The 1978 seaon

1978 was the poorest season in team history for the Seattle Mariners. The Seattle Mariners finished the season with a record of 56–104 (.350), enough for seventh place in the American League West.

Season standings

AL West                  W   L    Pct.   GB  Home   Road

Kansas City Royals        92   70    0.568    —    56–25     36–45
Texas Rangers               87   75    0.537    5      52–30     35–45
California Angels          87    75    0.537    5     50–31     37–44
Minnesota Twins          73     89    0.451   19    38–43    35–46
Chicago White Sox       71    90    0.441   0½   38–42    33–48
Oakland Athletics         69    93    0.426    23    38–42    31–51
Seattle Mariners           56   104   0.350    35    32–49    24–55

It has been 45 seasons since the Seattle Mariners began playing in the American League (AL) West division of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Mariners played their home games at Seattle’s Kingdome from April 6, 1977, through June 27, 1999. T-Mobile Park has been the Mariners’ home field since that day in 1999. (formerly Safeco Field). Their name is a tribute to the coastal and marine culture of their native city.

The Mariners, an expansion team formed as a result of the Seattle Pilots’ 1969 departure from Seattle after just one season due to a breach of contract dispute, had a losing record in each of its first fourteen seasons. While the Seattle Mariners have made the playoffs three more times, they have never advanced beyond the ALCS; this is the longest current drought in MLB and all of the major league North American sports; the team won 116 games in 2001.