For the first time in site history, our annual preview of the Seattle Mariners’ opponents in the American League West can be done from a mountaintop perch. Looking down upon the rest of the division, the reigning AL West champions will hang their first division title banner in the rafters since 2001, and are well-positioned for a repeat campaign. But none of the division will be keen to see Seattle repeat, so knowledge of the enemy will be vital.
In this series, we’ll break down each AL West foe into four articles: Position Players, Pitching Staff, Farm/Future, and a compact version of our annual If It All Goes Right/Wrong articles with the lens of each opponent. Working up from the bottom of the division, we begin this week with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who finished in last place in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1973-74. They began the season with minimal expectations externally, but veteran manager Ron Washington hoped to light a fire under his motley crew. Instead, Washington’s health limited him to just 74 games (36-38), before things came off the rails in the back half of the year under Ray Montgomery.