2020 Seattle Mariners season
| 2020 Seattle Mariners | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | T-Mobile Park |
| City | Seattle, Washington |
| Record | 27–33 (.450) |
| Divisional place | 3rd |
| Owners | Baseball Club of Seattle, LP, represented by CEO John Stanton |
| Manager | Scott Servais |
| Television | Root Sports Northwest (Dave Sims, Aaron Goldsmith, Mike Blowers) |
| Radio | ESPN-710 Seattle Mariners Radio Network (Rick Rizzs, Aaron Goldsmith, Dave Sims) |
The 2020 Seattle Mariners season was the 44th season in franchise history. The Mariners played their 21st full season (22nd overall) at T-Mobile Park, their home ballpark. The Mariners extended the longest active playoff drought in the four major North American professional sports leagues, having not made the postseason since 2001. They also entered this season as the only team not to win a league pennant.
On March 12, 2020, MLB announced that because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks in addition to the remainder of spring training being cancelled. Four days later, it was announced that the start of the season would be pushed back indefinitely due to the recommendation made by the CDC to restrict events of more than 50 people for eight weeks. On June 23, commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally implemented a 60-game season. Players reported to training camps on July 1 in order to resume spring training and prepare for a July 24 Opening Day. The 2020 MLB season saw the adoption of many temporary rules, including universal DH, 7-inning scheduled doubleheaders, and extra innings starting with a runner on second base. All affiliated minor league seasons were canceled, leaving top prospects and depth players at the team's alternate training site in Tacoma, Washington, on an expanded roster.
The Mariners, led by their Black players, postponed a game against the San Diego Padres in late August following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. A three-game series against the Oakland Athletics at the start of September was postponed due to positive COVID-19 testing by the Athletics. A September 15 game against the San Francisco Giants in Seattle was postponed due to poor air quality caused by wild fires.
The Mariners finished the season 27–33, in third place in the American League (AL) West and five games out of a Wild Card spot. Center fielder Kyle Lewis won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, the fourth player in franchise history to win the award. Shortstop J. P. Crawford and first baseman Evan White won Gold Glove Awards. Marco Gonzales led Seattle pitchers in wins and innings pitched, led the AL in walks per nine innings pitched, and led MLB in strikeout-to-walk ratio.