SEATTLE – The Seattle Mariners have named Mike Hargrove, who led the Cleveland Indians to five division championships and two World Series appearances in the 1990s, as their next manager.

The Mariners were to introduce Hargrove at a news conference today at Safeco Field.

Hargrove replaces Bob Melvin, who was fired after 99 losses and a last-place finish in the American League West Division this season.

Unlike the Melvin hire two years ago, when the Mariners selected someone with no managerial background, they looked almost exclusively at candidates with considerable experience.

Others the Mariners considered included former Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little, former Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs manager Don Baylor, former Anaheim Angels manager Terry Collins and current Angels bench coach Joe Maddon.

Hargrove, who played 12 seasons with the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians, has 12 years of managing experience with the Indians and Baltimore Orioles.

He took over a young, struggling Indians team in 1991 and led a steady improvement that resulted in five AL Central Division titles and two trips to the World Series. His team beat the Mariners in six games in the 1995 American League Championship Series.

The Orioles finished fourth in the AL East all four years Hargrove managed the team, and he was fired from that job after going 71-92 in 2003.

He spent this year as an assistant to Indians general manager Mark Shapiro.