Bellingham Mariners

The Bellingham Mariners were a Minor League Baseball team in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, based in Bellingham, Washington. The club served as the Seattle Mariners' short-season affiliate from 1977 to 1994.

Bellingham Mariners
1977–1994 Bellingham, Washington
Minor league affiliations
Class	Class A-Short Season
League	Northwest League
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	Seattle Mariners (1977–1994) Los Angeles Dodgers (1973–1976)
Minor league titles
League titles (4)	1977 1980 1986 1992
Division titles (7)	1977 1980 1981 1983 1986 1992 1993
Team data
Previous names	Bellingham Dodgers (1973–1976)
Colors	Navy blue, silver, northwest green
Previous parks	Joe Martin Field

Bellingham

Location in the United States

History

Major League Baseball returned to Seattle in 1977 with the expansion Mariners of the American League. Bellingham signed a player development contract with Seattle and adopted their parent club's identity, taking the name Mariners.^[1] Also referred to as Baby M's, the team would serve as Seattle's only affiliate in their inaugural season.^[2] The Northwest League had two divisions, one for teams with affiliations and the other for independents. Bellingham won the affiliate division with a 42–26 record and played the Portland Mavericks for the league championship. In a best of three series, Bellingham and Portland split the first two games. The Baby M's held off the Mavericks by a score of 4–2 in the decisive game to claim the 1977 Northwest League crown.^[3] Bobby Floyd earned the league's manager of the year award.^[4] The Mariners continued their on-field success with nearly identical records going 41–30 and 41–31 in consecutive seasons.

In 1980, Bellingham amassed a 45-25 en route to a North Division title. The Baby M's faced the Eugene Emeralds in the league championship series, which they split during the first two games. The decisive third game was cancelled due to rain; as a result, the Mariners and Emeralds were named co-champions of the Northwest League.^[5] The club witnessed a significant jump in attendance with 42,292 passing through the turnstiles.

Seeking to repeat as league champions the Baby M's claimed the north division. Bellingham faced the Medford A's in the championship series, but were swept in two games. Two seasons later in 1983, with a roster that included future Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez, the Mariners claimed the division title with a 40-28 record. Bellingham was again defeated by a large margin by Medford in the championship series. In 1984 and 1985 the Baby M's posted mirror finishes at 39-35 taking second in the Washington division standings.

In 1987, 17-year-old Ken Griffey Jr. hit his first professional home run while on the road at Everett Memorial Stadium on June 18.^[6] A plaque was placed on the sidewalk outside the stadium where the ball landed.^[7]

Despite on-field success and a steady stream of Mariners prospects, the club struggled with poor attendance. Following the 1994 season, the Mariners ended their relationship with Bellingham.^[8] Seattle moved their affiliation south to Everett were the team assumed a new identity as the Everett AquaSox. Everett, who had been affiliated with the San Francisco Giants swapped with Seattle and moved their short-season affiliation to Bellingham. Bellingham assumed their parent club's moniker to become the Bellingham Giants in 1995.^[9] The city government demurred on funding $100,000 in renovations to the team's ballpark amid the affiliation change.^[10]

Ballpark

The Bellingham franchise played at Joe Martin Field, a venue with a seating capacity near 1,600. Since 1999, the ballpark serves as the home of the Bellingham Bells of the collegiate summer West Coast League.^[11][12]

Season-by-season record

Season	PDC	Division	Finish	Wins	Losses	Win%	Post-season	Manager	Attendance
Bellingham Mariners
1977	SEA	Affiliate	1st	42	26	.618	Defeated Portland in championship series 2-1[13]	Bobby Floyd	36,730
1978	SEA	North	3rd	41	30	.577		Bob Didier	29,739
1979	SEA	North	2nd	41	31	.569		Jeff Scott	31,741
1980	SEA	North	1st	45	25	.643	Tied Eugene 1–1 (Game 3 cancelled due to rain)	Jeff Scott	42,292
1981	SEA	North	1st	39	31	.557	Lost to Medford in championship series 2-0	Jeff Scott	21,390
1982	SEA	North	2nd	33	37	.471		Jeff Scott	17,211
1983	SEA	Washington	1st	40	28	.588	Lost to Medford in championship series 2-0	Jeff Scott	12,944
1984	SEA	Washington	2nd	39	35	.568		Gary Pellant	15,812
1985	SEA	Washington	2nd	39	35	.541		Gary Pellant	18,343
1986	SEA	Washington	1st	45	29	.608	Defeated Eugene in championship 1–0	Sal Rende	14,916
1987	SEA	South	4th	30	46	.395		Rick Sweet	22,183
1988	SEA	North	4th	25	51	.329		P. J. Carey	15,015
1989	SEA	North	3rd	32	43	.427		P. J. Carey	31,685
1990	SEA	North	3rd	32	44	.421		P. J. Carey	52,461
1991	SEA	North	2nd	37	39	.487		Dave Myers	60,484
1992	SEA	North	1st	43	33	.566	Defeated Bend in championship series 2–0	Dave Myers	68,928
Bellingham Mariners
1993	SEA	North	1st	44	32	.579	Lost to Boise in championship series 2-0	Mike Goff	74,900
1994	SEA	North	2nd	42	34	.553		Mike Goff	71,256

Division winner

League champions

Hall of Fame alumni

• Ken Griffey Jr. (1987) Inducted, 2016
• Edgar Martinez (1983) Inducted, 2019

Notable players

• Phil Bradley
• Iván Calderón
• Dave Henderson
• Raúl Ibañez
• Mark Langston
• Derek Lowe
• Joe Nathan
• Russ Ortiz
• Jim Presley
• Dave Stewart MLB All-Star
• Dave Valle
• Omar Vizquel MLB All-Star
• Matt Young MLB All-Star

See also

• Bellingham Mariners players   (1977–1994)