Playing in the World Series remains an elusive goal for the Seattle Mariners, but former Spokane Indians have been playing in the World Series - and starring in the World Series - for more than a century.
We've put together a "Dazzling Dozen" list of notable World Series feats by Indians players and managers of the past. Each individual's years in Spokane are shown in parentheses.
1. Stan Coveleski (1913-14). The Hall of Famer turned in one of the most spectacular performances in World Series history in 1920. Coveleski tied the record of three wins in one World Series, and he did it by throwing five-hit complete games in all three games in a span of just eight days. Coincidentally or not, Coveleski was one of a select few pitchers permitted to continue throwing spitballs after 1919.
Coveleski allowed only two runs in 27 innings, with one shutout, to lead the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) past the Brooklyn Robins (now the Los Angeles Dodgers). Coveleski would have run away with the World Series Most Valuable Player award, but that honor was not created until 1955.
2. Duke Snider (1965 manager). Decades removed from his last World Series in 1959, Snider remains the only player to hit more than three home runs in multiple World Series.
Snider, a Hall of Fame center fielder, homered four times in seven games in both 1953 and 1955. Snider's Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the hated New York Yankees in '53, but the Dodgers finally knocked off their longtime nemesis two years later. Snider hit over .300 in four of his six World Series.
3. Jack Billingham (1965-67). Billingham ranks second all-time among World Series qualifiers with a 0.36 career earned run average. Only Madison Bumgarner (0.25) tops Billingham, who appeared in three World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s.
In 1972, Billingham did not give up an earned run in three appearances (1-0 in two starts with one save) and 13 2/3 innings against the champion Oakland Athletics. The innings total ranks ninth among pitchers who gave up no earned runs in a World Series.
4. Bruce Bochy (1989 manager). Bochy, who made his managerial debut with Spokane in the short-season Class A Northwest League, is tied for fourth among managers with four World Series championships.
Bochy won titles with San Francisco in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and with Texas in 2023. Bochy is tied for eighth in World Series games won with 16.
5. Sandy Alomar Jr. (1984). Cleveland's all-star catcher drove in 10 runs - tied for fourth in World Series history -- when the Indians bowed to Florida (now Miami) in seven games in 1997.
Alomar hit .367 with two home runs and a double.
6. Larry Sherry (1958). One year after going 6-14 with a 4.91 ERA as a starter on Spokane's first Class AAA team, Sherry moved to the bullpen and was named MVP of the 1959 World Series.
Sherry posted a 2-0 record with two saves to factor in all four of the Los Angeles Dodgers' victories over the Chicago White Sox. Sherry gave up just one run in four games and 12 2/3 innings for a 0.71 ERA. Sherry did not play in another postseason game during his 11-year career in the majors.
7. Ron Cey (1971). The former Washington State Cougars star hit .350 with six RBIs in six games to earn co-MVP honors with Dodgers teammates Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager in the 1981 World Series. The Dodgers downed the Yankees in six games.
Cey sparked the Dodgers in a Game 3 victory with a three-run homer in the first inning off Yankees star Dave Righetti. In the eighth inning, Cey - a stellar third baseman - made a diving catch on a bunt in foul territory. Cey then threw to first base to double off a runner in the Dodgers' 5-4 win.
8. Steve Garvey (1970). The slick-fielding first baseman posted a .319 batting average in five World Series, but his teams (the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres) lost all but one of those World Series. Garvey had just one homer and six RBIs in 28 World Series games.
Garvey hit .375 or higher in three World Series, topped by a .417 mark in 1981. That's when Garvey won his only World Series ring, but he had no home runs or RBIs that year when the Dodgers ousted the Yankees in six games. In the regular season, Garvey hit 272 homers and drove in 1,308 runs in 19 years in the majors.
9. Bill Russell (1970). A career .263 hitter, Russell led the Dodgers with a sizzling .423 batting average (11-for-26) in the 1978 World Series. The Dodgers lost to the Yankees in six games.
Russell, who spent all 18 of his major league seasons with Los Angeles - primarily at shortstop -- hit .203 (14-for-69) in his other three World Series.
10. Tommy Davis (1959). Davis batted a team-high .400 (6-for-15) when the Dodgers swept the Yankees in four games in 1963. Los Angeles batted just .214 as a team, but the Dodgers outscored New York 12-4 behind the dominant pitching of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Johnny Podres. The Yankees hit .171.
Davis smacked two triples in the '63 Series. The once-fleet left fielder never hit more than three triples in an entire season in any of the 11 seasons that followed his severe ankle injury in 1965.
11. Bill Madlock (1973). A four-time National League batting champion, Madlock hit .375 (9-for-24) in his only World Series. He helped Pittsburgh down Baltimore in seven games in 1979.
Madlock had just one extra-base hit (a double), but he walked five times to boost his on-base percentage to a lofty .483.
12. Willie Davis (1960). Davis tied the World Series record of three stolen bases in one game when the Dodgers defeated Minnesota in 1965. The speedy center fielder never attempted to steal a base in his other 14 World Series games, though he stole 398 bases in the regular season (76th all-time), including a career-high 42 in 1964.
One year after his banner day on the basepaths, Davis set a far less enviable World Series record, one that helped pin Koufax with a loss in the legendary southpaw's final game. Davis made a record three errors in one game - all in the fifth inning of Game 2, when Davis struggled with the sun - and Baltimore wound up sweeping the Dodgers in four games. Davis went on to win three Gold Gloves with the Dodgers.