Seattle, WA -- The Seattle Mariners named Mike Hargrove as their new manager on Wednesday.

Hargrove compiled a 275-372 mark from 2000-03 in Baltimore, but the Orioles never advanced to the postseason in any of the four years under him.

"I am very pleased to name Mike Hargrove as our new manager," Mariners vice president and general manager Bill Bavasi said in a release issued by the team. "He has a tremendous resume and is battle-tested in every facet of leading a Major League club."

At an afternoon press conference to introduce Hargrove, Bavasi said that the new manager was among four finalists for the job. The others were former managers Grady Little, Terry Collins and Jerry Manuel.

The 54-year-old Hargrove also managed the Cleveland Indians. He was removed as the Indians manager after a 97-win season in 1999. Hargrove guided the Tribe to the World Series in 1995 and 1997, but never won a title. His overall record in 13 years as a manager stands at 996-963.

"I am very excited to be here today," Hargrove said in the release. "This is one of the premier baseball locations in the United States and I am very pleased to be the new manager of the Mariners."

Bob Melvin, meanwhile, was fired earlier this month after completing his second season at the helm. Seattle finished last in the AL West this year with a 63-99 record after posting a 93-69 mark in 2003.

"I know the last year was a deep disappointment for the people in the organization, from the top all the way down, and it was something they did not enjoy and don't want to repeat," Hargrove said. "We know we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. We also know that we want to get this back into the winning column as quickly as we possibly can, but also with an eye on being good two years from now, three years from now, five years, 10 years. I think anything that you do, if you build it and build it right, then it has a chance to last a long time."

The 42-year-old Melvin was hired prior to the 2003 campaign and signed a two- year contract with a club option for 2005, which was exercised by the team in May. He replaced long-time skipper Lou Piniella, who left the Mariners to manage the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.