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 Tiger

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