Top 50 Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners began as an expansion team in 1977, and like many expansion teams, they took their lumps in the beginning. It took them until 1995, where they would not make their first playoff until 1995 with a team comprising of Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez, the sky seemed to be the limit, and they would make the playoffs in 1997, 2000, and 2001, but they were unable to win the American League Pennant.
To date, the Mariners are the only Major League Baseball team that has not participated in a World Series.
This list is up to the end of the 2024 season.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
From Florida State, the Seattle Mariners grabbed Cal Raleigh with their 2018 Third Round Pick, and it did not take long for the slugging Catcher to make the club. Debuting in the Emerald City in 2021, Raleigh emerged as their starting Catcher, and since then he has been one of the top power-hitting backstops in the American League. Blasting 27 Home Runs in 2022, Raleigh has belted 30 and 34 since, with 100 RBIs last season. Raleigh has not yet made the All-Star Game, but he has received MVP votes in the last two seasons, and he won the…
After four years in the Majors, Brice Bochte would sign with the Seattle Mariners as a Free Agent and went on to have the best run of his career.
Omar Vizquel is not primarily associated with the Seattle Mariners, but the player who would become one of the best defensive infielders ever would begin his career in the Pacific Northwest.
From Canada, James Paxton was a fourth round pick who would play collegiately at the University of Kentucky. Paxton debuted in 2013 and had four starts, winning three of them. Over the next three seasons, Paxton was often on the disabled list, and he had a pedestrian 15-15 record, but by 2017, he was healthy and was able to show what he could do.
Ken Phelps never really got the chance to be an everyday player in his career, mostly used in platooning situations, but that makes his days in baseball sound so basic.
Tino Martinez was an excellent college baseball player at the University of Tampa and a Gold Medalist at the Seoul Olympics. Martinez was a first round pick (14th Overall) in 1988, and he would debut with Seattle in 1990.
Taken with the 20th Overall Pick in 2019, George Kirby needed only three years to make it to to the Majors, where in his rookie year he went 8-5 and aided the Mariners make the playoffs. Currently entering his fourth year in Seattle, Kirby has been one of the best control pitchers in the game and is on a two-year streak of leading the AL in SO/BB and BB/9, though he has surrendered a significant amount of hits. He did make the All-Star Team in 2023 where he was eighth in Cy Young voting, and has the goods to make…
The fact that Leon Roberts had a Major League career at all was impressive, considering that he withheld poor vision from his teammates and management. Regardless, he fought for a spot in Baseball, and his best years happened in Seattle.
Tom Paciorek made his debut in the Majors in 1970 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he saw little action with L.A. when he played there until 1975. The Atlanta Braves had him next but released him in May of 1978, and by that time, he was 30 and had never been more than a platoon player. The Mariners would sign him days later, and the First Baseman remained as a platoon player, but he would see more action in 1980 and would have 114 Hits. That was good, but in 1981, he had an unexpected season.
After being drafted in the 12th Round of the 1997 Draft, Joel Pineiro would reach the majors in 2000, and made it to the Mariners starting rotation in 2002.
Carlos Guillen's career took off with the Detroit Tigers, but his Major League career began in Seattle.
After playing a decade in Japan with Yokohama, Kazuhiro Sasaki was a 32-year old rookie in Seattle, and with a decade of real experience, he easily won the 2000 American League Rookie of the Year Award. The former Central League MVP would finish third in the AL with 37 Saves.