind. Even when they let the other team score first, the Mariners have a winning record (21-17). No other American League team can make that claim.
The Mariners already have had three winning streaks this year of eight games or more. The other 29 teams in baseball combined have four. The other 13 AL teams have one.
Plus-minus ratios are for hockey, not baseball. But it's hard not to notice this team's plus-minus. The Mariners arrived at July 1 with 138 more runs scored than their opponents. In the last 15 years, according to Elias, only two teams had a higher run differential on July 1 -- the '98 Yankees (plus-153) and the '98 Astros (plus-143).
What the heck. We could go on and on. Their road record (33-9) is better than anyone else's home record. Only twice all year have they had starting pitchers lose back-to-back games. The only pitcher who has been on their roster at any point all year and has a losing record is closer Kazuhiro Sasaki (0-3). They've played 26 series without being swept. And they're the only team in either league that has yet to lose three games in a row. Phew.
What's been especially amazing, however, is that, even though they finally lost back-to-back series last week for the first time all year, the Mariners have largely been able to keep their foot on the ignition. Which isn't easy for a team that started 20-4 and opened a nine-game lead before it had even flipped the calendar to May.
The Yankees were able to do that in '98. But it's human nature for most teams to throw it into cruise control after a start that spectacular. Sparky Anderson knows. Those '84 Tigers, for instance, played just .500 baseball between their 35-5 start and the All-Star break.
But because the Mariners haven't kicked back into any long-term skids like that in their first 80 games, it's the next 80 that will determine how history will regard them.
"I'll be the first to tell you I want to see what happens with them," Anderson said. "Every so often in this game, the numbers kick you in the butt, and something grabs people -- like McGwire and Sosa. And right now, baseball needs that.
"You've gotta have something where people say, 'Oh my God,' -- people who don't even go to a baseball game but they say, 'Imagine that.' You can take all that stuff they sell, all the memorabilia and all the stuff at the park, but nothing sells the game more than what Seattle is doing right now. That's what sells the game. People want to go out and see, 'How are they doing this?'"
Some would say the only way this team can truly be considered among the greats of all time is to win the World Series. But one man who would never say that is Sparky Anderson -- "because in the playoffs," he said, "that ball can bounce funny all of a sudden." But Sparky also knows what it's like to feel the tug of history. And he knows this team can feel that tug.
"History -- that's what our game is based on," Anderson said. "Anybody who tells me he don't want to make history, or that they don't want to be the first at anything -- then they're in the wrong place. They've got to go find some other occupation, because sports is based on one thing -- history."
So if his pal, "Louis" Piniella, can finish off this particular run at history -- get this team to close to 120 wins -- Anderson says: "I'd be the first to stand up and say to Louis, 'You did something I couldn't have done.' Tell that Louis, 'He's the all-time miracle man.'"
Sure will. But first, he has that little technicality of 80 games left to play.
Miscellaneous rumblings
Did or didn't George Steinbrenner promise Chuck Knoblauch a two-year, $18-million extension after trading for him three years ago? Depends on whom you ask.
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Triviality
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Tony Gwynn has led the National League in hitting eight times. Only four active players other than Gwynn -- plus Tim Raines, who is on the disabled list -- have led the NL once or more. Can you name them?
(Answer at bottom.)
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Clubs with interest in Knoblauch say everyone in the Yankees' organization has assured them the extension doesn't exist. The Yankees reportedly have told people that, much as they apparently did with Roger Clemens, they may have had a discussion of the possible parameters of an extension, but nothing was ever agreed to.
It's also clear the Yankees' deal with Seattle for Knoblauch fell through last week for baseball reasons -- not for reasons related to that phantom extension.
Still, a number of people in baseball remain skeptical, or at least puzzled, about why Knoblauch never exerted any leverage after being traded in the middle of a multiyear contract. But the Yankees' response to those people reportedly has been that Knoblauch was happy just to get out of Minnesota and to a team where he could win three rings in three years.
It's clear the Blue Jays are trying to dump payroll. And it's clear Tony Batista had been fouled up at the plate for a long, long time. Still, the bottom line on the Jays losing Batista on waivers last week looks like this:
A year ago, this team had a pitcher who almost won the Cy Young award (David Wells) and a hitter who almost won the home run title (Batista). Now they've lost both of them and essentially gotten nothing back. What's up with that?
"The guy hit 41 home runs for them," said one NL executive. "It's not like he's Jose Lima. I think he has some good years left in him."
Chipper Jones and John Rocker may have "cleared the air" in that phone conversation the other day. But the Braves won't be sending Rocker any wish-you-were-here cards. And they remain highly bemused by Rocker's description of Jones, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz as the Braves' "golden boys."
"You know, they have these end-of-the-year awards where they name this year's golden boy," said one of Rocker's ex-teammates. "They call it the Cy Young."
Meanwhile, what does it say about Cleveland that the response to Rocker's arrival was so overwhelmingly positive that fans chanted his name all weekend and gave him a standing O in his Indians' debut? Heck, after Albert Belle, how bad can this guy be?
All the Indians know is that dominant left-handed relievers are almost impossible to find. "And there's just as short a list of dominant closers," says Cleveland's assistant GM, Mark Shapiro.
Still, Shapiro calls the task of having to tell Bob Wickman about this trade "one of the hardest things I've ever been through. It crushed me, just because I love Bob Wickman." The Indians still hope they can convince Wickman to stay beyond this year, even if it's not as the full-time closer.
Will this year's annual Pedro Martinez injury be any more worrisome than the previous two? Too early to say. But one scout who watched Pedro recently was concerned by what he saw.
"What scared me was his arm angle," the scout said. "He threw a lot of pitches from that three-quarter (sidearm) slot. You could tell he was hurting. You just worry that with his physique and all the torque on his delivery, it's a lot of strain on a little guy."
Pedro Astacio remains the highest-ceiling veteran pitcher on the market, even with his recent struggles. But one question you keep hearing interested teams asking is: Why has a guy like him been so openly available for so long?
"I think we're all leery of why they've been trying to move him for a year and a half," says one GM, "especially when they've got a club option on him for next year."
But another front-office man says: "I can sum up in two words why we'd still have interest: Coors Field." On Friday, Astacio kicked off a string of four straight starts away from the mountain peaks. The Red Sox, Phillies, Reds and Yankees will be among the clubs actively watching.
The Expos continue to market Ugueth Urbina. But at least two clubs report they've been turned off by what they heard from the Yankees -- namely, that Urbina's physical was "horrendous."
Both Jermaine Dye and the Royals continue to send mixed signals on just how available Dye is, or how intent Dye is on wanting out if the Royals don't sign him to an extension. But it's clear one of the most aggressive teams out there is the Mets, who would deal Alex Escobar in a trade for an outfielder of Dye's talents. The Mets have also offered Glendon Rusch.
It was fascinating how the Devil Rays could release Gerald Williams and claim it had nothing to do with the automatic vesting of Williams' 2002 option in another 60 at-bats -- yet 10 teams could make serious attempts to sign him, nine of them contenders.
That Jay Powell-for-Ron Villone trade last week may not have been the blockbuster of the summer, but it provided a fascinating look at the dynamics inside the Astros' organization.
Powell was having a rough year and was getting booed heavily at home. So, according to two baseball sources, owner Drayton McLane essentially forced GM Gerry Hunsicker to trade him-- but wouldn't allow the Astros to talk about Powell as part of a package for Astacio, because he didn't want to take on Astacio's salary. Meanwhile, the Astros could be one starting pitcher away from being able to steal the NL Central.
It's hard to expect Jose Rijo to come back to Cincinnati and remotely resemble the great pitcher he once was. But baseball would be a happier place if Rijo makes it back to the big leagues at all, because nobody we know has more fun playing than he does.
After the Reds signed him to a minor-league contract last week, Rijo swore he wasn't coming back for the money. And in case no one believed him, he made sure to remind everybody that the Reds "don't have a lot of money, anyway."
Who led the major leagues in ERA in June? John Burkett, at 1.28. After Burkett tossed an eight-inning three-hitter in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Phillies manager Larry Bowa said: "It was like watching Maddux." But when we asked Maddux whether he thought he'd rubbed off on Burkett, Maddux gave it his standard wry smile and replied: "No. The things he does rub off on me."
But Burkett says: "I always watched Maddux pitch on TV every chance I got. But now I get to watch him every time I go out there. And even though Glavine is left-handed, I've learned a lot watching him. I think the big thing is, I've learned not to give in to the strike zone as much."
Burkett was actually leading the league in ERA through Sunday. But of course, isn't that mandatory with all Braves pitchers?
"Naw, it's not mandatory," Maddux said. "Just expected."
Useless information dept.
True Tony Gwynn fact No. 1: Gwynn and John Elway were both selected in the 1981 June baseball draft -- and Gwynn was selected after Elway. Gwynn went in the third round to the Padres. Elway was the Yankees' second-round pick.
True Tony Gwynn fact No. 2: Gwynn has struck out three times in a game once in 2,385 career games. The Elias Sports Bureau's Ken Hirdt reports that even if Gwynn whiffed three times in every game the rest of the year, he still couldn't catch the active leader _ Jose Canseco, with 121 (through Thursday). Great to have you back, Jose. Oh, and Ray Lankford has nine three-punchout games just this year
True Tony Gwynn fact No. 3: Gwynn has a .300 lifetime average (with 10 or more at-bats) against 47 different active pitchers (plus a bunch on the DL) and a .400 lifetime average against 24. Among the pitchers he has hit .400 or better against:
Dan Plesac .727
Hideo Nomo .560
John Smoltz .462
Al Leiter .455
Greg Maddux .433
Kevin Brown .423
Jon Lieber .417
Curt Schilling .410
Pedro Astacio .400
Last weekend in Philadelphia, the Marlins may have become the first team to get swept in a five-game series since the 1996 Giants. But Tony Perez still went 19-11 in his first 30 games as manager. And you have to go back almost a decade to find the last manager with a record that good in his first 30 games. Last to exercise that magic a touch, according to Elias: Would you believe Bud Harrelson (22-8 with the 1990 Mets).
But for the Marlins to make the playoffs, they will have to jump into the 90s in wins. And that would mean they would have to become the first team to increase their win total by 10 or more three years in a row since Heinie Wagner and the 1907-08-09 Red Sox.
Speaking of that NL East race, the Phillies were able to make an eight-game lead disappear in a mere 26 days (June 1 to June 27). No team has frittered away an eight-game pad that fast, according to Elias, since the '95 Angels did it in a near-impossible 21 days in August-September.
David Wells still hasn't won back-to-back starts since the All-Star break last year (when he was 15-2) -- a span of 32 starts. He's had just one other period like that in the last decade -- a two-year, 42-start streak that ran from June 19, 1993 until June 17, 1995. "The reason he's not on the market anymore," said one GM, "is that they couldn't get anywhere near what they wanted for him."
Thanks to the human trey, Christian Guzman, the Twins got more triples out of their team leader in triples last year (Guzman, with 20) than they got home runs out of their team leader in homers (Jacques Jones, with 19). Do we hear two years in a row? It's possible. Guzman has 11 triples already. And their home-run leader, Torii Hunter, is only at 12. Last team before the 2000 Twins to have a 20-triple man but not a 20-homer man: the 1946 Cardinals (Stan Musial 20 triples, Enos Slaughter 18 homers). Those Cardinals beat the Red Sox in the World Series, by the way.
Last year, we had just one 30-30 man -- Preston Wilson. The three players on pace to do it this year: Bobby Abreu (15 HR, 19 SB), Mike Cameron (14 HR, 17 SB) and Ryan Klesko (16 HR, 14 SB).
The Red Sox' least-favorite midseason tradition kicked off this week -- the great Pedro on the DL. They went 6-5 while he was on the DL last year, 6-7 the year before. Their two-year winning percentage when he was active: .567 (167-133). And when he wasn't: .500 (12-12).
Barry Bonds homered in 22 of his first 27 series. Mark McGwire at the same stage in '98 (with a more frenetic schedule) had homered in 22 of his first 29 series.
The Braves spent 85 consecutive days out of first place this year before they caught the Phillies. Last time that happened: April 15, 1993 to Sept. 10, 1993 -- when they chased the Giants for 148 consecutive days.
Pirates pitcher Jason Schmidt hit his first career home run last week, in his 247th career at-bat. But he wasn't even close to the lead among active pitchers for most lifetime at-bats without a home-run trot. The race, at the moment, is between Curt Schilling (584 AB, 0 HR) and Pedro Astacio (545 AB, 0 HR).
It isn't every young shortstop who could earn the open admiration of a guy like Larry Bowa. But Jimmy Rollins clearly has. And one big reason is his smarts as a baserunner. Rollins' streak of 20 straight steals is the longest by any Phillie since Bowa swiped 20 in a row in 1974. It's the third-longest current streak in baseball, behind Carlos Beltran (25 in a row) and Mark McLemore (24), according to Elias.
Ruben Sierra note of the week: You have to believe in reincarnation after Sierra arose from the land of the lost to have the first 10-homer month of his career last month. Only four men hit more home runs in June than Sierra: Moises Alou (12), Luis Gonzalez (12), Barry Bonds (11) and Sammy Sosa (11).
In a development historic only for certain authors of this column, Seattle's Dennis Stark recorded the first win in big-league history by a pitcher named Stark on Saturday.
Blondes may have more fun. Platinums may be the road to coolness. And now, outside of that darned broken toe, Mike Piazza has proven that it's even good for your swing to go with the bleach look. Loyal reader David Hallstrom reports that since Piazza snipped his locks last Monday and went blonde on us, his batting average is up 118 points, his on-base percentage is up 135 points and his slugging percentage is up 99 points. More proof of a better life through chemicals.
The Sultan's Corner
The Sultan of Swat Stats, SABR's David Vincent, presents the 18 pitchers who have given up a home run to both Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken:
Doyle Alexander
John Denny
Jamie Moyer
John Smoltz
John Wetteland
David Cone
Curt Schilling
Bob Ojeda
Omar Olivares
Brian Williams
Greg Swindell
Pat Rapp
Don Wengert
Doug Jones
Sean Bergman
Stan Belinda
Brian Bohanon
Al Leiter
Barry Bonds had better watch out for Sammy Sosa. Last Wednesday, Sosa had his third multi-homer game in 11 days. And while he was still a long ways from Bonds Country this year, he closing in on Mark McGwire -- for must multi-homer games over the last five seasons. The leaders (through Sunday):
Mark McGwire 29
Sammy Sosa 26
Carlos Delgado 25
Ken Griffey 24
Juan Gonzalez 22
Barry Bonds 20
Manny Ramirez 20
Trivia answer
Todd Helton (last year), Larry Walker (1998 and '99), Andres Galarraga (1993) and Gary Sheffield ('92).
Jayson Stark is a Senior Writer at ESPN.com. Rumblings and Grumblings appears each Monday.
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