Mariners hamstrung by T-Mobile Park
Let’s discuss Seattle hitters who’ve had their offense crushed by their home field.
We recently discussed Seattle hitters who were productive over a sustained period at T-Mobile Park, formerly known as Safeco Field. Now, let’s consider 12 Mariners who were hamstrung by their home field. First up, a member of the franchise’s Hall of Fame.
Jay Buhner
To be fair, “Bone” was nearing the end of his 15-year MLB career when T-Mobile Park opened in the summer of 1999. That said, Buhner’s limited experience at the Mariners’ new venue wasn’t nearly as prolific as his time spent on the road from 1999 through 2001.
Mike Cameron
Just how much did T-Mobile Park suppress the power of Mrs. A’s second-favorite Mariner? Cameron’s home run tally on the road was nearly double what he produced in Seattle. That’s how much.
Jeff Cirillo
I didn’t live in Washington when Cirillo was a Mariner. But it’s been brought to my attention that a segment of older fans can’t seem to get over the team trading Brian Fuentes, José Paniagua and Denny Stark to Colorado for the USC product in December, 2001. The ballpark certainly didn’t help Cirillo’s legacy with Seattle fans.
Among 65 Mariners with 300 career plate appearances at T-Mobile Park, Cirillo has the second-lowest OBP and SLG. Only Miguel Olivo (.250 OBP) and Brendan Ryan (.256 SLG) were worse than the two-time All-Star.
Adrian Beltré
Oh, look. T-Mobile Park curtailed the offense of a Hall of Famer. Beltré’s home run percentage was relatively close whether he was at home or on the road. But the four-time Silver Slugger hitting 40 more doubles away from Seattle really sticks out to me.
José López
“Jo-Lo,” as Mrs. A called him, wasn’t a dynamic run producer away from T-Mobile Park. But López’s road slash was relatively close to the league averages of the time. Not so much at home.
Justin Smoak
During his half-decade as a Mariner, Smoak had a .692 OPS. In the next five seasons with the Blue Jays, the South Carolina alum produced a .796 OPS. Based on the numbers illustrated above, it’s reasonable to believe Seattle’s home field played a significant role in this disparity.
Jesús Montero
I had to include Montero just for having an identical number of home and away plate appearances during his time as a Mariner. That said, the Venezuelan was clearly more productive on the road during his four seasons with Seattle.
Dylan Moore
Perhaps I’ve stumbled over these extreme splits in the past and forgot about them. But wow, Moore has delivered completely different results based on location. In fact, the Californian has the lowest AVG among those 65 Mariners with 300 T-Mobile Park plate appearances.
One more nugget to consider: Moore led the Mariners with 23 doubles this year. However, just three of his two-baggers were hit at home.
J.P. Crawford
Crawford has generally performed better away from the Pacific Northwest since becoming a Mariner in 2019. The notable exception was 2023 when the 16th overall draft pick in 2013 posted an impressive .842 OPS at T-Mobile Park and a very respectable .793 OPS on the road.
Cal Raleigh
This year, the Florida State product hit 23 home runs away from Seattle and just 11 dingers at home. One thing Raleigh was more effective at doing in the Emerald City than on the road in 2024 was drawing walks. “Big Dumper” posted a 13.4-percent walk rate at home, which was about four-percent higher than his road rate.
Jarred Kelenic
Okay, I’m not going to suggest T-Mobile Park was Kelenic’s undoing as a Mariner. After all, the 25-year-old produced a suboptimal .679 OPS as a member of the Braves this year. But the numbers do suggest the ballpark at the corner of Edgar & Dave significantly depressed Kelenic’s power.
Teoscar Hernández
Then there’s Hernández, who told Adam Jude of the Seattle Times that he never felt comfortable in the batter’s box when playing home games for the Mariners. The three-time Silver Slugger went on to elaborate that he didn’t feel “lined up in a straight line with the pitcher’s mound at T-Mobile Park.”
A nerd like me isn’t qualified to opine on Hernández’s comments to Jude. But a review of Teo’s road numbers from the last three seasons does suggest Seattle’s home field weighed down this year’s Home Run Derby champ in 2023.
Ironically, Hernández had a higher home run percentage, AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS on the road with the Mariners than he did the Blue Jays or Dodgers.
As noted during our prior conversation, searching for potential trade targets and free agent hitters who could potentially thrive at T-Mobile Park might be a fun exercise. We’ll see whether this effort actually uncovers realistic options for the Mariners.
Happy Turkey, everyone!
My Oh My…
I heard their backdrop is not straight across but goes on an angle. Is that true?
Is there anyway to “fix” it? That’s the question I have