TACOMA -- The Seattle Mariners are close to selling out the rest of their season at Safeco Field -- and turning a profit for the second time in their 24-year history, the team's chairman and chief executive says.

"In a nutshell, the Mariners are firing on all cylinders," Howard Lincoln told the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County on Friday.

"Last year, we made a profit. That's how it's supposed to work."

Until the team left the Kingdome, it lost money annually. When the Mariners moved outside to Safeco Field in 1999 and brought in Lincoln, their financial performance began to match their success on the field.

Lincoln wouldn't say how much the team has lost since the current owners bought it from Indianapolis media mogul Jeff Smulyan in 1992. But last year's winning team drew more than 3 million fans, combining with rising television ratings and revenues for a $9.5 million net profit, Seattle's first ever.

"We have struggled mightily to preserve and build this franchise," Lincoln said.

Going into Saturday's game against the Anaheim Angels, the M's had a 54-18 record, their best ever and one of the best in major league history.

And their Japanese stars, Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki, have turned the team into baseball's main Pacific Rim attraction, with fans flocking to Safeco Field from Japan. All of the home games are televised in Japan as well.

"We figured we would break even this year," Lincoln said. "But all of our projections will be far surpassed this season."

It's virtually certain the team will outdraw the 3.2 million fans of last season, he said.

The Mariners' great start is clearly a factor, and this year's All-Star Game, scheduled July 10 at Safeco Field, is helping, Lincoln said.

"In the very near future, we could sell out the rest of the season," he said.

Souvenir sales and television ratings are up as well.

"We're 100 percent above projections at our five (souvenir) stores," Lincoln said. And the team's television ratings "literally are off the charts."

Though he declined to reveal revenues from the team's television contracts, they are a major part of the team's estimated $160 million in income this year.

Lincoln also revealed a few of the hazards of running a successful baseball team.

Earlier this month, after a barrage of criticism, he backed off an effort to get trains that run past Safeco Field to refrain from blowing their whistles during the All-Star Game telecast.

"I love train whistles," he said. "I will never touch the subject of train whistles again."

Lincoln's job title also makes him a target for sports columnists, one of whom called him "a money-grubbing, soulless leech" -- a quote he uses himself for two reasons.

"I kind of like to think of myself as a money-grubbing, soulless leech," Lincoln said. "It also serves as a reminder of just how risky running a baseball team can be."