OAKLAND, Calif. _ Slightly more than 24 hours after being officially eliminated from the postseason, the Seattle Mariners were back on the field again. Yes, their playoff hopes had been extinguished and the overriding preseason goal went unmet, but there was still baseball left to play. Such is the nature of the 162-game marathon.
And while the 2017 season now has five games remaining, thoughts of the 2018 season and the chance to right all that went wrong this year were already coming to the forefront.
In that way, the Mariners' 7-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night at a largely empty Oakland Coliseum provided a glimpse/reminder for some optimism for multiple players expected to be key contributors next season.
"We aren't going to the playoffs and that's disappointing," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "But early as it is, you start preparing for next year."
Rookie outfielder Mitch Haniger continued a strong finish to his first full season at the big-league level, blasting a pair of homers, while catcher Mike Zunino, in the midst of the breakout year the Mariners always hoped for, crushed a three-run homer to provide a large portion of the offense.
Oh, and this pitcher named Felix Hernandez, he had his best outing since returning from the disabled list, pitching six innings and allowing one run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts to get the win and improve to 6-5.
It has been an eventful season for Haniger.
Since Aug. 31, he has displayed the disciplined at-bats and hitting production he showed in the first 21 games of the season where he was hitting .342 (27 for 79) with a 1.054 on-base plus slugging percentage before being forced onto the disabled list with a severely strained oblique muscle.
Haniger struggled in his return from the injury, hitting .203 (27 for 133) with a .618 OPS and 37 strikeouts in 37 games. He also went back on the DL after being struck in the face by a 95 mph fastball from New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom. After his return from that disabled list, Haniger stumbled some more, batting .147 (5 for 34) in his first nine games back. His overall average had dropped to .240 and his OPS to .743.
Given a day off in Baltimore on Aug. 29, Haniger worked with hitting coach Edgar Martinez on a minor tweak to his bat position and adjustment in his approach. It changed everything. Haniger went out and got three hits the next day and is hitting .370 (37 for 100) with six doubles, a triple, eight homers and 16 RBI in the 24 games since then.
Zunino's transformation from potential prospect bust to predicted foundation-level catcher in the span of five months has been one of the biggest developments in 2017.
Sent down to Class AAA Tacoma after hitting .167 with a .486 OPS, no homers and 30 strikeouts in the first 24 games, Zunino returned with a new stance, a new swing, a new pregame preparation plan and it has all led to improved results. A torrid June _ a .304 batting average, 1.092 OPS, 10 homers and 31 RBI _ was followed by a drop-off in July where he hit .188 with a .731 OPS and 28 strikeouts in 23 games.
But unlike past seasons in his young career, Zunino was able to adjust, working out of the slump and returning to productivity. Since Aug. 8, he is hitting .317 (38 for 120) with 10 doubles, eight homers and 19 RBI. The overall numbers after his demotion: .266 (82 for 308) batting average, 19 doubles, 24 homers, 60 RBI and an OPS over .900.
Hernandez has had two extended stints on the disabled list this season with shoulder bursitis _ a sign of age and innings logged. He passed the milestone of 2,500 innings pitched in his career during the game. And while he might never be "King Felix," as he was known during his seasons of dominance, he can still be a viable starter in the Mariners' rotation. Under contract and owed more than $50 million for the next two seasons, the Mariners would love some return on the massive investment.
