1977 Seattle Mariners season

The 1977 Seattle Mariners season was the first season in franchise history, which was established via the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion. The creation of the Mariners brought baseball back to Seattle, which had been without a major league team since the Seattle Pilots left for Milwaukee to become the Brewers in April 1970.

The Mariners ended the season by narrowly avoiding last place (held by the Oakland Athletics), finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of .390, 38 games behind the AL West champion Kansas City Royals.

Offseason

 * September 3, 1976: Former Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson is hired to be the team's first manager. Lou Gorman, Seattle's director of baseball operations, states that Johnson will help in scouting players for the upcoming expansion draft.
 * October 1, 1976: Dave Johnson was purchased by the Mariners from the Baltimore Orioles.
 * October 22, 1976: Diego Seguí was purchased by the Mariners from the San Diego Padres.
 * November 5, 1976: The 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft was held. The Mariners (along with their expansion partners, the Toronto Blue Jays) selected 30 players to fill their major league roster.
 * April 1, 1977: Mike Kekich was purchased by the Mariners from the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo.

Linescore
April 6, Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

Other notable events

 * April 10, 1977: Designated hitter Juan Bernhardt hit the first home run in team history.
 * April 13, 1977: The first extra innings game in team history resulted in a 3–2 win over the Minnesota Twins.
 * May 19, 1977: The first shutout win in team history was a 3–0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
 * July 1, 1977: The Milwaukee Brewers played their first game in Seattle since 1969, when they were the Seattle Pilots. The Brewers beat the hometown Mariners, 2–1.
 * July 8, 1977: Scored the most runs of the season in a 13–11 win against the Minnesota Twins.

Notable transactions

 * April 20, 1977: Pete Broberg was traded by the Mariners to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Jim Todd to the Mariners on October 25.
 * May 2, 1977: Dave Johnson was purchased from the Mariners by the Minnesota Twins.
 * June 7, 1977: Tony Phillips was drafted by the Mariners in the 16th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.
 * July 27, 1977: Dave Pagan was traded by the Mariners to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Rick Honeycutt to the Mariners on August 22.
 * August 2, 1977: Stan Thomas was traded by the Mariners to the New York Yankees for future considerations.
 * September 9, 1977: Bill Laxton and cash were traded by the Mariners to the Cleveland Indians for Ray Fosse.

Starters by position
''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bellingham