Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark).


2007 season: A new look and a return to the playoffs - Refurbished
Further information: 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks season
Uniform and color change: Sedona Red
The Diamondbacks announced in early September 2006 that their uniforms, which remained largely unchanged since the team's first season, would be completely redesigned for the 2007 season. Details were supposed to be kept from the public until after the 2006 postseason as per MLB rules, but the Diamondback page from the 2007 MLB Official Style Guide was somehow leaked around September 25, and local media broadcast printed the new design for all to see.
While some fans applauded the redesign, most of the reaction to the new color scheme, which included dropping the historical purple and traditional Arizonan colors of copper and turquoise for a reddish color known as "Sedona Red", has been pointedly negative. Many fans went so far as to call the 2007 D-backs a new and completely different team, calling the 2007 season a "re-inaugural year"; some fans in Tucson had banners reading; "Arizona Diamondbacks 1998-2006 - Arizona D-Backs 2007- " or "Exit Diamondbacks Enter D-Backs" and "Exit Purple Enter Sedona."
The official unveiling of the uniforms came at a charity event on November 8th in nearby Scottsdale, where several of the players modeled the uniforms on a runway, and posed for publicity photos.
The distinctive "A" design remained unchanged save for the colors. The stylized snake-like "D" logo, also used since the early days for the road uniforms, was slightly redesigned and a completely new shoulder patch introduced. The lettering on the jerseys was completely redesigned.
Changing faces and a successful season
Not only did the Diamondbacks uniforms change, but many faces of the organization changed as well. In addition to the trades detailed above:
Fan favorite and Diamondbacks stalwart Luis Gonzalez did not return as the left fielder for the Diamondbacks. The most popular player in franchise history, "Gonzo" signed a one-year contract worth just under $7 million on December 7 to play for the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2007 season.
Craig Counsell, another popular player, signed a two-year contract with his hometown Milwaukee Brewers and did not return to the Diamondbacks in 2007.
Pitcher Miguel Batista did not return in an Arizona uniform (he signed a three-year contract with the Mariners in December 2006).
Jay Bell, a longtime Diamondback as both a player and coach, relinquished his duties as bench coach to spend more time with family; he remained in the organization as an adviser to Bob Melvin.
The original Diamondbacks play-by-play man Thom Brennaman moved on to the Cincinnati Reds organization to work with his father Marty Brennaman in the booth.
In the 2007 regular season, the Diamondbacks enjoyed a relatively high degree of success with a young team including Brandon Webb, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Carlos Quentin, Chad Tracy, Chris Young, Miguel Montero, Mark Reynolds (baseball) (called up from Double-A in May) and Justin Upton (called up from Double-A in August). The Diamondbacks in the regular season posted the best record in the NL with 90 wins and 72 losses.
2007 postseason
On September 28, the Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies to secure a position in the 2007 playoffs. After the Padres' defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers on September 29, the Diamondbacks secured both the NL West title and home field throughout the NL playoffs.
After taking the first two games at home against the Cubs, in the National League Division Series, they took the series to Wrigley Field, where they completed their sweep, earning their first berth in the National League Championship Series since 2001.
In the NLCS (where, ironically, they faced the Rockies), however, the D-backs' bats - and any sort of luck they had - fell silent. Though the D-backs' pitchers kept it close, they just didn't seem to get any kind of situational hitting. Plays in key situations- Upton's slide in Game 1, Stephen Drew's baserunning mistake and Valverde's 3 walks in a row, including a bases-loaded walk in the 10th in Game 2, Yorvit Torrealba's homer in Game 3, Conor Jackson booting the ball in Game 4, and even into the 8th and 9th innings of the final game, with the D-backs trailing by two, Tony Clark struck out leaving Upton at third base in the 8th, and in the 9th, Chris Young's leadoff double was wasted...The D-backs ran out of momentum against a Colorado team who just couldn't lose and were swept by the Rockies.
The 2007 season overall was a great success, with many of the young players showing their potential and proving that the team would be a force in the National League for years to come.

2007 offseason
Reloading for 2008 with Dan Haren
On December 3, 2007 the Diamondbacks traded Carlos Quentin to the Chicago White Sox for first base prospect Chris Carter.
On December 14, in a blockbuster trade, the Diamondbacks acquired starting RHP Dan Haren from the Oakland Athletics for six players: LHP Brett Anderson, LHP Dana Eveland and LHP Greg Smith; the above-mentioned just-acquired infielder Chris Carter; and outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez. The team also traded relief pitcher Jose Valverde, who led the major leagues in saves in 2007 with 47, to the Houston Astros for reliever Chad Qualls, RHP Juan Gutiérrez and IF/OF Chris Burke. (Valverde was expected to immediately become the Astros' closer.)
Haren was expected to immediately join the Diamondbacks starting rotation which will include Webb and hopefully Randy Johnson if he rehabilitates successfully from his season-ending back injuries (Johnson was acquired from the Yankees in January 2007 and had a strong start to the 2007 season before back problems forced him out in August).
Haren was 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA for Oakland in 2007. This move was expected to make the D-backs favored to win the NL West in 2008 provided the offensive production is good.


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Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League.
The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name. They are nicknamed "the Jays", which is featured on the team's logo and on the front of the home uniform.
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto, in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team moved to the SkyDome in 1989. (In 2004 the SkyDome was bought by Rogers Communications and the name was thereby changed to Rogers Centre.) They are the first and only team outside the United States to win a World Series, and the first team to win a World Series in Canada. With the Montreal Expos (also of Canada)moving to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, and becoming the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays are currently the only MLB team outside the US.

Franchise history

1977-1981
The Toronto Blue Jays came into existence in 1976 as one of two teams slated to join the American League for the next season (the other being the Seattle Mariners). Toronto had been mentioned as a potential major league city as early as the 1880s, and had been home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League from 1896 to 1967. The San Francisco Giants were considering a move to the city until the team was purchased by Bob Lurie in 1976. However, the Giants' abortive bid was enough that the city renovated Exhibition Stadium, home of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts, to accommodate baseball.
The franchise was originally owned by Labatt Breweries with Imperial Trust and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as minority owners. The name "Blue Jays" came about when the team held a "name the team" contest, Blue Jays was the most popular choice and was chosen by majority owners Labatt Breweries because the word "blue" was their main brand of beer. It was very likely that the new team would have worn blue in any case; blue has been Toronto's traditional sporting colour since the Toronto Argonauts adopted blue as their primary colour in 1873.
The Blue Jays played their first game on April 7, 1977 against the Chicago White Sox. They won the snowy affair 9-5, led by Doug Ault's two home runs. That win would be one of only 54 of the 1977 season, as the Blue Jays finished in last place in the AL East, with a record of 54-107.
In 1978, the team improved their record by six games, but remained last with a record of 59-103. In 1979, after a 53-109 last place season, shortstop Alfredo Griffin was named American League co-Rookie of the Year in 1979.
In 1980, Bobby Mattick became manager, succeeding Roy Hartsfield, the Blue Jays' original manager. In Mattick's first season as manager, although they remained at the bottom, Toronto almost reached the 70-win mark, finishing with a record of 67-95, a 14-win improvement on 1979. Jim Clancy led with 13 wins and John Mayberry became the first Jay to hit 30 home runs in a season.
In the strike-divided season of 1981, the Blue Jays finished in last place in the American League East in both halves of the season. They were a dismal 16-42 in the first half, but improved drastically, finishing the 48-game second half at 21-27, for a combined record of 37-69.

1982-1988
Under new manager Bobby Cox, Toronto's first solid season came in 1982 as they finished 78-84. Their pitching staff was led by starters Dave Stieb, Jim Clancy and Luis Leal, and the outfield featured a young Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield. 1982 was also the Blue Jays first outside the bottom, as they finished sixth in the East.
In 1983, the Blue Jays compiled their first winning record, 89-73, finishing in fourth place, 9 games behind the eventual World Series champions, the Baltimore Orioles.
The Blue Jays' progress continued in 1984, finishing with the same 89-73 record, but this time in a distant second place behind another World Series champion, the Detroit Tigers. After 1984, Alfredo Griffin went to the Oakland Athletics, thus giving a permanent spot to young Dominican shortstop Tony Fernández, who would become a fan favourite for many years.
In 1985, Toronto won their first championship of any sort: the first of their five American League East division titles. The Blue Jays featured strong pitching and a balanced offense. Their mid-season call up of relief pitcher Tom Henke also proved to be important. They finished 99-62 (the franchise record for most wins), two games in front of the New York Yankees. The Blue Jays faced the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), and took a 3 games to 1 lead. However, Kansas City won three consecutive games to win the series 4 games to 3, on their way to their first, and only, World Series championship.
With Jimy Williams now the skipper, The Blue Jays could not duplicate their success in 1986, sliding to a fourth-place tie at 86-76. Jesse Barfield and George Bell led the way with 40 and 31 home runs respectively and Jimmy Key and Jim Clancy tied for the team wins lead with 14 each.
In 1987, the Blue Jays lost a thrilling division race to the Detroit Tigers by two games, after being swept on the last weekend of the season by the Tigers. The Blue Jays finished with a 96-66 record, second best in the major leagues, but to no avail. However, George Bell was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the American League, the first and only Blue Jay to be named so.
In 1988, however, Toronto could not duplicate the successes of the previous season, tying the Milwaukee Brewers for third in the division. Still, the season had numerous highlights. First baseman Fred McGriff hit 34 home runs, and Dave Stieb had back-to-back starts in which he lost a no-hitter with two out in the ninth inning.

1989-1991
In 1989, the Jays' new retractable roofed home, SkyDome, opened in the middle of the season. It also marked the start of an extremely successful five-year period for Toronto. In May, management fired manager Jimy Williams and replaced him with hitting instructor Cito Gaston. The club had a 12-24 record at the time of the firing, but recorded a 77-49 record under Gaston to win the American League East by two games. George Bell's walk-off home run off Bobby Thigpen marked the end of the Exhibition Stadium era. The first game at the new stadium took place on June 5 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Jays lost 5-3. In the 1989 American League Championship Series (ALCS), Rickey Henderson led the Oakland Athletics to a 4-1 series win.
In 1990, the Blue Jays again had a strong season, but finished in second place, two games behind the Boston Red Sox. Dave Stieb pitched his first and only no-hitter, beating the Cleveland Indians 3 to 0 in front of a small crowd at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. That is also, as of 2007, the only no-hitter ever pitched by a Toronto Blue Jay pitcher. During the offseason, the Blue Jays made one of the two biggest trades in franchise history, sending shortstop Tony Fernández and first baseman Fred McGriff to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Joe Carter and second baseman Roberto Alomar. The Jays also traded for center fielder Devon White. Carter, Alomar and White would prove to be effective additions, as the Blue Jays again won the division in 1991, as Carter drove in the division winning run. Once again, however, they fell short in the postseason, losing to the Minnesota Twins, who were on their way to their second World Series victory in five seasons, in the ALCS.
Toronto became the first Major League club ever to draw over four million fans in one season.
Team record 1989: 89 wins - 73 losses, W%- 0.549
Team record 1990: 86 wins - 76 losses, W%- 0.531, 2 games behind Division Leader
Team record 1991: 91 wins - 71 losses, W%- 0.562

1992-1993: World Series Champions
After the 1991 season had ended, the Blue Jays acquired pitcher Jack Morris, who had led the Minnesota Twins to victory in the World Series by pitching a 10-inning complete game shutout in Game 7 and had been named the World Series MVP. To add veteran leadership to their explosive offense, Toronto signed future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to be the team's designated hitter.
The 1992 regular season went well, as the Jays clinched their second straight AL East crown with a final record of 96-66, four games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. They also went the entire season without being swept in any series. The Blue Jays met the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, winning 4 games to 2. The pivotal game of the series was Game 4, considered by many to be one of the most important games in Blue Jays history: the Blue Jays rallied back from a 6-1 deficit after seven innings, capped off by Roberto Alomar's huge game-tying 2-run homer off Hall of Fame A's closer Dennis Eckersley in the top of the ninth. This paved the way for a 7-6 victory in 11 innings, and 3 games to 1 lead in the series and an eventual 4-2 ALCS series win.
The Blue Jays then faced the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. The pivotal game in this series turned out to be Game 2, in which reserve player Ed Sprague hit a 9th-inning 2-run home run off Jeff Reardon to give the Blue Jays a 5-4 lead, which would hold up. After winning Game 3 thanks to Candy Maldonado's ninth inning RBI hit and Game 4 due to Jimmy Key's superb 7 1/3 inning pitching effort in which he retired 15 straight batters (five innings), The Jays could not win the Series on home turf as the Braves struck back with a 7-2 win in Game 5. Game 6 in Atlanta, with the Blue Jays leading 3 games to 2, was a very close game. Toronto was one strike away from winning in the bottom of the 9th inning, 2-1, but Otis Nixon singled in the tying run off Blue Jays' closer Tom Henke. It was the first run the Toronto bullpen had given up in the series. The game was decided in the 11th inning, when Dave Winfield doubled down the left-field line, driving in two runs. The Braves would again come within one run in the bottom of the 11th, but Jays reliever Mike Timlin fielded Otis Nixon's bunt, throwing to Joe Carter at first base for the final out. The Blue Jays became the first team based outside of the United States to win the World Series. Pat Borders, the Jays' catcher, was the unlikely player who was named MVP after hitting .450 with one home run in the World Series. Oddly, Morris was acquired in large part for his reputation as a clutch postseason pitcher, but he went 0-3 in the playoffs. Morris, however, pitched well in the regular season, becoming the Blue Jays' first 20-game winner, with a record of 21-6 and an ERA of 4.04.
After the 1992 season, the Blue Jays let World Series hero Dave Winfield and longtime closer Tom Henke go but signed two key free agents: designated hitter Paul Molitor from the Milwaukee Brewers and perennial playoff success Dave Stewart from the Oakland Athletics.
In 1993, the Blue Jays had seven All-Stars: outfielders Devon White and Joe Carter, infielders John Olerud and Roberto Alomar, designated hitter Molitor, plus starting pitcher Pat Hentgen, and closer Duane Ward. In August, the Jays acquired former nemesis Rickey Henderson from the Athletics. The Blue Jays cruised to a 95-67 record, seven games ahead of the New York Yankees, winning their third straight division title. The Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 4 games to 2 in the ALCS, and then the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 2, for their second straight World Series victory. The World Series featured several exciting games, including Game 4, played under a slight rain, in which the Blue Jays came back from a 14-9 deficit to win 15-14 and take a 3 games to 1 lead in the series. It remains the highest scoring game in World Series history. Game 6 in Toronto saw the Blue Jays lead 5-1, but give up 5 runs in the 7th inning to trail 6-5. In the bottom of the 9th inning Joe Carter hit a one-out, three-run walk-off home run to clinch the series, off Phillies closer Mitch Williams. This is the only time in the history of Major League Baseball that a team hit a walk-off home run while trailing in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the World Series. The home run is also memorable for late Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek's call:
"A swing, and a belt! Left field! Way back! Blue Jays win it! The Blue Jays are World Series champions as Joe Carter hits a three-run home run in the ninth inning and the Blue Jays have repeated as World Series Champions! Touch 'em all, Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!" (Listen to Tom Cheek's historic call)
In the regular season, three Blue Jays, John Olerud, Paul Molitor and Roberto Alomar finished 1-2-3 for the AL batting crown.
Team record 1992: 96 wins - 66 losses, W%- 0.593
Team record 1993: 95 wins - 67 losses, W%- 0.586

1994-2001: The Gord Ash era
Expectations were high for the Blue Jays for the 1994 season, following back-to-back championships, but they slumped to a 55-60 record and a third place finish (16 games back of the New York Yankees) before the players' strike. It was their first losing season since 1982. Joe Carter, Paul Molitor and John Olerud enjoyed good years at the plate, but the pitching fell off. Juan Guzmán slumped considerably from his first three years (40-11, 3.28 ERA), finishing 1994 at 12-11 with a 5.68 ERA.
Three young players, Alex S. Gonzalez, Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green, did show a lot of promise for the future. Labatt Breweries was bought by Belgian-based brewer Interbrew (now InBev), making the Blue Jays the second baseball team owned by interests outside the United States or Canada. Interestingly, the first was the Blue Jays' expansion cousins, the Mariners, owned by Nintendo.
Before the 1995 season, Pat Gillick, the longtime Blue Jay general manager, resigned and left the team to the reins of Gord Ash, who would lead the team in its most tumultuous era yet.
In the strike-shortened 1995 season, the Blue Jays proved that they had lost their contending swagger of the past 12 years. Although they had most of the same cast of the World Series teams, the Blue Jays freefell to a dismal 56-88 record, last place in the AL East, 30 games behind the Boston Red Sox.
Attendance also tailed off dramatically during the 1995 season and has never recovered. During SkyDome's first four-plus seasons, Blue Jays tickets were among the toughest in all of baseball. While attendance suffered throughout the majors in the years immediately after the strike, the dropoff was especially pronounced for the Expos and Blue Jays.
1996 was another mediocre year for the Blue Jays, despite Pat Hentgen's Cy Young Award (20-10. 3.22 ERA). Ed Sprague had a career year, hitting 36 home runs and driving in 101 runs. However, their 74 wins did put them in 4th place, improving over their last place finish in 1995. They improved their record by 18 victories as they played the full 162 game schedule for the first time since 1993.
The Blue Jays started 1997 with high hopes. Not only did the Jays drastically change their uniforms, they signed former Boston Red Sox ace Roger Clemens to a $24,750,000 contract. Clemens had one of the best pitching seasons ever as he won the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading the American League with a record of 21-7, a 2.05 ERA and 292 strikeouts. This was not enough to lead the Blue Jays to the postseason, however, as they ended the year 76-86, with their second last place finish in three years. Cito Gaston, the longtime manager who led the team to 3 division titles and 2 World Series crowns, was fired five games before the end of the season.
Before the start of the 1998 season, the Blue Jays acquired closer Randy Myers and slugger José Canseco. Gaston was replaced with Tim Johnson, a relative unknown but a former Blue Jay. Despite mediocre hitting, strong pitching led by Clemens' second straight pitching triple crown (20-6, 2.65 ERA, 271 strikeouts) sparked the Blue Jays to an 88-74 record--their first winning record since 1993. However, this was only good enough to finish a distant third place, 26 games behind the New York Yankees, who posted one of the greatest records in all of baseball history.
Before the 1999 season, the Blue Jays traded Roger Clemens to the Yankees for starting pitcher David Wells, second baseman Homer Bush and relief pitcher Graeme Lloyd. They also fired Tim Johnson during spring training, after Johnson lied about several things (including killing people in the Vietnam War) in order to motivate his players. The Blue Jays had initially been willing to stand by Johnson. However, blizzard of questions about his credibility during spring training led Ash to fire him less than a month before opening day. Johnson was replaced with Jim Fregosi, who managed the Phillies when they lost to the Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. The offense picked up somewhat in 1999, but the pitching suffered without Clemens, as the Blue Jays finished 84-78 in third place.
On November 8, 1999, Toronto traded star outfielder Shawn Green to the Los Angeles Dodgers for left-handed relief pitcher Pedro Borbón and right-fielder Raúl Mondesí. Green had told the Jays that he would not be re-signing when his contract was up at the end of the year (He wished to move to the west coast).
2000 proved to be a similar season, as the Jays had an 83-79 record, well out of the wild card race but only a slim 4.5 games back of the three-time defending World Champion Yankees in the AL East, the first time since 1993 they had contended for the division. Carlos Delgado had a stellar year, hitting .344 with 41 home runs, 57 doubles, 137 RBI, 123 walks and 115 runs. In addition, six other players hit 20 or more home runs, an outstanding feat. José Cruz Jr., Raúl Mondesí, Tony Batista, Darrin Fletcher, Shannon Stewart, and Brad Fullmer all contributed to the powerful heart of the lineup.
On September 1, 2000, Rogers Communications Inc. purchased 80% of the baseball club with Interbrew (now InBev) maintaining 20% interest and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce relinquishing its 10% share.
Buck Martinez, a former catcher and broadcast announcer for the Blue Jays, took over as manager before the 2001 season. The Blue Jays were back under .500 for 2001, finishing at 80-82, with mediocre pitching and hitting. Delgado led the team again with 39 home runs and 102 RBI. After the 2001 season ended, the Blue Jays relieved Gord Ash of his duties, ending a seven year tenure.
J.P. Ricciardi, then director of player development under Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane, was named the Blue Jays' General Manager and was expected to immediately slash the payroll, in order to stem the tide of red ink. During the off-season, the team traded or let go several popular players, including Alex S. Gonzalez, Paul Quantrill, Brad Fullmer and closer Billy Koch to let talented youngsters such as Eric Hinske and Felipe Lopez get a chance to develop into major leaguers.

2002 season
The Blue Jays started the 2002 season with slow progress in performance. Buck Martinez was fired about a third of the way through the season, with a 20-33 record. He was replaced by third base coach Carlos Tosca, an experienced minor league manager. They went 58-51 under Tosca to finish the season 78-84. Roy Halladay, a talented but inconsistent prospect who was no more than a fifth starter who alternated between Toronto and Triple-A during his first three seasons, was relied on as the team's ace and rose to the challenge being the team's top pitcher, finishing the season with a 19-7 record and a 2.93 ERA. The hitters were led once again by Carlos Delgado. Ricciardi was credited for dumping Raúl Mondesí in mid-season to the New York Yankees to free up his salary, which in turn was used for the off-season signing of Mike Bordick, Frank Catalanotto and Tanyon Sturtze. Promising young players were assigned to key roles, including starting third baseman Eric Hinske (who later won the Rookie of the Year Award for this year) and 23-year old centre fielder Vernon Wells, who had his first 100 RBI season replacing Mondesi. Another bright young player was Josh Phelps, a former catcher turned designated hitter, who hit 15 home runs.
Team record 2002: 78 wins - 84 losses, W%- 0.481, 25.5 games behind Division Leader

2003 season
The 2003 season was a surprise to both team management and baseball analysts. After a poor April, the team had its most successful month ever in May. The offense was mainly responsible for the stunning turnaround. Delgado took over the major league lead in runs batted in, followed closely by Wells. The middle infield positions remained a gametime decision - Bordick played shortstop and third base, Dave Berg second base and third base, Chris Woodward shortstop and Orlando Hudson second base. Minor league call-up Howie Clark entered the mix as a utility player after Hinske underwent surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his right hand, which he had tried to play through for the first six weeks.
Despite their hitting successes, poor pitching continued to plague the team. Roy Halladay was spectacular in winning his first Cy Young Award, going 22-7, with a 3.25 ERA, but he didn't get much help from his fellow pitchers, although he had a poor start himself. Rookie Aquilino Lopez was a pleasant surprise out of the bullpen. Kelvim Escobar and former NBA player Mark Hendrickson were inserted into the rotation with their places in the bullpen filled by waiver acquisitions Doug Davis and Josh Towers, who went 8-1 after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse. The closer role was a season-long revolving door, with nobody able to take hold of the reins. Trade speculation had focussed on the acquisitions of pitching at the expense of hitters, but in the end the team simply divested itself of impending free agent Shannon Stewart without getting a pitcher in return. Instead Bobby Kielty, another outfielder with a much lower batting average than Stewart's, was obtained from the Minnesota Twins and later traded in November 2003 to the Oakland Athletics for starter Ted Lilly. The top four pitchers for the projected 2004 rotation would include Halladay, Lilly, free agent Miguel Batista, and the return of Pat Hentgen.
After the spectacular turnaround in May 2003, which helped the team move to just few games behind the wildcard leading Boston Red Sox, team performance slowly returned to reality, as predicted by team management. Carlos Delgado was second in the voting for the American League MVP although the Jays were in third place in their division. The Jays also announced that a new logo and new uniforms would be used as of January 1, 2004.
Team record 2003: 86 wins - 76 losses, W%- 0.531, 15 games behind Division Leader

2004 season
The 2004 season was a disappointing year for the Blue Jays right from the beginning. They started the season 0-8 at SkyDome and never started a lengthy winning streak. Much of that was due to injuries to All-Stars Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells and Roy Halladay among others. Although the additions of starting pitchers Ted Lilly and Miguel Batista and reliever Justin Speier were relatively successful, veteran Pat Hentgen faltered throughout the season and retired on July 24. Rookies and minor league callups David Bush, Jason Frasor, Josh Towers and others filled the void in the rotation and the bullpen; however, inconsistent performances were evident. Most starting pitchers did not pitch further than the sixth inning; thus, the overused bullpen contributed to the frequent relinquishing of early scoring leads.
The offense really sputtered due to the injuries of Wells, Delgado, Catalanotto and others, although in their absence, Josh Phelps emerged as the team's go to guy, hitting 12 homers and driving in 51 runs before being limited to playing against left-handed pitching and was traded to the Cleveland Indians. Five different catchers were used: Greg Myers, Bobby Estalella, Kevin Cash, Gregg Zaun, and rookie Guillermo Quiroz. Greg Myers was injured running the bases in Minnesota, early in the season, and was lost for the year. Bobby Estalella was called up, but he proved to be brittle as well. Gregg Zaun landed the starting catching job for the rest of the season. Kevin Cash continued to struggle from an offensive standpoint and would be moved in the offseason. The highly-touted Guillermo Quiroz was promoted from the minors near the end of the season.
With the team struggling in last place and mired in a five-game losing streak, manager Carlos Tosca was fired on August 8, 2004 and was replaced by first-base coach John Gibbons through the end of the season. The Jays' trying year would also touch long-time radio announcer Tom Cheek, who had to break his streak of calling all 4,306 regular season games in franchise history, upon the death of his father. Cheek had to take more time off later to remove a brain tumor, and by the end of the season, Cheek only called the home games.
Nevertheless, prospects Russ Adams, Gabe Gross, and Alex Ríos provided excitement for the fans. Adams hit his first major league home run in his second game, in which Gross also earned his own first major league grand slam. Alex Ríos was among the MLB Rookie of the Year Award candidates. However, the award went to Bobby Crosby of the Oakland Athletics. Rookie pitchers David Bush, Gustavo Chacín and Jason Frasor also showed promise for the club's future. The Blue Jays' lone MLB All-Star Game representative in 2004 was pitcher Ted Lilly.
On October 2, 2004, the Toronto Blue Jays announced the dismissals of pitching coach Gil Patterson and first-base coach Joe Breeden, effective at the end of the season. One day later, the Blue Jays finished the 2004 campaign with a 3-2 loss against the New York Yankees in front of an announced crowd of 49,948. However, the Jays' annus horribilis continued after the game, when it was announced that former pitcher and current TV broadcaster John Cerutti died suddenly of natural causes at the age of only 44.
More losses to the Jays family came in the offseason. Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Bobby Mattick, the manager from 1980 to 1981 and perhaps the best baseball man in the organization, suffered a stroke and died at the age of 89. Mattick had also served as the Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Blue Jays. A few days before Christmas, the Jays also mourned the loss of former first baseman Doug Ault, who had hit two home runs in the team's inaugural game in 1977; he was only 54 years old.
Rogers Communications, the owner of the Jays, purchased SkyDome from Sportsco International in November 2004 for approximately $25 million CAD ($21.24 million USD), just a fraction of the construction cost.
Just days after superstar Carlos Delgado became a free agent after the club refused arbitration, the Jays announced the signing of Manitoban third baseman Corey Koskie, formerly of the Minnesota Twins. One month after Koskie was inked, the Jays traded pitching prospect Adam Peterson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for corner infielder/DH Shea Hillenbrand.
Team record 2004: 67 wins - 94 losses, W%- 0.416, 33.5 games behind Division Leader

2005 season
On February 2, 2005, several days after finalizing the purchase of SkyDome by Rogers Communications, Rogers, to the widespread chagrin and derision of Jays fans, renamed the stadium the Rogers Centre. In spite of the best efforts of the new ownership, a wide majority of Blue Jays fans continued (and still continue) to refer to the stadium as SkyDome. By the start of the season Rogers had upgraded the stadium with a new "JumboTron" videoboard and added other state-of-the-art video screens around the stadium. Also, the AstroTurf surface was replaced by the more natural-looking FieldTurf. Owner Ted Rogers also promised a payroll increase to $210 million over the next three years, which allowed the team to have a team payroll of $70 million per year.
The Blue Jays finished spring training with a 16-10 record. Among the stars of spring training was Gabe Gross, who tied the Jays' record for most home runs in spring training with eight (the previous record breaker was long time Blue Jay Carlos Delgado). The Jays were able to translate their success in spring training into an excellent start - the team led the AL East from early to mid-April and held their record around .500 until late August. The Jays were hit with the injury bug when third baseman Corey Koskie broke his finger, taking him out of the lineup, but the club was pleasantly surprised with the performance of rookie call-up Aaron Hill in his stead.
On July 8, just prior to the All-Star break, Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was struck on the shin by a line drive from Texas left fielder Kevin Mench and was placed on the DL with a fractured leg. The injury cost Halladay his chance to be the American League starter in the All-Star Game in Detroit; his place on the All-Star squad was taken by Red Sox pitcher Matt Clement. Though Halladay's injury was hoped to be minor, the recovery process was met with constant delays, and Halladay eventually would prove to be out for the rest of the season. Team management officially announced that he would miss the rest of the season in August. The Halladay injury is seen by many as the negative turning point in the Jays season; the team had been in serious wild card contention at the time, but afterwards fell out of the race and failed to make the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year.
On July 22, Toronto traded utility infielder John McDonald to the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations. This gave the Blue Jays an open spot on the roster so that Aaron Hill could stay with the team when Corey Koskie returned from injury.
On July 28, Toronto played in the longest game in franchise history, innings-wise, an 18-inning marathon against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Rogers Centre. The Jays won 2-1, after nearly five hours of play when Orlando Hudson hit a line drive past a drawn in infield, scoring Alex Rios from third base.
The shutdown of Halladay for the remainder of the season seemed to affect the performance of the Jays. They went on a slump that brought their record under .500 in the beginning of September. From there, the Blue Jays finished the season 80-82 while receiving glimpses of the future from September call-ups Guillermo Quiroz, John-Ford Griffin, and Shaun Marcum. Marcum made himself noteworthy by posting an ERA of 0.00 over 5 relief appearances and 8 innings in September. Griffin hit his first career home run in the last game of the season and ended up going 4 for 13.
Josh Towers also stepped up, showing largely unseen potential going 7-5 with a 2.91 ERA in the 2nd half of the year and a 13-12, 3.71 ERA season overall, making him arguably the unlikely ace of the Jays rotation with Halladay injured and Gustavo Chacín faltering somewhat after the All-Star break.
The 2005 Jays inability to score with men in scoring position was a turning point in many games that ended up as losses, also contributing to the 80-82 record, although as a positive, the team did improve by 13 wins and returned to their usual 80-win plateau.
On October 9, the Jays, along with their fans, mourned the loss of inaugural broadcaster Tom Cheek. Cheek, 66, succumbed to brain cancer after just over a year-long battle. Cheek had broadcast 4,306 consecutive games since the first day of the franchise. His streak was ended in June 2004 when he took time off to visit his ailing father.
In the off-season, general manager J.P. Ricciardi began to make good use of the money that had been granted to the Jays by Rogers Communications before the season. Rogers had given Ricciardi $210 million over three years, which became $75 million a season to spend, $25 million more than the previous year. Ricciardi fulfilled the team's need for a stable closer by signing former Baltimore Orioles standout B.J. Ryan to the richest contract ever for a reliever - a 5-year, $47 million on November 28. Following that, the club awarded a 5-year, $55 million contract to highly coveted starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, formerly of the Florida Marlins, on December 6.
On December 23, 2005, Rogers Sportsnet reported that the Jays added a much needed 30 plus home run hitter to their lineup by getting third baseman and 2002 World Series MVP Troy Glaus and minor league shortstop Sergio Santos in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In return, the Diamondbacks received second baseman and 2005 Gold Glove Award winner Orlando Hudson and pitcher Miguel Batista. Glaus passed a team physical on December 26, and the trade was officially announced the next day. On the same day as the announcement of the Glaus deal, the Jays acquired solid-hitting first baseman Lyle Overbay and right-handed pitching prospect Ty Taubenheim in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers; with pitcher David Bush, pitching prospect Zach Jackson, and outfielder Gabe Gross going to Milwaukee. Glaus and Overbay were both introduced to the Toronto media together a few days later.
Team record 2005: 80 wins - 82 losses, W%- 0.494, 15 games behind Division Leader

2006 season
On January 3, J.P. Ricciardi signed free-agent catcher Jason Phillips to a minor league contract. Phillips, who hit .238 the previous season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, also had an invitation to spring training, was supposed to have competed with Guillermo Quiroz for the role of the Blue Jays' backup catcher. Quiroz was later claimed on waivers by the Seattle Mariners, and Phillips started the season with the team after Gregg Zaun was put on the disabled list.
The trades for Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay in the off-season created a glut of corner infielders for the Jays, as the team now had five players (Glaus, Overbay, Eric Hinske, Corey Koskie, and Shea Hillenbrand) who could play third base, first base, or designated hitter. The Jays relieved some of this pressure on January 6, by trading Koskie to the Milwaukee Brewers in the second deal between the two clubs in less than a month. The Blue Jays received minor league pitcher Brian Wolfe in return for Koskie. The Blue Jays also moved first baseman (and former third baseman) Eric Hinske to right field as a result.
On February 6, Toronto signed former Angels catcher Bengie Molina to a one year contract worth with an option for a second. Three days later, Toronto wrapped up its off season moves by re-signing Shea Hillenbrand and Pete Walker, each to a one year deal.
On July 2, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells, Roy Halladay, B.J. Ryan, and Alex Rios were picked to represent the Blue Jays at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Rios would not end up competing due to a serious staph infection that occurred around June 28, possibly as the result of a foul ball off Rios' leg during a game on June 27. Along with them the manager John Gibbons was also picked as an assistant coach for the AL team. This was the most all stars selected for the game since 1993. The only AL team with more All-Stars than the Jays was the World Series champion the Chicago White Sox, with six.
On July 7, Troy Glaus was picked to compete in the 2006 Home Run Derby, though during the Derby, he hit only one home run and was eliminated after the first round.
On July 19, infielder Shea Hillenbrand was designated for assignment after an altercation with the team management. Shortly after Hillenbrand, along with reliever Vinnie Chulk, was traded to the San Francisco Giants for reliever Jeremy Accardo.
On August 3, rookie second baseman Ryan Roberts started his first game in the MLB, and had his first hit, which was a home run. He is one of few Blue Jays rookies to have his first hit a home run in his first start.
On August 12, the Blue Jays got the Minnesota Twins to hit into 6 double plays, tying a Blue Jays record set on April 16, 1996. (Blue Jays vs. Detroit).
On August 16, the Blue Jays traded reliever Scott Schoeneweis to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations or a player to be named later (later announced to be INF Trevor Lawhorn).
On August 17, the Blue Jays traded first and third baseman and outfielder Eric Hinske and cash considerations to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later.
During a game against the Oakland Athletics on August 21, 2006, while on the verge of blowing an 8-run lead, John Gibbons walked to the mound to remove starter Ted Lilly. An argument ensued on the mound, in front of the audience at the Rogers Centre. Lilly eventually did leave the game and then headed into the clubhouse. Gibbons subsequently followed him into the hallway, where it appeared to eyewitnesses that he and Lilly got into a fight. Numerous team members and support personnel rushed into the tunnel to break them up. After the game, both the pitcher and manager denied any altercation and said the problem had been resolved.
Despite their on-field and off-field problems, the Blue Jays managed to play well in the critical month of September, going 18-10. This, combined with the slumping of the Boston Red Sox, enabled Toronto to snare sole possession of second place in the American League East by the end of the season. This marked the first time that the Jays had finished above third place in their division since their World Championship season of 1993, and with the most wins since the 1998 season.
On November 17, the Blue Jays announced that they had signed designated hitter Frank Thomas to a two-year contract worth $18 million, with an option for 2009.
On November 28, the Blue Jays announced that they had re-signed catcher Gregg Zaun to a two-year contract with an option for 2009.
On December 18, the Blue Jays announced that they had re-signed centre fielder Vernon Wells to a seven-year contract worth $126 million, to come into effect after the 2007 season. It is currently the largest contract in club history.
Team record 2006: 87 wins - 75 losses, W%- 0.537, 10 games behind behind AL Division Leader, second in division

2007 season
During the month of January, Toronto signed starting pitchers John Thomson and then Tomo Ohka to incentive-based one-year contracts in an effort to strengthen their 4th and 5th rotational slots. On January 30 Toronto also signed starting pitcher Victor Zambrano to a minor league contract, and invited him to Spring Training. All three were eventually released. When Brandon League, who was being considered for the main setup role, arrived to Spring Training with a strained lat muscle, Zambrano took the empty spot in the bullpen. Thomson injured himself in spring training, so the Blue Jays named Ohka and Towers as their fourth and fifth starters. After four mediocre starts, Josh Towers was sent to the bullpen and replaced by Dustin McGowan. Towers returned to the rotation later in the year replacing released pitcher Tomo Ohka. When Gustavo Chacin was injured, he was replaced in the rotation by Shaun Marcum, who had a breakout year.
The season was blighted by persistent injuries, with 12 Blue Jays landing on the DL. The most serious injury was that of B.J. Ryan, who was out for the entire season having had Tommy John Surgery. However, due to the emergence of young pitchers like Dustin McGowan, Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo, the Jays finished 4 games above .500.
One of the most memorable games this season for the Jays was on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 when they rallied from being down 11-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to win 12-11 on an RBI walk-off base on balls by Aaron Hill, a victory that moved them to within 1 game under .500
Another memorable moment of this season was Dustin McGowan's complete game one-hitter on Sunday, June 24 against the Colorado Rockies at the Rogers Centre. McGowan carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning when outfielder Jeff Baker hit a single with no out to break it up. This was the first Jays' one-hitter since September 27, 1998, in which Roy Halladay threw against the Detroit Tigers. The Jays won 5-0 and moved themselves up to .500 for the first time since May 1 of the season. The game was also notable for Frank Thomas hitting the 499th home run of his career. The day after McGowan's gem, the Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-5 to climb over the .500 mark for the first time since April and get their first four-game winning streak of the season.
On June 28, Frank Thomas became the 21st Major Leaguer to hit 500 career home runs. The pitcher who surrendered the homer was Minnesota Twins' starter Carlos Silva. Despite jumping out to an early lead the Jays couldn't hold on and ended up losing 8-5. In addition, Thomas was ejected from the game in the ninth inning by home plate umpire Mark Wegner for arguing balls and strikes.
On July 6 Reed Johnson returned to the lineup after spending three months on the DL. Johnson had been suffering back problems early in the season and received surgery, which forced him onto the 60-Day DL. This situation left Adam Lind the odd-man out in the lineup and he was optioned down to Triple-A. In his first game back Johnson went 1-3 at the plate, and made a game-saving catch in the ninth which prevented two runs (only one run scored on a sac-fly) from scoring and a runner on second (possibly third) and a one run lead with only one out. The Jays won the game 8-6 against the Cleveland Indians.
On September 16 Aaron Hill broke the Blue Jays club record for most doubles by a second baseman in one season, set by Roberto Alomar in 1991 with 41 doubles that season. Hill recorded his 42nd double of the season against the Baltimore Orioles.
On September 17 Frank Thomas hit three home runs in a game for only the second time in his career, both times against the Boston Red Sox.
Team record 2007: 83 wins - 79 losses, W%- 0.512, 13 games behind behind AL Division Leader, third in division

**WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington, Texas, United States. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1994 to the present, the Rangers have played in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The "Rangers" name originates from the famous law enforcement agency of the same name.
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1961 and was called the Washington Senators (not to be confused with the Washington Senators that left D.C. after 1960 to become the Minnesota Twins). The team then moved to Arlington in 1972 and became the Rangers. The Rangers are one of four teams to have never played in a World Series, having never won a league championship.

Franchise history

Washington Senators
When the original Washington Senators moved to Minnesota in 1960 as the Twins, Major League Baseball decided to expand a year earlier than planned to stave off threats of lifting its antitrust exemption. At the winter meetings that year, it awarded new teams to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.. FAA administrator Elwood Richard Quesada led the 10-man group that bought the Washington franchise. The new team adopted the old Senators name, but was (and still is) considered an expansion team since the Twins retain the old Senators' records and history.
The team played the 1961 season at old Griffith Stadium before moving to District of Columbia Stadium (renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969) on East Capitol Street and the Anacostia River.
For most of their existence, the new Washington Senators were the definition of futility, losing an average of 90 games a season. Frank Howard, known for his towering home runs, was the team's most accomplished player, winning two home run titles.
Quesada knew very little about baseball; he once wondered why he needed to pay players who didn't belong in the Majors. He also agreed to a mere 10-year lease at D.C. Stadium--something that would come back to haunt the Senators later. In 1963, Quesada sold his 10% stake in the club and resigned. Washington stockbrokers James Johnson and James Lemon took over as chairman and vice president, respectively; they bought out the remaining owners two years later. Johnson took the team's massive financial losses philosophically. However, he died in 1967, and Lemon sold the team a year later to hotel and trucking executive Bob Short, who outbid a group headed by Bob Hope. Short named himself general manager, and hired Hall of Famer Ted Williams as manager.
This seemed to work at first. Although Williams had never coached--let alone managed--at any level of baseball, he seemed to light a spark under the once-moribund Senators. Williams kept them in contention for most of the season; their 86-76 record was the only winning record in the franchise's first 12 years. What no one knew at the time was that this record would not be approached again until 1977--the franchise's 6th year in Texas. The year also saw the second-best recorded attendance in the history of baseball in Washington; 918,000 fans flocked to RFK Stadium.
However, this couldn't last. For one thing, Short had borrowed most of the $9.4 million he'd paid for the team. He was forced to make many questionable trades to service the debt and bring in needed cash. As a result, the team rapidly fell back into the American League cellar. He had little goodwill to start with in Washington since he hadn't promised to keep the team in town, and fans stayed away in droves. It didn't help matters that the Baltimore Orioles (45 minutes away) had turned into a powerhouse.
By the end of the 1970 season, Short had issued an ultimatum--unless someone was willing to buy the Senators for $12 million, he would not renew his lease at RFK Stadium and move elsewhere. Several parties offered to buy the team, but all fell short of Short's asking price.
Short was especially receptive to an offer from Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff, who had been trying to get a Major League team to play in the Metroplex for over a decade. Years earlier, Charles O. Finley, the owner of the Kansas City Athletics, sought to move his team to Dallas, but the idea was rebuffed by the other AL team owners.
Arlington's hole card was Turnpike Stadium, a 10,000-seat park which had been built in 1965 to house the AA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs of the Texas League. However, it had been built to Major League specifications. It was also located in a natural bowl; only minor excavations would be necessary to expand the park to major-league size.
After Vandergriff offered a multi-million dollar up-front payment, Short finally decided to pull up stakes and move. On September 20, 1971; he got his wish, receiving approval from AL owners to move the franchise to Arlington for the 1972 season.
Washington fans were outraged, leaving public relations director Ted Rodgers with the unenviable task of putting a positive spin on such events as fans unfurling a giant banner that contained Short's name, preceded by a popular four-letter invective. A photo of the banner appeared on the front page of a DC newspaper the following day.
Fan enmity came to a head in the team's last game in Washington, on September 30. Thousands of fans simply walked in without paying because the security guards left early in the game, swelling the paid attendance of 14,460 to around 25,000. The Senators led 7-5 with two outs in the top of the ninth. Just then, fans poured onto the field. An obese teenager scooped up first base and ran away. With no security guards in sight, the game was forfeited to the Yankees, 9-0.

First years in Texas
During the off-season, additions were made to Turnpike Stadium to increase its seating capacity, and it was officially renamed Arlington Stadium. Bob Short also announced that the franchise would be called the Texas Rangers. The team played its first game on April 15, 1972, a 1-0 loss at the California Angels. The next day, the Rangers defeated the Angels 5-1 for the team's first victory. The first home game was also against the Angels on April 21. After the season, Ted Williams retired as manager; he had made no secret of his distaste with the new city. Whitey Herzog was named the new manager, but he was replaced in the middle of the 1973 season by Billy Martin.
In 1974, the Rangers began to come into their own as a team. They finished the season 84-76 and in second place behind the eventual World Series champion Oakland Athletics. The 1974 Rangers are still the only MLB team to finish above .500 after two consecutive 100-loss seasons. Mike Hargrove was named AL Rookie of the Year, Billy Martin was named Manager of the Year, Jeff Burroughs was named AL Most Valuable Player, and Ferguson Jenkins was named the Comeback Player of the Year after winning a (still) club record 25 games. However, the following season, after a 44-51 start, Martin was fired as the Rangers manager and was replaced by Frank Lucchesi.
The Rangers' first four seasons would set what has become a pattern for the franchise--cycles of poor to mediocre seasons, followed by an occasional year of near-success, followed by disappointment the following year, then reverting to poor to mediocre seasons.
After excellent seasons between 1977-79, the Rangers came very close in clinching a playoff spot in the first half of 1981. However, Texas lost the game before the strike hit; the Oakland A's led the first-half Western Division by a half-game. After 1981, the Rangers would not post a winning record for another five seasons. During this stretch, the Rangers made one of their most unpopular trades ever, sending multi-Gold Glove catcher Jim Sundberg to the Milwaukee Brewers for future Brewers' manager Ned Yost.
The Rangers faced attendance problems for a few years after moving to Texas, in part due to the team's uneven performance and in part due to the oppressive heat that can overtake the area in the summer. Until the Florida Marlins arrived in 1993, Arlington Stadium was the hottest stadium in the Majors, with temperatures frequently topping 100 degrees during the day. In part because of this, the Rangers began playing most of their games between May and September at night--a tradition that continues to this day. They usually get a waiver from ESPN to play Sunday night games.

Valentine era
Bobby Valentine, who would eventually become the Rangers' longest-serving manager at 1,186 games, became steward over an influx of talent in the team in the late 1980s and 1990s. The 1986 winning season was possible with the help of rookies Ruben Sierra and Pete Incaviglia. However, the Rangers finished 5 games behind division-winning California. The signing of 41-year-old star pitcher Nolan Ryan prior to the 1989 season allowed Ryan to reach his 5,000th strikeout, 300th no-hitters with the Rangers. Coupled with powerful batters like Juan González, Rubén Sierra, Julio Franco, Harold Baines, and Rafael Palmeiro and a pitching staff that also included Charlie Hough, Bobby Witt, Kevin Brown, and Kenny Rogers, fans expected much from the team. However, the team never improved over second place, and Valentine was let go during the 1992 season.

George W. Bush becomes Managing Partner
Meanwhile, in April of 1989, the Rangers' owner, Eddie Chiles, sold the team to an investment group headed by future President of the United States George W. Bush. Bush would serve as the Rangers' managing partner until he was elected Governor of Texas in 1994. During this time, the Rangers and the City of Arlington decided to construct a new stadium to replace the aging Arlington Stadium. Ground was broken on October 30, 1991 on what would become The Ballpark in Arlington (now named Rangers Ballpark in Arlington).

Success in the 1990s
In 1993, Kevin Kennedy took over managerial duties, helming the team for two seasons. The 1993 squad was the first since the 1974 team to be in serious contention for a playoff berth into mid-September. Kennedy was let go in 1994, although the team led the AL West prior to the players' strike. The strike wiped out what could have been the Rangers' first division championship when commissioner Bud Selig canceled the remainder of the season. The 1994 season featured a perfect game by Kenny Rogers.
The year 1995 saw the beginnings of the most promise for the Rangers. With a brand new ballpark that hosted its first All-Star Game, Johnny Oates was hired as the Rangers' manager and promptly led them to an AL West division title in 1996. The first Rangers' playoff series in history, 24 years after the franchise came to Texas, saw the Rangers lose to the New York Yankees, though they did win Game 1 for their first, and to date only, playoff victory. Oates was named AL Manager of the Year and Juan González was named AL MVP. The team featured a powerful lineup of hitters with Iván Rodríguez, Will Clark, Mark McLemore, Dean Palmer, Rusty Greer, Juan González, and Mickey Tettleton but continued to struggle with pitching – a reputation that dogs the Rangers to this day – despite having Rick Helling, and Aaron Sele on their roster. Oates again led the team to AL West championships in 1998 and 1999, but en route to a second straight last place finish, Oates resigned 28 games into the 2001 season.

Hicks era
Meanwhile, Bush sold the team to an investment group led by Dallas businessman Tom Hicks in 1998. In 1999, Nolan Ryan became the first player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame to have a Ranger cap placed on his plaque.

The Alex Rodriguez era
Prior to the 2001 season, star free-agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez, previously of the Seattle Mariners, was signed by the Rangers in the most lucrative deal in baseball history: a 10-year, US$252 million contract. The move was considered controversial and was frequently maligned by the media who thought that Hicks was placing too much emphasis on one player instead of spreading out money among many players, especially for a team that lacked significant pitching talent. Although Rodriguez's individual performance was outstanding, the Rangers continued to struggle, and manager Jerry Narron was fired following the 2002 season. He was replaced by seasoned manager Buck Showalter.
In the 2003 season, the Rangers finished in last place for the fourth straight year, and after a post-season fallout between Rodriguez and team management, the then-reigning AL MVP and new Rangers captain, Alex Rodriguez, was traded to the New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias.

The present

2004
Prior to the 2004 season, little hope was held out for the Rangers to improve on their losing ways. However, the Rangers battled with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Oakland Athletics for first place in the AL West for much of the season. Mark Teixeira, Alfonso Soriano, Michael Young, and Hank Blalock became one of the better tandems of batting infielders in the league, and Young, Blalock, and Soriano were named to the 2004 All-Star Game. Soriano was named the All-Star MVP after going 2 for 3 with a three-run home run. The Rangers remained in contention until the last week of the season, eventually finishing in third place behind the Angels and A's, but they finished the season only 3 games out of first place. By comparison, the fourth-place team, the Seattle Mariners, were 29 games out of first.

2005
In 2005 the Rangers struggled to find consistency amid controversy and injuries. Frank Francisco and Carlos Almanzar, two key members of the bullpen, were sidelined for Tommy John surgery. Kenny Rogers, the team's ace pitcher, received a 20 game suspension from commissioner Bud Selig for attacking a cameraman at Ameriquest Field. Rogers signed with the Tigers for the 2006 season after the Rangers declined to offer him a contract. Also, shortly after a spectacular homestand where the Rangers swept all three series (the first time in Rangers history that they ever swept an entire homestand involving more than one team), management unexpectedly placed opening-day starter Ryan Drese on waivers, where he was claimed by the Washington Nationals. After Drese's release and Rogers' suspension, the Rangers struggled to find consistency on the mound, and a disastrous road trip in August in which the Rangers went 1-12 all but assured that the Rangers would not make the playoffs in 2005.

2005-2006 offseason
On October 4, 2005, the Rangers announced that John Hart was stepping aside as general manager of the franchise, and that Jon Daniels was being promoted from assistant general manager to general manager. Daniels, at 28 years and one month, was the youngest general manager in Major League history. However, Hart remained with the club as a "special consultant", thus giving rise to media speculation that Daniels would be little more than a "yes man" for Hart.
In any case, Daniels and the Rangers front office were very active in the 2005-2006 offseason. Alfonso Soriano, who had often been mentioned in trade speculation, was finally dealt to the Nationals for outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge. The Rangers then began making moves to acquire the pitching help that they have long sought. The Rangers acquired starter Vicente Padilla from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Ricardo Rodriguez and acquired San Diego Padres pitchers Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka in exchange for Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez, and Sledge. Finally, they signed free agent starter Kevin Millwood to a five-year contract worth US$60 million. The Rangers were also mentioned in speculation as a possible destination for Roger Clemens, who was not offered salary arbitration by the Houston Astros. However, Clemens eventually decided to sign with the Astros and appeared in his first game for Houston on June 22.

2006
The Rangers 2006 season ended with a disappointing 80-82 record and a third-place finish in the American League West. The team contended for the first half of the season with the pitching staff showing some improvement. However, the team proved unable to keep pace with the surging Oakland Athletics in the second half of the year, and fell out of contention in September.
To some extent the Rangers were the victims of bad luck, as their won-lost record was worse than their +51 run differential for the season would indicate. The pitching staff, anchored by Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla, improved to a ninth-place finish in the AL in combined ERA compared to 2005's twelfth-place record, despite Ameriquest Field's deserved reputation as a hitter's park. Although the offense was inconsistent for much of the season, with outfielder Brad Wilkerson, third baseman Hank Blalock and catcher Rod Barajas particularly disappointing, the team still finished fourth in the AL in runs scored.
Significant player moves included the July 28 deal acquiring outfielders Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Kevin Mench, Franciscisco , Laynce Nix and a prospect pitcher. Cordero became expendable after early season problems led to his replacement as closer by Akinori Otsuka. Although Otsuka pitched well in the closer's role, fellow pitching acquisition Adam Eaton proved of little help to the club after injury wiped out most of his season. Rangers shortstop Michael Young was named the MVP of the 2006 All-Star game, played on July 11 in Pittsburgh, for his game-winning two-run triple in the ninth. Center fielder Gary Matthews, Jr. also played in the All-Star game.

2006-2007 offseason
As a result of the third-place finish, on October 4 the Rangers dismissed Buck Showalter as manager with three years left on his contract. On November 6, the team announced that Oakland Athletics third base coach Ron Washington had accepted their offer to manage the team. Washington beat out four other candidates for the job: Rangers bench coach Don Wakamatsu, New York Mets third base coach Manny Acta, Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman, and former Rangers catcher John Russell.
Gary Matthews, Jr., Mark DeRosa, Carlos Lee, and Adam Eaton all signed with other clubs as free agents. Vicente Padilla has accepted a three-year, US$33 million offer with an option for a fourth year at US$12 million. The Rangers also signed Frank Catalanotto from the Toronto Blue Jays to a multi-year deal. Catalanotto will likely bat second and play left field, similar to his first tour with the Rangers. He is also expected to be a regular DH, switching duties with the newly acquired Sammy Sosa. The Rangers subsequently signed reliever Eric Gagné and center fielder Kenny Lofton to one-year deals. In a sign that GM Jon Daniels is looking for results in 2007, the Rangers' top pitching prospect John Danks was traded to the Chicago White Sox, along with reliever Nick Masset and low-A pitching prospect Jacob Rasner for 23-year-old starter Brandon McCarthy and 18-year-old outfielder David Paisano. Also new to the roster this year is veteran Sammy Sosa. Initially, the media and fans took this purely as a publicity stunt. However, Sammy quieted the critics with his hot bat during spring training. He has made the 25 man roster, and is expected to bat fifth behind Teixeira.

Renaming of the ballpark
On March 2007 the Rangers announced the termination of the agreement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company on ballpark naming rights. The team's stadium will now be known as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers negotiated a 30-year, US$75 million naming rights agreement with Ameriquest three years ago. Although Ameriquest has since experienced financial difficulties from the 2007 mortgage crisis, club president Jeff Cogen said the Rangers were more concerned about getting their name back on the ballpark rather than what was happening with Ameriquest. "It's all about the brand," Cogen said. The Rangers lose US$2.5 million per year from the naming rights but get back a number of advertising outlets at the ballpark that were included in the Ameriquest deal

2007
Although key hitters such as Michael Young and Mark Teixeira have rebounded after poor starts, the team overall ranks only seventh in the AL in runs scored despite playing in a good hitters park. On June 20, Sammy Sosa hit his 600th career home run against the Chicago Cubs at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Hank Blalock, the starting 3rd baseman who had been enjoying a good season, was placed on the 60-day disabled list on the 19th of May due to thoracic outlet syndrome, and Teixeira followed him onto the disabled list on June 9 (for the first time in his career) with a strained left quadriceps muscle. Although the team holds the highest ERA in the Majors there may be a few promising signs for the future with relief pitchers such as Willie Eyre doing a good job from the bullpen. With a record of 46-59 at the July 31st trade deadline, the team traded Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that would eventually bring 5 prospects to the Rangers organization, including three of Atlanta's top prospects Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus and Matt Harrison. At the trade deadline of 4:00 CST, the team also traded closer Eric Gagné to the Boston Red Sox for left-hander Kason Gabbard and Minor League outfielders David Murphy and Engel Beltre in what can only be seen as an attempt to re-tool the team for the 2008 season. On August 19 at the Metrodome, the Minnesota Twins logged 19 strikeouts against the Rangers, one short of the Major League record. Three days later, the 22nd, in the first game of a doubleheader at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Rangers' bats came alive with a modern record for runs by one team, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 30-3. Their 27-run margin of victory is also a modern day MLB record. Wes Littleton gained probably the easiest save in Major League history. Entering the game in the last of the seventh, with his team already ahead 14-3, Littleton gave up just two hits and a walk, earning a save because he finished the game and pitched at least three innings. The Rangers scored 16 of their 30 runs in the final two innings, giving Littleton a 27-run cushion in the last of the ninth. That raises the unanswerable question of how many runs Littleon would have had to yield before the Texas manager might have decided he was "in trouble". As it was, the O's were 3-up, 3-down in the ninth. The Rangers cooled off a bit in the nightcap, winning 9-7.

**WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are a professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1998 to the present, the Rays have played in Tropicana Field.
From their inception up until November 2007, the organization's name was the "Devil Rays," after the common nickname for the manta ray. They were nicknamed "The D-Rays", a shortened version of the Devil Rays name. The new name "Rays" is described by principal owner Stuart Sternberg as the team representing, "A beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida," although they still have the original manta ray logo in the new colors as an alternate logo.
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in St. Petersburg in 1998. They are one of four teams never to have played in a World Series, the others being the Texas Rangers, the Washington Nationals, and the Seattle Mariners. They are the only team to have never made it to the playoffs, having finished in last place in every season of their existence, with the exception of 2004, when they finished fourth in their division.

Although the Rays are one of baseball's youngest franchises, the Tampa Bay area has had a long history in professional baseball dating back to 1913. It was then that the Chicago Cubs moved their spring training site to the city of Tampa. St. Petersburg became a spring training host for the first time in 1922 when the Boston Braves came to town. Since that time, more major league spring training games have been played in St. Petersburg than any other city.
St. Petersburg has been the spring training home for nine teams: the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Braves, New York Giants, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, and currently the Rays. Tampa has hosted spring training for seven teams: the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, and the New York Yankees, who currently call Tampa their spring training home.
The area also has been the home to many minor league franchises since 1919 when Tampa entered the Class D Florida State League (FSL). St. Petersburg also fielded a team in the league in 1920. Both cities were mainstays in the FSL, which is now a Class A league, throughout the 20th century. Past local minor league teams included the Tampa Tarpons, Tampa Smokers, and St. Pete Saints.
Today, the Tampa Yankees still play in the FSL. Other cities in the Tampa Bay region, including Clearwater, Dunedin, and Lakeland have also had long histories in the league and still have teams. In addition, several past and present teams in the Rookie level Gulf Coast League have called the Tampa Bay region home.
St. Petersburg was the home of the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989-1990. The league featured former major league players who were age 35 or older. The Pelicans won the only league championship.
Amateur baseball also has a long tradition in the Tampa area. This tradition began in the ballfields of Ybor City, a community of mainly Latin immigrants in Tampa. Ybor was home to many social clubs, each of which sponsored highly competitive teams. Al Lopez, the first area resident to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, came out of this environment.
Since then, many current and former major league players and managers such as Mike Shenk, Louis DeRosa, Gary Sheffield, Tino Martinez, Luis Gonzalez, Dwight Gooden, Brad Radke, Tony LaRussa and Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (among many others) have gotten their start in the Little League, PONY League Baseball, and high school baseball programs of greater Tampa.
With its rich baseball tradition and growing population, a major league team to call its own seemed the next logical step for Tampa Bay. However, this remained an unfulfilled dream for many years.
Local leaders made many unsuccessful attempts to acquire a major league baseball team in the 1980s and 1990s. The Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Seattle Mariners all considered moving to either Tampa or St. Petersburg before deciding to remain in their current locations. The Florida Suncoast Dome (now named Tropicana Field) was built in St. Petersburg in 1990 with the purpose of luring a major league team. When Major League Baseball announced that it would add two expansion teams for the 1993 season, it was widely assumed that one of the teams would be placed in St. Petersburg. However, the teams were rewarded to Denver and Miami instead.
In 1992, San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie agreed in principle to sell his team to a Tampa Bay-based group of investors led by Vince Naimoli, who would then move the team to St. Petersburg. However, at the 11th hour, MLB owners nixed the move under pressure from San Francisco officials and the Giants were sold to a group that kept them in San Francisco.
It was civic leader and St. Petersburg Times publisher Jack Lake who first suggested St. Petersburg pursue a Major League baseball team. The notable influences Lake held in the sport are what led to the serious discussions that took the city of St. Petersburg from being the legendary home of Spring Training to the Major League city it is today.
Finally, on March 9, 1995, new expansion franchises were awarded to Naimoli's Tampa Bay group and a group from Phoenix (the Arizona Diamondbacks). The new franchises were scheduled to begin play in 1998.
The Tampa Bay area finally had a team, but the stadium in St. Petersburg was already in need of an upgrade. In 1993, the stadium was renamed the Thunderdome and became the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team and the Tampa Bay Storm Arena Football League team. After the birth of Rays, the naming rights were sold to Tropicana Products and $70 million was spent on renovations.

New uniforms for the 2008 season were officially revealed on November 8, 2007.The unveiling coincides with a name change for the team, as the team is now officially called the "Tampa Bay Rays". The TV and radio game broadcasters already referred to the team as the "Rays" more often than "Devil Rays". The new team colors are "navy, Columbia blue and a touch of gold". The new team logo features a bright yellow sunburst that represents the Sunshine State of Florida. In the original press release, principal owner Stuart Sternberg said "We are now the 'Rays' - a beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida." With the Rays change of colors from primarily green to blue, only five teams in MLB do not feature shades of red or blue on their uniforms. They are San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, the Baltimore Orioles and the Colorado Rockies.

**WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since July 1999, their home stadium has been Safeco Field; from their 1977 inception until June 1999, the club's home park was the Kingdome.
The "Mariners" name originates from the prominence of marine culture in the city of Seattle. They are nicknamed "the M's", a title featured in their primary logo from 1987 to 1992. The current team colors are navy blue, "northwest green" (teal), and metallic silver, after having been royal blue and gold from 1977-1992. Their mascot is the Mariner Moose.
An expansion franchise, the Seattle Mariners made their debut in 1977. The organization did not field a winning team until 1991, however, and any real success eluded them until 1995 when they won their first division championship and defeated the New York Yankees in the ALDS. The game-winning hit in Game 5 clicnched a series win for the Mariners, and has since become an iconic moment in team history. The Mariners share the record for most wins in a single season with 116, which they achieved in 2001. Despite their successes since winning their first division title, they have never won a league championship and remain one of four teams never to have played in a World Series.

Franchise history

Before being awarded a team in Major League Baseball, Seattle had been a staple of the Pacific Coast League dating back to the late 19th century. The first attempt to land a major league team failed when a bid by William Daley to move the Cleveland Indians to Seattle in 1965 fell apart. In late 1967, Daley, by then having sold the Indians, led a consortium to win a franchise in the 1969 expansion. That team became the Seattle Pilots. The Pilots, amidst a bevvy of financial problems, were sold and relocated to Milwaukee for the 1970 season and became the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Mariners were created as a direct result of a lawsuit. In 1970, in the aftermath of the Pilots' purchase and relocation to Milwaukee by future Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig, the City of Seattle, King County, and the State of Washington (led by attorney general and future U.S. Senator Slade Gorton) sued the American League for breach of contract. Confident that Major League Baseball would return to Seattle within a few years, King County built the multi-purpose Kingdome, which would become home to the NFL's expansion Seattle Seahawks in 1976.
The Pilots lawsuit continued until 1976. At trial, the American League offered to give Seattle an expansion baseball franchise in return for dropping the suit, and details were ironed out over the next year. To keep the league with an even number of teams, a formal expansion proceeding was held, with a second team, the Blue Jays, being awarded to the city of Toronto. The new Seattle team, to begin play in 1977, would be owned by entertainer Danny Kaye, along with Stanley Golub, Walter Schoenfeld, Lester Smith, James Stillwell Jr. and James A Walsh.

1977-1989: Debut and Perennial Struggles
The Mariners played their first game on April 6,1977 to a sold-out crowd of 57,762 at the Kingdome, losing 7-0 to the California Angels. That year, pitcher Diego Segui, in his last major league season, became the only player to play for both the Pilots and the Mariners. In 1979, Seattle hosted the 50th Major League Baseball All-Star Game; Mariner Bruce Bochte had the game-winning hit for the American League in front of a sold-out Kingdome crowd. After the 1981 season, the Mariners were sold to California businessman and future U.S. Ambassador to Spain George Argyros.
Despite having stars such as Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry (nicknamed the "Ancient Mariner"), 1984 American League Rookie of the Year Alvin Davis, two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner Harold Reynolds, three-time American League strikeout leader Mark Langston, and shortstop and team captain Spike Owen on their rosters, the Mariners teams of the 1970s and 1980s were characterized by perennial non-achievement, gaining a reputation for poor performances and losing records, and the team's ownership again changed hands after the 1988 season. However, the 1989 rookie season of center fielder Ken Griffey, Jr., acquired with the first pick in the first round of the 1987 amateur draft, gave fans hope that a change of fortunes might be on the horizon.

1990–1994: A Glimmer of Hope
After yet another dismal performance in 1990, the Mariners managed their first winning season in 1991, finishing 83-79 under manager Jim Lefebvre. Though it was the team's best season up to that point, it was only good enough for a fifth-place finish in the seven-team American League West in which no team finished under .500, and Lefebvre was fired. The team hired Bill Plummer as Lefebvre's replacement for the 1992 season, but he too was let go after a 98-loss campaign.
After several years of relocation threats by owner Jeff Smulyan, in the middle of the 1992 season the Mariners were purchased by a group of Seattle-area businessmen, led by Nintendo chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi. The purchase was initially opposed by baseball officials, who objected to a team being owned by a non-North American entity. Eventually, they allowed the sale, provided that the team's presidency and chairmanship remained in the hands of American partners.
During the following offseason, the Mariners hired manager Lou Piniella, who had led the Cincinnati Reds to victory in the 1990 World Series. Mariner fans embraced Piniella, and he would helm the team from 1993 through 2002, winning two American League Manager of the Year Awards along the way.
The Mariners' fortunes began to improve in 1994. Beginning in the late 1980s, the team had added a core of strong players built around center fielder Ken Griffey, Jr., pitcher Randy Johnson, third baseman Edgar Martínez, and right fielder Jay Buhner. On July 19, 1994, four 15-pound ceiling tiles fell from the Kingdome roof onto the field and into the stadium's seating bowl. The incident led to uncertainty over whether the Kingdome was fit for use as a major league stadium, and may well have ultimately been a factor leading to the construction of Safeco Field. Unable to play at the venue while repairs were being executed, the Major League Baseball Players' Association rejected the idea of playing games at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma or BC Place in Vancouver, feeling that games should not be played in non-MLB venues. This forced the Mariners to play their next 20 games on the road over the span of 21 days. The long trip began miserably as the Mariners started off 2-8, but rebounded to win nine of their next ten games, leaving them just 2 games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers when a players' strike was called on August 12 that resulted in the cancellation the rest of the season. Many players felt the time together on the road and the overcoming of the adversity faced that season fed directly into the success the team would achieve in the 1995 season.

1995 season: "Refuse to Lose"
Although pitchers Randy Johnson, Bill Risley, and Bobby Ayala combined for an opening-day three-hit shutout, the Mariners' 1995 season started off on a bad note overall, as Griffey sustained a major early-season injury. Despite this loss, the Mariners continued to play fairly well, guided by Piniella. In mid-August, however, the Mariners appeared to be out of contention, 13 games behind the first-place California Angels.
The tide turned with a September winning streak marked by late-inning comeback wins, which led to the slogan "Refuse to Lose." Combined with a losing streak by the Angels, this opened the way for the Mariners to end up tied with the Angels for first place at the end of the regular season, forcing a one-game playoff. The playoff pitted Johnson against Angels ace Mark Langston, whom, incidentally, the Mariners had traded for Johnson in 1989. Langston ended up on the seat of his pants at homeplate failing to tag out Luis Sojo who came all the way around after clearing the bases with a ball that got by the Angels first baseman, J. T. Snow, rattled around underneath California's bullpen bench, and resulted in a hurried and errant cut-off throw from Langston. The Mariners won the tiebreaker game 9-1 and clinched their first-ever trip to the playoffs. The Mariners had won 25 of their last 36 games.
The Mariners lost the first two games of the ALDS against the New York Yankees, but managed to win the next two at home and force a decisive Game 5. Down 5-4 in the bottom of the 11th inning, one of the most memorable moments in Mariners history took place. Edgar Martínez hit a game-winning double off Yankee ace Jack McDowell, scoring Joey Cora and Griffey to win the game 6-5 and advance to the American League Championship Series. "The Double", as Martinez's clutch hit has since been called by Mariners fans, is credited as being the moment that "saved baseball in Seattle" by generating interest in the team and making a new, baseball-only stadium possible.

Although the Mariners' championship run was halted in the ALCS by another up-and-coming club, Mike Hargrove's Cleveland Indians, who won the series 4 games to 2, 1995 is remembered as "The Magical Season" with "The Double" still considered by many the greatest moment in Mariners history.
1996–1999: The Changing of the Guard
In 1996, the Mariners, led by Griffey, rookie shortstop Alex Rodriguez, and sluggers Jay Buhner and Edgar Martínez, won a then-team record 85 games, but missed the playoffs. The offense set the all-time record for most home runs by a team in a season, but ultimately the Mariners' inconsistent pitching, exacerbated by a midseason injury to Randy Johnson, doomed the team.
The Mariners won a division title again in 1997, but were defeated in the ALDS 3 games to 1 by the Baltimore Orioles. They were again hurt by a lack of pitching depth to complement the strong offense, which was led by Griffey, who won the MVP award, a first for both him and the Mariners.
In 1998 and 1999, the Mariners had losing records due primarily to their lack of pitching depth. Randy Johnson was traded at the 1998 July non-waiver trading deadline to the Houston Astros after being inconsistent in the first half of the season; some fans and press thought he was trying to force a trade through malaise. Strong pitching from aces Jeff Fassero and Jamie Moyer was not enough to fully offset the loss, and the bullpen's struggles continued. Midway through the 1999 season, the Mariners moved to SAFECO Field. After the 1999 season, Ken Griffey, Jr. requested and attained a trade to the Cincinnati Reds, leaving Alex Rodriguez as the face of the franchise at the beginning of the high-expectation Safeco Field era.

2000: Winning the Wild Card
2000 was a return to respectability for the Mariners. They finished half a game behind Oakland Athletics in the AL West, as they played only 161 games. The tiebreaking rules had already awarded the division crown to Oakland, so the rained out 162nd game was not made up, and the Mariners were declared wild card winners. While Ken Griffey, Jr. was no longer patrolling center or anchoring the middle of the batting order, his replacement, Mike Cameron, was noted for his solid hitting and exceptional glovework (he would go on to win two Gold Gloves with the team). Alex Rodriguez replaced Junior as the face of the franchise. Edgar Martínez continued his steady hitting in the cleanup spot, putting up a career high in homers. Both finished in the top six in MVP voting.[12] A key addition to the team occurred when the Mariners signed the one-time AL Batting Champion John Olerud, a Washington State University graduate, to play first base. Olerud would enjoy some of his best seasons in Seattle, and played a huge part in the team's success the following year. Jamie Moyer, Freddy Garcia, and Aaron Sele anchored what was easily the most successful rotation in Seattle since the departure of Randy Johnson. Closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, previously a star for the Japanese Yokohama BayStars, won the AL Rookie of the Year award. Stolen base king and former MVP Rickey Henderson was acquired midseason and filled longtime needs in left field and in the leadoff slot. The Mariners swept the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS, but lost to the New York Yankees in six games in the ALCS.
The following offseason was one of the most significant in Mariners history, as Rodríguez was up for free agency. Ultimately, Rodríguez was lost to the Texas Rangers for what was then the richest contract ever in professional sports. However, the Mariners were able to weather the loss by adding Japanese superstar Ichiro Suzuki and slick fielding, power hitting second base veteran Bret Boone.

2001: The 116-win Season
In 2001, despite the loss of Rodríguez, who would be greeted on his return to Safeco with Monopoly money dropped by unusually irate Seattle fans, and on subsequent returns by incessant booing, the addition of Ichiro and a career season by Boone helped the Mariners to the most successful regular season on record in the modern era. The 2001 Mariners led the major leagues in winning percentage all season long, easily winning the American League West division championship and matching the previous Major League Baseball record for single season wins of 116 set by the Chicago Cubs in 1906. At the end of the season, Ichiro won the AL MVP, AL Rookie of the Year, and one of three outfield Gold Glove Awards, becoming the first player since the 1975 Boston Red Sox's Fred Lynn to win all three in the same season. He also became the charismatic, if enigmatic, face of the team. He has been the subject of several books (including one released in the summer of 2001 that consists solely of his zen-like quotations) and caused a stir by wearing his first name on the back of his jersey, an almost unheard of practice in American sport. Due to the contributions of Ichiro and the rest of the team, the Mariners pulled off a come-from-behind 3-2 series win over the Cleveland Indians in the Division Series to advance to the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, but succumbed to the Yankees for the second year in a row in the ALCS, 4 games to 1, in a series which had been postponed due to the terrorist attacks on September 11. The Mariners also hosted the All-Star Game that year, and had a league-leading and team record eight All-Stars: RF Ichiro Suzuki, DH Edgar Martínez, CF Mike Cameron, 2B Bret Boone, 1B John Olerud, and pitchers Freddy Garcia, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Jeff Nelson.

2002–2003: Continuing the Momentum
The Mariners started the 2002 season hot (they were on pace to win 100+ games again well into the summer), but they missed out on the playoffs. This was widely attributed to their failure to find a substantial contributor at the trade deadline and hot streaks by the Anaheim Angels and Oakland Athletics in the later months of the season. Ultimately, the Angels won the World Series as the Mariners won 93 games, which was still the second best total in their history. At the end of the season, manager Lou Piniella left the Mariners to manage his hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays, reportedly due to his anger with management; Piniella believed that management was more concerned with the bottom line than acquiring quality players. The Mariners signed Bob Melvin to be their new manager. The local press speculated that a first year manager (especially someone more even-tempered than the fiery Piniella) would be easier for the front office and ownership to control.
The Mariners again got off to an excellent start in the 2003 season. They contended all season long and reached the same record as in 2002, but were again beaten to the playoffs by their division rival Oakland Athletics. Their failure to make the playoffs was again blamed on management's inability to bring in a bat at the trading deadline and the aging roster's decline. Notably, the debate was started by pitcher Jeff Nelson, who was himself traded after criticizing the front office's deadline inactivity. General manager Pat Gillick became a consultant midway through the offseason to make room for new GM Bill Bavasi.

2004–2006: Suddenly Rebuilding
With the exception of the 1998 and 1999 seasons, the Mariners had been annual challengers for the AL West title from 1995 through 2003. The 2004 season, however, saw the fall of the Mariners from contention. With an aging roster, the Mariners went into the All-Star Break with a 9-game losing streak, and a 32-54 season record (.372) 17 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers. After the All-Star break, unable to ignore the dreadful state of their team, the Mariners gave the team a complete overhaul, trading Freddy Garcia to the Chicago White Sox for Miguel Olivo, Jeremy Reed, and Mike Morse and moving aging and struggling players away from center stage (most notably, releasing Gold Glover and fan favorite John Olerud) and inserting over a dozen minor league call-ups into the 25-man roster. The season's end was enlivened by Ichiro breaking George Sisler's single season record of 257 hits (finishing with 262) and by events honoring the retirement of Mariner icon Edgar Martínez. Just days after the end of the season, the Mariners fired manager Bob Melvin. On October 20, 2004, the Mariners announced the signing of Mike Hargrove, who had led the Cleveland Indians past the Mariners in the 1995 ALCS, as their new manager. In the offseason, the Mariners and Bavasi surprised fans and the local press by signing two premier free agents, third baseman Adrian Beltre and first baseman Richie Sexson, ending some accusations from fans that the organization was only willing to make piecemeal signings and trades.
Despite several personnel changes and free-agent signings after the 2004 season, the team stayed at the bottom of the divisional standings throughout the 2005 season and finished in last place, though they improved their record by six games compared to the previous year. The brightest spot of the season was the emergence of 19-year-old Venezuelan pitching prospect Félix Hernández, who became the youngest major leaguer to debut since Jose Rijo entered the league with the New York Yankees in 1984. Sexson also played very well, hitting 39 home runs and 121 RBI. Stars Ichiro and Beltre, however, did not reach their high levels of offensive production from 2004, and 2B Bret Boone was released before the All-Star break. Along with Hernandez, two rookie middle infielders became part of the Mariners' long term plans: Cuban defector and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and Venezuelan second baseman and former top prospect José López became the next season's starters. However, the Mariners' rotation beyond Hernandez and the aging Jamie Moyer was poor, and the Mariners suffered the embarrassment of having the most suspendees under MLB's new drug testing policy, notably pitcher Ryan Franklin and IF/OF Mike Morse. During the 2005-2006 off-season, Ichiro spoke out and criticized the team's attitude, pointing out its lack of leadership and manager Hargrove's failure to harness players.
The Mariners began the 2005–2006 off-season by signing star Japanese catcher Kenji Johjima to a 3-year deal and left-handed starter Jarrod Washburn (formerly of division rival Los Angeles) to a 4-year deal. Designated hitter Carl Everett and outfielder Matt Lawton also joined the team, although both would finish the season out of baseball. The Mariners entered the All-Star Break 2.5 games out of first place in the AL West with a 43-46 record. Despite remaining in contention within the AL West through July, a disastrous 0-11 road trip in mid-August signaled the end of the Mariners' playoff hopes, leaving them in last place, where they would finish the season. Pitcher Jamie Moyer was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for a pair of minor league prospects, and weeks later bench coach Ron Hassey and administrative coach Dan Rohn—whom many viewed as a prime candidate to replace Hargrove as manage—were removed from their positions with the team. At season's end, the Mariners had only narrowly avoided losing 90 games for the third consecutive year. While the team entered the 2006-2007 off-season with some young talent in key positions, many questions remained as to the consistency of their offense and, more importantly, the strength of their starting pitching staff.

2007-Present: Return to Competiton
The 2007 season began with a sense of muted optimism. While the team had a busy off-season in terms of changes to the roster, fans questioned player transactions that moved young, potential-filled players (Rafael Soriano, Chris Snelling) in favor of veterans who have suffered injuries in recent seasons (José Guillén, José Vidro, Horacio Ramírez) or who have achieved mediocre success in the past with other clubs (Miguel Batista, Jeff Weaver).These transactions followed CEO Howard Lincoln's remarks at the completion of the 2006 campaign that GM Bill Bavasi and manager Mike Hargrove were on his "hot seat" and needed to produce more wins in 2007. Further magnifying the need to win was outfielder Ichiro Suzuki's suggestion at the beginning of spring training that he may have an interest in testing free-agency waters when his contract is completed at the end of the season if the Mariners continue to struggle on the field.
After two and a half seasons with the Mariners and while guiding the team to a 44-33 record in the 2007 season, Mike Hargrove announced before the July 1, 2007 game against the Toronto Blue Jays that the game would be his last as the Mariners' manager. Hargrove said that he could no longer provide the commitment from himself that he was expecting of his players and coaches. Bench coach John McLaren was announced as Hargrove's replacement. On July 13, Ichiro Suzuki signed a 5-year, 90-million-dollar contract with the Mariners that will extend to 2012. With minor league prospect Adam Jones playing well and a fairly consistent offense and pitching staff, the 2007 Mariners were back in contention in the AL West and AL Wild Card races. However, a 3-15 stretch late in the season effectively ended the Mariners' 2007 playoff hopes. The Mariners were mathematically eliminated from contention on September 24. One highlight during this stretch, however, was the home run that gave Ichiro Suzuki 200 hits for his seventh consecutive 200-hit season; Ichiro is only the third player in MLB history with seven consecutive 200-hit seasons, and the first to do it in his first seven seasons.
Heading into the 2008 season the Mariners dramatically transformed their pitching staff, adding free agent Carlos Silva and trading a package of players led by George Sherrill and Adam Jones to the Baltimore Orioles on February 8 for Erik Bedard. Other additions included outfielder Brad Wilkerson and infielder Miguel Cairo, as well as a new coaching staff under McLaren featuring former MLB managers Jim Riggleman, Sam Perlozzo, Lee Elia, and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre.

**WIKIPEDIA.ORG