TORONTO — Jorge Polanco’s October legend can’t stop growing. He won’t let it.
Only three days have passed since the wide-eyed, even-keeled second baseman etched his name into the playoff history books. Polanco’s series-winning single to end Friday’s 15-inning ALDS Game 5 singlehandedly secured his status as a Seattle sports hero. The man could go 0-for-the-rest-of-forever and still not need to purchase a beverage in the Pacific Northwest ever again.
But on Monday in Toronto, the 32-year-old Dominican kept his magic month rolling with a go-ahead, three-run jack in the fifth inning of Seattle’s emphatic 10-3 win in Game 2 of the ALCS. Thanks to Polanco’s huge swing, another dynamite bullpen performance and a pair of blasts from Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor, the Mariners hold a commanding 2-0 lead as this best-of-seven series heads west to T-Mobile Park.
[Get more Seattle news: Mariners team feed]
For a fan base that has endured so much torment, so many fruitless nights and vacant Octobers, this must all feel completely surreal, inconceivably easy. Suddenly, the only franchise to never play in a World Series is just two wins away from the ultimate stage.
That is thanks, in large part, to Polanco, who has emerged as this postseason’s most improbable yet inevitable main character. While he has just eight hits across Seattle’s seven playoff games, three of those knocks have been homers, and many, including Monday night’s long ball, have come in big spots.
“Yeah, I love those situations,” Polanco admitted after Game 2. “I don’t know what to say, man. I’m clutch, but I’m just trying to keep it simple.”
It is true the pressure does not seem to faze him. Polanco has looked steady, comfortable, unflappable, at ease in the tensest of October moments. That doesn’t surprise Mariners catcher Mitch Garver, who also played with the laid-back Polanco for five years on the Minnesota Twins.
“His ringtone is ‘Top Gun.’ He has a Porsche 911 and drives the speed limit,” Garver said. “He’s happy, always laughing, fun to be around.”
That easygoing presence creates an interesting juxtaposition with some of the other high-energy personalities on this Seattle roster. Randy Arozarena, known to refer to himself in the third person, is larger than life. Julio Rodriguez is a pulsating supernova. Eugenio Suárez is a goofball with an unshakable grin. Josh Naylor barges through life, a powder keg of intensity.
Polanco, down-to-earth, eternally calm, offers something different. After sending the Mariners to the ALCS with his 15-inning walk-off, he didn’t roar or sprint around the field like a madman. Instead, his teammates mobbed him, trying to rip off his uniform as a look of reluctant glee spread across his face.
Polanco’s home run Monday continued what has been a remarkable yet perfectly believable hot stretch for a player whose production has long been hampered by a string of debilitating injuries. In fact, this was Polanco’s first fully healthy season since 2021, a year in which he clubbed 33 homers and produced 5.0 bWAR for the Twins.
Right after that is when the lower-body injuries started piling up. Polanco battled knee and hamstring problems in 2022, ailments so debilitating that his manager, Rocco Baldelli, later told The Athletic that the switch-hitting infielder could “Barely walk. He could barely swing the bat.” Those issues continued into 2023, forcing Polanco to the IL three separate times while limiting him to 80 games. The Mariners saw an intriguing buy-low opportunity, and in January 2024, they sent a quartet of players to Minnesota in exchange for Polanco, then an impending free agent. But he failed to sidestep the injury bug once again, and his 2024 season turned into a total disaster, the dreariest statistical showing of his career.
So after last season, as he entered the open market for the first time, Polanco underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. Both he and the Mariners were unsure a reunion made sense. He felt like an obvious change-of-scenery candidate, in need of a clean bill of health and a fresh start. The Houston Astros showed significant interest.
But Polanco, who enjoyed his time with the Mariners, ended up re-signing on a one-year, $7.75 million deal. That contract, at the time of its signing, raised a few eyebrows around the league as a potential overpay for an oft-hurt second baseman on the wrong side of 30.
Now that Polanco is fully healthy and firing on all cylinders, it looks like a franchise-altering bargain.
“I’m able to use my legs more, you know?” he said postgame. “So I had a bad knee last year, wasn’t able to use my legs as much.”
Sure enough, regaining his lower-body strength has led to more offensive impact. Polanco finished April with the second-best OPS in MLB, behind only Aaron Judge. That scorching start earned him the nickname “George Bonds” from some of his teammates. He cooled off in May and June but bounced back down the stretch to deliver a 134 OPS+, the best mark of his career.
And now, in the biggest moments, Polanco is outrageously locked in for a Mariners club on the brink of history, making him the latest in a long line of every-day players to ascend to household-name status with an October for the ages.
Read the full article here