After two decades of futility, frustration, and plenty of hope deferred, the Seattle Mariners have broken their long standing playoff drought. They’ve come close before, as recently as last year, but this season was different. After their July hot streak and an equally good August, making the postseason seemed like an inevitability, even if there were some frayed nerves in September. Their playoff odds crossed the 90% threshold for good on August 25 and the rest of the regular season was spent jockeying for position in the Wild Card race.
So here we are in unfamiliar territory.