The 2022 Lookout Landing Awards

Dec 5, 2022 - 4:01 PM

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 07: <a href= — Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Lookies are Lookout Landing’s most prestigious awards. They are presented annually to honor the Mariners’ best players, most memorable moments, and goldenest retrievers. The staff collaborated to determine the categories and nominees, and a weeklong reader vote was held to determine the winners. The winners were announced and discussed at length on the November 23 episode of the Lookout Landing Podcast. But for those of you who prefer the written word, we also present the results below. Friends, here are the 2022 Lookies.

Rookie of the Year

Nominees: Matt Brash, George Kirby, Julio Rodríguez
Winner: Julio Rodríguez
Quick take: I can think of three, maybe four years where Kirby wouldn’t have won this. Was this the best rookie class in Mariners history?

Prospect of the Year

Nominees: Taylor Dollard, Harry Ford, Emerson Hancock, Cade Marlowe, Bryce Miller
Winner: Taylor Dollard
Quick take: This award is surely a credit to Kyle Gehler’s outstanding reporting on the Arkansas Travelers. Baseball Prospectus recently named Harry Ford as the Mariners’ top prospect.

New Mariner of the Year

For the player new to the organization who had the biggest positive overall impact
Nominees: Luis Castillo, Adam Frazier, Robbie Ray, Carlos Santana, Eugenio Suárez, Jesse Winker
Winner: Eugenio Suárez
Quick take: We were all taken with Eugenio’s infectious positivity, but did you know that among players with at least 500 PAs, his 131 wRC+ as a Mariner ranks seventh in franchise history? Even Kyle Seager only bested that number in one full season.

Best Non-Player Addition to the Mariners

Nominees: “Can’t Hold Us” in the seventh-inning stretch, the return of the swelmet/bomblet, Tucker the dog, Los Bomeros intro, Embrace the Chaos signs
Winner: Tucker the Dog
Quick Take: I continue to find it weird that the Mariners have a mascot named after one of Houston’s best players.

Bombero del Año

For the reliever who did the most to help the Mariners win as many games as possible
Nominees: Matt Brash, Diego Castillo, Matt Festa, Andrés Muñoz, Penn Murfee, Paul Sewald, Erik Swanson
Winner: Andrés Muñoz
Quick take: This is what happens when your fastball averages 100.2 mph but it’s not even your best pitch.

Best Pitch

Nominees: Matt Brash’s slider, Luis Castillo’s four-seamer, George Kirby’s sinker, Andrés Muñoz’s slider, Erik Swanson’s splitter
Winner: Andrés Muñoz’s slider
Quick take: Through June 15, Muñoz’s slider averaged 85.8 mph, but after that date, he bumped it up to 90.0, and opposing hitters’ wOBA dropped by almost 100 points. It’s safe to say this was not just the best pitch, but also the most improved.

Most Franchise-Altering Move

Nominees: The Suárez/Winker trade, a then-struggling Cal Raleigh is recalled to replace an injured Tom Murphy, George Kirby seizes the fifth-starter spot, Luis Castillo trade, Julio extension
Winner: Julio extension
Quick take: Have you asked yourself how old you’ll be in 2037?

Part-Time Hero

For the player who had the biggest positive impact over a limited period)
Nominees: Luis Castillo, Sam Haggerty, Mitch Haniger, Carlos Santana
Winner: Luis Castillo
Quick take: In just 65 IP, Castillo amassed 1.5 fWAR, which would have ranked third on the team in 2021.

Fan Favorite

Nominees: Sam Haggerty, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Eugenio Suárez, Taylor Trammell, Write-In
Winner: Julio Rodríguez
Quick take: J.P. Crawford and now-former Mariner Jesse Winker received write-in votes. All my love to the four voters who selected the write-in option but then did not actually submit a write-in vote.

Regular Season Game of the Year

Nominees: Home Opener, all 14 games of the winning streak, the Home Run Derby, the 13-inning game, the rain delay in Cleveland, Clinch Night
Winner: the 13-inning game
Quick take: This award was the closest, with just 20 votes separating the 13-inning game from Clinch Night.

Félix Hernández Award

For the pitcher who did the most to help the Mariners win as many games as possible
Nominees: Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Andrés Muñoz, Robbie Ray
Winner: Logan Gilbert
Quick take: Did you know that Gilbert ranked 17th in MLB in innings pitched?

Pitching performance of the year

Nominees: Marco Gonzales in home opener, George Kirby MLB debut, Luis Castillo home debut/13-inning game, Logan Gilbert on Clinch Night
Winner: Luis Castillo home debut/13-inning game
Quick take: No regular-season line looked better against a better opponent than Castillo’s 8 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 7 K, 2 BB vs. the Yankees.

Turn Ahead the Clock Award for Best Promotion

Nominees: the puffy vest, J.P. Crawford bobblehead with stick-on tattoo, 90s Night neon hat, Ty France wristbands, Good Vibes Only muscle tank, Ichiro Mariners Hall of Fame bobblehead, Swaggerty headband, rally towel at home playoff game
Winner: Swaggerty headband
Quick take: It baffles me that the team store isn’t selling these. I would pay a very unreasonable price for one.

Most Valuable Mariner

For the player who did the most to help the Mariners win as many games as possible
Nominees: Ty France, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Eugenio Suárez
Winner: Julio Rodríguez
Quick take: Julio’s 146 wRC+ is the Mariners’ sixth-highest single-season offensive performance this century.

Edgar Martinez Award for Hit of the Year

Nominees: Julio’s home run immediately after the benches cleared in Houston, Carlos Santana’s second home run of the day to retake the lead against Toronto, Julio’s grand slam in game 12 of the win streak, Mitch haniger’s walk-off winner Aug 26 v Cleveland, Eugenio’s walk-off homer v. ATL, Cal’s walk-off homer to clinch the playoffs, J.P.’s bases-clearing double to tie the game in Wild Card Game 2
Winner: Cal ends the drought
Quick take:

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