For three decades, there’s been an unquestioned best hit in the history of the Seattle Mariners. We don’t even need to say his last name or the context behind it. If anyone asked, “who has the biggest hit in Mariners history?” The answer was simply: Edgar.
After the run by the 2025 Mariners, it doesn’t seem like that will be the case anymore. If they win one more game after Game 5 of the ALCS, it will definitely be dethroned. I think it already has been.
Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suárez now have moments that top Edgar’s.
The Mariners won ALCS Game 5 against the Blue Jays by the score of 6-2, but they were on the verge of losing all three home games in this series and facing elimination. They were losing 2-1 heading to the bottom of the eighth.
And then Cal Raleigh homered to tie it, sending T-Mobile Park into a frenzy.
A few hitters later — and no outs later — Suárez came to the plate with the bases loaded. He clubbed a grand slam.
“I told myself, ‘don’t let the fastball beat you,'” he said.
It did not beat him. He sent it into the seats. T-Mobile Park status? Madhouse.
That was only the seventh go-ahead grand slam in postseason history in the eighth inning or later.
The Mariners are now one win away from the World Series. This is the only franchise among the 30 in MLB that hasn’t been to a World Series before. The Mariners are one of five to have never won it all, but the other four all have at least one pennant. Not the Mariners. Not yet?
“This is the biggest home run of my career,” Suárez said after the game. “I’ve been waiting to have a game like this today and it was awesome to be able to hit a grand slam there to give a win to my team, for the fans. They’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
The context behind this inning is why these two home runs move ahead of Edgar’s hit on my Mariners moments power rankings.
Edgar Martinez, the Hall of Famer, was a beast in the 1995 ALDS. He was 12 for 21 (.571) with three doubles, two homers and 10 RBI in the five-game series. This series-clinching walk-off double with fellow Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. sliding into home is an enduring image:
It’s been said that it was the swing that saved Seattle baseball. It isn’t an exaggeration. That really might have done it. It’s just that it was only the ALDS. If we’re comparing Jorge Polanco’s walk-off single in Game 5 of the 2025 ALDS, of course you’ve got to leave Edgar’s double above that.
Now that the Mariners are closer to the World Series than they’ve ever been, the two eighth-inning home runs leap to the top of the list. It’s true. Not only have the Mariners never won a pennant, they’ve never won a third ALCS game before. They lost in six in 1995, in six in 2000 and in five in 2001. Those were previously their only ALCS trips.
“First of all, it felt like Cal’s ball was in the air for, like, an hour,” manager Dan Wilson said afterward. “But to see that one go over and tie the score. And then after Geno’s grand slam, I’m not sure I’ve heard that building any louder than that. Again, just can’t say enough about the fans here in Seattle, just how much they support us, how they come out, how they turn out, how they give us the energy we need. Another phenomenal day from the people here in Seattle. It makes you emotional just thinking about that and just how loud it was at that moment.”
“Talking to a lot of people who have been around here since the 2001 days, they don’t remember a time that it was this loud before,” he added. “So just an incredible moment, I think, at T-Mobile Park, and you can’t say enough about the support we’ve received from these fans this year.”
Remember, the Mariners needed a furious rally late this season just to win the AL West. They were down seven games at one point. They were down four games on Sept. 5. Those 1995 Mariners stormed back from a 13-game deficit and were down six games with only three weeks left in the season.
“Yeah, it’s been so similar, you know, the 1995 and this year, September,” said Martinez, now the Mariners director of hitting strategy, before Game 5. “It looks very similar the way we played in 1995, chasing the Angels and this year Houston, and we’re in this situation.
“It just brought those memories from 1995 back. We just hope that we go even farther this year.”
Suárez after the game said it was a “special” run and he’s right. The Mariners have never done this before. Not even with Junior and Edgar teaming up for that iconic play in 1995.
The list now starts with Raleigh and Suárez.
The best news of all for Mariners fans? There’s an opportunity to add onto the “better than The Double” list in Game 6. And after that, maybe even in the World Series.
Dare to dream, Seattle. The eighth inning of Game 6 was the most special inning you’ve ever seen and proves dreams can become reality.
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