Seattle Mariners News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Mariner Great Calls Jorge Polanco Seattle’s Secret Edge

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kristie Ackert | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 3:35 PM ET

Highlights:

Three straight game-winning hits have put Jorge Polanco on the national stage.
Mike Cameron calls Polanco a true situational hitter when he is healthy.
The switch-hitter’s approach fits what the Seattle Mariners need late in games.

Mike Cameron has a good feel for when an October at-bat tilts a series. The former Seattle Mariners All-Star from the 116-win 2001 club—the last Seattle team to reach the ALCS until this week—went on MLB Network Radio Wednesday and pointed to Jorge Polanco as the Mariners’ X-factor.

This isn’t a hot streak, Cameron said. It’s who Polanco is when healthy: a switch-hitter who doesn’t chase and keeps winning the at-bats that decide games.

Polanco’s October performance backs him up.

He’s delivered go-ahead hits in three straight postseason games—an MLB first, per OptaSTATS—capping a 15-inning ALDS clincher and both ALCS wins in Toronto. The national stage finally caught up to the hitter Cameron’s been describing.

What “Situational” Actually Looks Like With Polanco

Cameron described Polanco as “situational”. The recent run backs that up. Polanco has shortened up with two strikes to shoot a liner the other way when a base hit wins it, and he has turned on mistakes when leverage asks for slug. None of that is complicated, but it is rare to see it strung together night after night in the playoffs. Especially from a veteran who has never been deemed a star.

“He’s a switch hitter with power… when he’s going well, he doesn’t chase, and he’s one of the best situational hitters on the team,” Cameron said.

The Mariners have needed a bat that punishes mistakes without expanding. Polanco’s swing decisions have become the separator. The contact quality is there; the timing in leverage is becoming the headline.

From Underrated In Minnesota To Center Stage In Seattle

Cameron made another point that tracks with Polanco’s career arc.

In Minnesota, he was good for a long time on solid playoff teams, but he was rarely the central focus. The national stage can reorder that. In Seattle, on this run, the late-inning spotlight has moved to him because he keeps coming through in big spots.

A 15th-inning game-winner, Polanco delivered. A go-ahead home run? Check. Another clutch homer? Done.

Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford and third baseman Jorge Polanco celebrate. Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Being able to switch-hit removes some of the leverage advantage teams hunt with matchups. He also makes managers choose between pitching around him and exposing someone else to traffic. Even when he is not the one cashing it in, the count leverage he builds early in an inning forces different choices down the line.

Why This Fits The Mariners Now

The Mariners have real swing-and-miss thump throughout the order, which can sometimes strand rallies when the situation calls for contact. Polanco bridges that gap. When he is right, he gives you both the professional at-bat that pushes a runner along and the lift that turns a narrow lead into a crooked number.

A veteran with a lot of at-bats in different roles tends to calm innings. You can see it in how Seattle builds a plan around him during a series: let him set the tone of the swing decisions, then let the power play behind it. On the nights the Mariners have looked most composed, Polanco has been in the middle of it.

What Comes Next

The Blue Jays will try to adjust. Teams will try to steal first-pitch strikes on the edges and tempt expansion under the zone when they are ahead. Polanco’s counter, historically and now, has been clear. He picks a pitch and gets the ball he can drive to a gap. If he holds that line, the Mariners have the exact stabilizer they need in one-run games.

Cameron, who knows the heartbeat of this city and the details of playoff hitting, sounded less surprised than affirmed.

“He understands how to hit,” he said. “It’s just now that he’s healthy, he’s getting a chance to go out and show what he really is.”

This isn’t a surprise for Cameron, who has been watching all season. This isn’t a heater coming out of nowhere; it is a healthy veteran, a professional, good hitter doing the predictable thing at the most unforgiving time of year. If it continues, Seattle is very likely looking at their first trip to the World Series.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: