Mario Lanza on Where the Seattle Mariners Went Wrong, Why Pitching is So Dominant in 2024

Jack Vita Show: Sports | MLB | Baseball | NFL | College Football | NCAA Basketball | NBA | Faith

With one week remaining in the 2024 MLB regular season, the Seattle Sports Guy and creator of The Funny 115, Mario Lanza, returns to the Jack Vita Show to discuss the Seattle Mariners' season and the latest trends within the game of baseball. Mario and Jack also take a broader look at the sport, from a national perspective.

Mario is one the most knowledgeable Seattle sports fans on the planet. Each year, Mario leaves us a voice message, providing a detailed outlook for the coming Mariners' season, in our AL West Preview show. And each year, Mario has a generally positive outlook entering the season. He's remained quite patient and rational, even while the M's have just barely missed the postseason two of the last three seasons. It appears Mario's patience has run out, however. Find out why this is one of Mario's least favorite Mariners teams of his lifetime.

Sunday, the Mariners held a four-run lead over the Texas Rangers entering the bottom of the sixth inning. The M's blew a 4-0 lead, falling to the Rangers 6-5, and squandering an opportunity to move up in the American League Wild Card standings. Both teams in front of the M's in the AL Wild Card standings — the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins — lost on Sunday. With six games left, Seattle is two games back of the Royals for the final AL Wild Card spot. The Mariners are still very much alive, but they have their work cut out for them this week.

Three teams from the AL Central sit in front of the Mariners in the Wild Card standings, and all three of them can thank the Chicago White Sox for part of their success this season. Both the Royals and Twins are 12-1 versus the lowly South Siders in 2024, and the Tigers are 9-1, with one series remaining before season's end. Meanwhile, the White Sox (36-120) are on the cusp of putting together the worst regular season record in MLB history. Mario and Jack talk about the 2024 White Sox. Have either of them scene a worse Major League team before?

Later, Mario and Jack discuss how dominant pitching has become in Major League Baseball and the remarkable seasons Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are enjoying. Mario and Jack discuss the state of baseball in 2024, thoughts on the 2024 season, baseball fights, and so much more along the way!

You can follow Mario on Twitter, @MarioJLanza. He hosts two podcasts: Survivor Historians and Staff Picks. He wrote a book on the first three seasons of CBS' hit reality competition show Survivor called "When it was Worth Playing For". You can find all his work at Funny115.com.