SEATTLE — A thousand alumni, and then some, ring the top of the home clubhouse at the corner of Edgar Martinez Drive and Dave Niehaus Way. They’re stacked in five rows, no name bigger than any other, Cal Raleigh wedged between Yacksel Rios and Kevin Padlo. These are the Seattle Mariners, every single one of them, the DNA of the only franchise to never reach the World Series.

That is a tired theme around here, but historically speaking, it fits. No expansion club took longer than the Mariners to register a winning record, which finally came in Year 15. Now, in the 50th season of Major League Baseball in Seattle (including the one-and-done Pilots), the Mariners’ past is less a burden than an invitation to make history.

The voyage sets sail Saturday, when the Mariners host the Detroit Tigers in the opening game of an American League Division Series. It’s part one, they hope, of a journey to parts unknown.

“I feel like the players, even going back a few years now, they’re looking at it as a challenge — not, ‘Why are we being held responsible for 40-some years of clubs not being able to get it done?’” said Alvin Davis, the franchise’s first homegrown star, who is known as Mr. Mariner.

“I admire the group for that, especially the leaders, for seizing the opportunity and kind of recognizing, especially given our fan base, how epic it will be to bring a World Series to Seattle. They understand the opportunity that’s in front of them and they’re ready to lean into it.”

The Mariners are eager to get started. Three years ago, before being swept by the Houston Astros in the ALDS, the Mariners tuned up with two victories in Toronto. This time, after going 90-72 to win the AL West for the first time since 2001, they earned a bye.

While the Tigers dueled the Guardians for three days in Cleveland, the Mariners spent the week scrimmaging and bonding. Victor Robles joined the mascot race Wednesday and zipped past four types of salmon. Julio Rodríguez hopped aboard the Zamboni on the players’ trip to a Seattle Kraken game. The team’s mustache craze trend continued, whisker by whisker.

“I shaved all around it,” manager Dan Wilson said. “Accentuates it a little bit.”

In the scrimmages, the Mariners did what they usually do. Third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who smashed 49 homers in the regular season, went deep in his first at-bat. So did Raleigh, the catcher whose 60 homers broke Mickey Mantle’s record for a switch-hitter.

The Mariners ranked third in the majors in home runs this season, trailing only the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. They expect their power to play in October.

“Especially in the postseason (when) pitching is so good, home runs are king,” said Mitch Garver, the Mariners’ backup catcher, who hit cleanup for the Texas Rangers when they won the 2023 World Series.

“We play close games, especially here in Seattle. Home runs are big for us, and it’s a big part of our offense. But I think we have multiple ways to win — we take our walks, we use the middle of the field when we need to — and then when we get to that meaty part of the order and the power bats come through, there’s a lot of home runs that are hit.”

Only one team in the AL playoff field, the New York Yankees, drew more walks than the Mariners. Three Seattle players — Randy Arozarena, Josh Naylor and Rodríguez — had 30 stolen bases. And while T-Mobile Park depresses extra-base hits in play (it yielded the fewest combined doubles and triples of any MLB venue), the Mariners can lift balls into the seats anywhere.

Mariners fans during the team’s final regular-season homestand in Seattle. ( Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

“That’s kind of what our team does,” Wilson said. “But I think, also, we’ve talked about the balance in our lineup, too. We definitely have the depth and the power to go deep, but we also have the ability to grind out at-bats, to get on base and steal a base, put pressure on the defense, go first to third, get ourselves in scoring position and then get a chance to get driven in. I think when you look at the playoffs, having multiple ways to score is key.”

In their only home playoff game in 2022, the Mariners and Astros spent 18 innings squinting through afternoon shadows in search of a homer. Houston finally got one, by Jeremy Peña, while Seattle hitters fanned 22 times.

That was emblematic of an all-or-nothing offense that has added five starters since then: Arozarena, Naylor, Dom Canzone, Jorge Polanco and Victor Robles. The 2025 Mariners actually struck out more than the 2022 version — but had a lot more hits, homers, steals and runs.

“It’s a lot deeper (lineup),” said Suárez, who left for Arizona in a 2023 trade but returned in a deadline deal this summer. “We have guys who can walk, guys who put the ball in play. And with the shadows, we’ve got to play with that, too — try to see the ball longer and not try to do too much. Because the power is there. The homer is gonna be in our game at some point.”

The Mariners also count on their pitchers to throw strikes, which they do better than any other AL staff. Four starters — Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryan Woo, who is recovering from a pectoral injury — have been All-Stars since the last playoff run in 2022.

“The pitching that we had in 2019 with Washington and here, the great (group) of starters — honestly, I see a lot of similarities,” Robles, the center fielder for that Washington Nationals championship team, said through an interpreter. “And the vibe — I feel the same kind of vibe of that year.”

Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez rides a Zamboni during a Seattle Kraken preseason game on Wednesday. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Those Nationals had never won a pennant before, either, and finally broke through after years of near misses. Likewise, these Mariners have struggled to rise to the moment, falling one game short of the postseason in each of the last two seasons.

Now they are back, ready for an encore, much delayed, but much desired.

“I think it makes you stronger; it makes you want it more,” Rodríguez said. “I came here my rookie year, we made the postseason right away, and then missing a few of them, I feel it made us hungry as a team. It taught us more about ourselves and the things that we needed to do to continue to get better.”

Rodríguez’s name is somewhere near the clubhouse ceiling, with Davis and Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki — who played right field in the scrimmages — and all the rest. The room hosted champagne celebrations for clinching the playoffs and the division last month, and October holds the promise for more.

Scrawled on a message board near Raleigh’s locker were a few words that seem to have special meaning to Seattle’s unique challenge: “That we haven’t done something before doesn’t mean we can’t do it.”

(Top photo of celebrating Mariners players: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)