SENATE RESOLUTION

                             8722

By Senators Oke, Benton, Brown, Carlson, Costa, Deccio, Eide, Fairley, Finkbeiner, Franklin, Fraser, Gardner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Hochstatter, Honeyford, Horn, Jacobsen, Johnson, Kastama, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McAuliffe, McCaslin, McDonald, Morton, Parlette, Poulsen, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rossi, Sheahan, Sheldon, B., Sheldon, T., Shin, Snyder, Spanel, Stevens, Swecker, Thibaudeau, West, Winsley, and Zarelli

     WHEREAS, the 2001 Seattle Mariners gave baseball fans throughout the Northwest several months of joy, thrills and excitement as they broke the American League record for wins in a regular season and equaled one of Major League Baseball=s longest-standing records by winning one-hundred and sixteen games in the regular season, originally set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs; and

     WHEREAS, in tying the Major League record for wins in a season, the Mariners displayed remarkable consistency throughout the year as they recorded twenty wins each in April, May, August and September/October, and eighteen wins a piece in June and July; and

     WHEREAS, during their magical 2001 season, the Mariners= winning ways, team-first attitude and classy style on and off the field, drew a team-record 3.5 million fans to Safeco Field and captured the hearts of people throughout the Northwest; and

     WHEREAS, new additions such as Ichiro Suzuki and Bret Boone helped propel the Mariners= offense and defense to the top of the American League in both categories, while Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer and Kazuhiro Sasaki anchored a pitching staff that led the American League in team earned run average; and   

     WHEREAS, the Mariners set club records for highest batting average, highest fielding percentage and lowest earned run average in a season; and

     WHEREAS, the Mariners kept fans dreaming of a World Series Title by defeating the Cleveland Indians in the American League Divisional Series before losing to the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series; and 

     WHEREAS, longtime veteran and team icon Jay Buhner provided strong clubhouse leadership and support while sidelined most of the season with an injury, and then gave fans one last thrill by hitting a mammoth home run in the ALCS against the Yankees before retiring; and

     WHEREAS, Ichiro was named American League Most Valuable Player and Boone finished third in the MVP balloting, Lou Piniella was named American League Manager of the Year, Edgar Martinez was named the AL=s Most Outstanding Designated Hitter, and Freddy Garcia finished third in the AL=s Cy Young Award balloting; and

     WHEREAS, despite the disappointing end to the season, Mariners fans look forward to spring training and can=t wait for the 2002 season to begin;

     NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate congratulate the Mariners on their remarkable season and thank the M=s for giving fans throughout the Northwest so many special memories.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of the resolution to the Seattle Mariners baseball organization.   

I, Tony M. Cook, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 8722,

adopted by the Senate January 25, 2002.

TONY M. COOK

Secretary of the Senate