Under the direction of Pat Gillick, the Mariners were a force from 2000 to 2003 winning a league leading 393 games, with their 116 win season in 2001 being their best. They failed to make the playoffs in either ‘02 or '03 despite winning 93 games both seasons. In 2003, Pinella bolted for Tampa Bay, saying Mariners management was more concerned with making money than bringing in quality players. Under 2nd year skipper Bob Melvin and new GM Bill Bavasi, brought in from the Angels' organization, the 2004 M's imploded. They had a team full of old players who over-performed the previous three years, and a minor league system depleted from Gillick. With the exception of Ichiro who would go on to break the MLB all-time hits record of 257 with a mind-blowing 262. '05 and '06 were just as hopeless with Bavasi making trades and signings that rarely worked, most notably the signings of Richie Sexson, Carlos Silva, the trade for Jose Vidro and quite possibly the 5 for 1 trade that brought Erik Bedard to the M's in 2008, which ultimately saw him go on the DL permanently half way through the year.
