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The Seattle Mariners are the new owners of a very dubious sports record

Mike Oz

Thanks to the Buffalo Bills securing a playoff spot in the NFL (in a thrilling manner, when a last-minute touchdown sank the Baltimore Ravens), the Seattle Mariners are now the owners of one of sports’ most dubious marks. The Mariners have the longest playoff drought in any of the major four pro sports.

At least that makes picking a New Years’ Resolution pretty easy, right?

The Mariners haven’t made the postseason since 2001, so the drought stands at 16 seasons without a playoff appearance. The Bills hadn’t made the postseason since 1999.

The 2018 Seattle Mariners have their work cut out for them. (AP)
The 2018 Seattle Mariners have their work cut out for them. (AP)

The Mariners have come close in recent years, however. In 2016, they finished three games out of a wild-card spot in the American League. In 2014, they were just a game outside the playoffs.

Making the postseason in 2018 will be tougher. They finished in third place in the AL West behind the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels. The Astros won the World Series and figure to be good again in 2018. Meanwhile, Japanese star Shohei Ohtani signed with the Angels, which should help them quite a bit.

The Mariners have traded for Dee Gordon and Ryon Healy to help their lineup, but they’ll still need some additional pitching help if they want to challenge for a wild-card spot and break that drought.

But hey, Mariners, if the Bills can do it, so can you.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!