MLB Top 5: Seattle Mariners Outfielders

By Kevin Rakas

This is the fourth article in a series that looks at the five best players at each position for the Seattle Mariners. In this installment are the outfielders.

The largest contingent of star players for the Seattle Mariners can be found in the outfield. Right field is the deepest, center features the team’s biggest star and left field has been the most problematic, with 38 players being full-time starters in the franchise’s 48-year history, led by a star from the mid-2000s.

The best Outfielders in Seattle Mariners History

Left Fielders

Honorable Mention – Greg Briley was a North Carolina native who was drafted in the first round by the Mariners in 1986. After a brief callup, he was one of two touted rookie outfielders to make the Seattle roster in 1989. Although he was overshadowed by Ken Griffey Jr., Briley was no slouch, batting .255, setting career-bests with 52 runs, 105 hits, 13 home runs and 52 RBIs and becoming the first of only six Mariners rookies (along with Griffey) to have at least two multi-homer games. “Pee Wee” played all three outfield positions and ended his five-year run in Seattle (1988-92) as the designated hitter. He batted .260 overall with 155 runs, 351 hits and 123 RBIs in 478 games and spent his final season as a reserve with the expansion Marlins in 1993. After his playing career, Briley spent more than 15 seasons as a minor league coach with the Pirates and White Sox.

5. Rich Amaral – He was a jack-of-all-trades player who started everywhere but catcher and pitcher during his eight seasons in Seattle (1991-98). Amaral was a second-round pick of the Cubs in 1983 and spent time in the White Sox organization before signing with the Mariners, where he made his major league debut after nearly nine seasons in the minors. He was a natural second baseman and had his best season at that position in 1993, when he earned Rookie of the Year consideration after batting .290 with 19 stolen bases and setting career highs with 108 hits and 44 RBIs. Two years later, Amaral converted to the outfield in 1995 was part of the first playoff team in franchise history. He finished his Mariners career with a .278 average, 274 runs, 442 hits, 142 RBIs and 97 steals (tenth in franchise history) in 606 regular season games and went 2-for-6 with two runs in four postseason contests. Amaral played two seasons with the Orioles and spent a few weeks in the minors with the Braves in 2000. Following his playing career, He was a baserunning coach for Seattle and has been a scout in the Baltimore system since 2018.

4. Randy Winn – The Los Angeles native was selected by the Marlins in the third round in 1995 and made his major league debut after being selected by the Devil Rays in the expansion draft three years later. Winn became a solid player known for his speed and baserunning. He stole 26 bases as a rookie and earned the only All-Star selection of his 13-year career with Tampa Bay in 2002 after posting a .298-14-75 stat line with 87 runs, 181 hits, 39 doubles and a career best 27 steals. Following that campaign, Winn was involved in a rare player-for-manager trade when he was sent to the Mariners for skipper Lou Piniella. Seattle seems to have gotten the better of that trade because, while Tampa Bay had a losing record in three seasons under “Sweet Lou,” Winn was a consistent run producer in the Pacific Northwest during that time. The outfielder batted .295 with 75 RBIs, 177 hits, 23 steals and a career-high 103 runs in 2003, and he had 179 hits and drove in a personal-best 81 runs the following year. Winn was traded to San Francisco, split the 2010 season between the Yankees and Cardinals and retired the following year. He has served as a commentator and studio analyst for the Giants since 2021.

3. Tom Paciorek – The Detroit-born standout was drafted by the Dolphins in the ninth round of the 1968 NFL Draft but chose baseball after being selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round later in the year. Paciorek got his nickname “Wimpy” from minor league manager and future Los Angeles skipper Tommy Lasorda, who noted his love of hamburgers in comparison to the character from the Popeye comic strip. He spent six seasons with the Dodgers and three with the Braves before he signed with the Mariners during the 1978 season. Paciorek had his best seasons with Seattle while splitting time between the corner outfield spots as well as making sporadic appearances at first base. He earned his only All-Star selection in 1981, when he totaled 50 runs and 14 homers and set career highs with a .326 average, 132 hits, 66 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Paciorek played four years with the White Sox and had a brief stint with the Mets before ending his 18-year career with the Rangers in 1987. He spent nearly two decades as a commentator after his playing days, mostly with the White Sox, and was elected to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.

2. Phil Bradley – He was drafted by the Mariners in the 1981 draft and made his debut two years later. After a season in center field, Bradley moved over to left and earned an All-Star selection in 1985 after batting .300 with 100 runs, 33 doubles and 22 stolen bases and setting career highs with 192 hits, 26 home runs and 88 RBIs. Although he was a high average player throughout his five seasons in Seattle (1983-87), he earned a dubious distinction as the record-setting 20th strikeout by Roger Clemens in a game in late April 1986. Bradley had another great year in his final campaign with the Mariners, batting .298 with 170 hits, career-high totals of 101 runs and 40 steals and 10 triples, which is the third-best single season total in franchise history. He franked fourth in franchise history in average (.301), on-base percentage (.382) and triples (26), sixth in stolen bases (107) and tied for tenth in slugging percentage (.466) to go with 346 runs, 649 hits, 112 doubles, 52 home runs, 234 RBIs and 969 total bases in 607 games. Bradley won the fielding title in 1986 and led the league in putouts the following year. He was traded during or after each of the next three seasons and finished his career with the White Sox in 1990. Bradley worked as a college coach and professor in Missouri and currently serves as the Special Assistant for International and Domestic Special Events with the MLB Players Association.

1. Raul Ibañez – As noted earlier, left field for the Mariners has had quite a bit of turnover. The Seattle franchise has been around for 48 years, and no one has surpassed Ibañez and his five seasons as a starter. He was drafted by the Mariners in 1992 but spent his entire five-year initial run with the club as a reserve outfielder and first baseman, although he did get into nine playoff games with in 2000, totaling two runs and three hits against the White Sox in the Division Series. While Seattle won 116 games the following year, Ibañez was in his first of three seasons with Kansas City. He put together a successful season in 2002 with a .294-24-103 stat line, the first of four times he drove in 100 or more runs in his career. Ibañez had the others during his second stint with the Mariners, which began after he signed before the 2004 season. He had two solid campaigns before putting together three straight seasons with at least 80 runs, 160 hits, 20 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Ibañez had arguably his best season in 2006, when he batted .290 with 181 hits and 33 home runs and set career highs with 103 runs, 123 RBIs and 323 total bases. Two years later, he posted personal bests with 186 hits, and 43 doubles while driving in 110 runs, producing 304 total bases and earning MVP consideration for the second time in three seasons. Ibañez signed with the Phillies in 2009 and helped the team reach the World Series. He earned his only All-Star selection after hitting a career-high 34 home runs and added two homers and 13 RBIs in 15 playoff games as Philadelphia won its second straight pennant. After three years with the Phillies and one with the Yankees, Ibañez returned for one final stint with the Mariners, hitting 29 home runs (with the last being the 300th of his career) and winning the Hutch Award for fighting spirit and competitiveness in 2013. In all, he spent 11 years with Seattle (1996-2000, 04-08 and ’13) and ranks sixth in franchise history in doubles (216), tied for sixth in triples (20), seventh in hits (1,077), RBIs (612) and total bases (1,801), eighth in home runs (156) and ninth in games (1,110), runs (540), walks (367) and strikeouts (707) to go with a .279 average. Ibañez split his final season between the Angels and Royals and in his post-playing career, he worked as a special assistant and vice president of baseball development and special projects for the Dodgers, as well as a senior vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball.

Center Fielders

Honorable Mentions – Ruppert Jones was a third-round pick of the Royals in 1973 and, after a 28-game stint in Kansas City, came to the Mariners as the first pick in the expansion draft. He became a fan favorite with the new team, so popular with the fans that those sitting in the center field bleachers were known as “Roop’s Troops.” Jones was Seattle’s first All-Star after batting .263 with 24 home runs, 76 RBIs, 85 runs and 157 hits. He had surgery to remove torn cartilage from his knee and had a sophomore slump in 1978 but had a career season the follow year, playing in every game while batting .267 with 21 homers and personal bests with 108 runs, 166 hits and 78 RBIs. He was traded to the Yankees after the season and was an All-Star again with the Padres in 1982, but the rest of his career was injury-marred, and he faced issues with his ankle and shoulder and have a blockage removed from his intestine. Jones won a title with the Tigers in 1984, spent three seasons with the Angels and played half a season in Japan. He was an insurance salesman in San Diego after his playing career.

More than 30 years after Jones was Franklin Gutierrez, another talented young player who saw his career derailed by injuries. The Venezuela native and 2003 MLB All-Star Futures Game participant began his career with the Indians as was sent to the Mariners in a three-team trade late in 2008. He worked at his defense in Seattle, going from leading the league in errors the following year to winning a fielding title and a gold glove in 2010. Gutierrez had his best season at the plate in 2009, setting career highs with a .283 average, 85 runs, 160 hits, 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. Although he spent seven seasons with the Mariners (2009-13 and 15-16), only two of them were full seasons due to ankylosing spondylitis, a rare form of arthritis that causes inflammation in the spine and other joints. Despite missing the entire 2014 campaign, Gutierrez tried to fight through the condition and ended his time in Seattle with a .257 average, 268 runs, 557 hits, 74 home runs, 268 RBIs and 888 total bases in 635 games. He played his final season with the Dodgers and is now a minor league special assignment coach with the Mariners.

Michael Saunders is a British Columbia native who was drafted by the Mariners in 2004. He spent nearly five seasons in the minor leagues and was plagued by a low average after his 2009 debut. Saunders had his best season in 2012, when he set career highs with 71 runs, 125 hits, 57 RBIs and 21 steals to go with 19 home runs, but his later Seattle career was plagued by injuries. He was traded after the 2014 season, finishing his six-year Mariners career (2009-14) with 226 runs, 396 hits, 51 homers and 182 RBIs in 553 games. Saunders missed most of his first season in Toronto when he tore his meniscus after stepping on a sprinkler head in spring training. He rebounded to earn his only All-Star selection in 2016 and help the Blue Jays reach the ALCS. Saunders split the following year between Toronto and Philadelphia and retired after trying out with five clubs in 2018. The 2008 Olympian and 2013 World Baseball Classic participant has worked as a minor league coach and manager with the Braves since 2020.

5. Ichiro Suzuki – Although he spent a large portion of his career in right field, he had two stellar seasons in center before Gutierrez took over. Ichiro earned All-Star selections and gold gloves both years, and he was a silver slugger in 2007, when he batted .351 with 111 runs, 68 RBIs, 37 steals and a league-best 238 hits. The following season, split between right and center field, he stole 43 bases, stole 103 runs and once again topped the American League with 213 hits, the third of five straight years he led the league. In addition to his stats and awards, Ichiro’s lasting memory from his brief time in center field came during the All-Star Game in San Francisco. His long fly ball took a strange hop off the outfield wall, allowing him to scamper around the bases for the only inside-the-park home run in Midsummer Classic history.

4. Dave Henderson – Before he was a playoff her, he was a young slugger with the Mariners after being drafted in the first round in 1977. Henderson made his debut during the strike-shortened 1981 season, and he reached double figures in home runs each of the next five years he was in a Seattle uniform. He showed continued improvement at the plate and led American League center fielders in assists twice during his six-year career with the Mariners (1981-86). Henderson had issues with management in his final few seasons, leading to him and shortstop Spike Owen being traded to the Red Sox in the middle of a pennant race. He finished his Seattle tenure with 277 runs, 545 hits, 114 doubles, 79 homers, 271 RBIs and 920 total bases in 654 games. “Hendu” came off the bench for the rest of the regular season but made his mark in the ALCS, giving Boston the lead with a home run in the ninth inning and winning the contest with a sacrifice fly two frames later. The Red Sox came alive to get to the World Series, and the outfielder amassed six runs, 10 hits, two homers and five RBIs in a losing effort against the Mets. Henderson won his only title with the Athletics in 1989 and earned his only All-Star selection two years later when he batted .276 86 RBIs and set a career high with 25 home runs. Following his time as a player, he was an analyst for Mariners games. In 2015, Henderson had kidney transplant surgery but suffered a heart attack two months later and passed away at age 57.

3. Mike Cameron – While it isn’t easy to follow a legend, he did an admirable job during his four seasons in Seattle (2000-03). Cameron was drafted by the White Sox and spent one season with the Reds before going to the Mariners as part of the trade for the top player on this list. Following a solid first season in Seattle, he had a career year for a team that won 116 games in 2001, earning his only All-Star selection after batting .267 with 144 hits, 30 doubles and 25 home runs while setting personal bests with 99 runs and 110 RBIs. Although he led the league in strikeouts the following year, Cameron hit 25 more homers, including a record-tying four in an early May game against the White Sox (with a potential fifth stalling at the warning track in the ninth inning). He signed with the Mets in 2004, finishing his Mariners tenure with 353 runs, 554 hits, 115 doubles, 19 triples (tied for eighth in franchise history), 87 home runs, 344 RBIs, 106 steals (seventh) and 968 total bases in 610 regular season games and 10 runs, 12 hits, five doubles, one homer and six RBIs in 19 postseason contests. Cameron played for six teams in his final eight seasons, retired in 2012 and served as a special assignment coach with the Mariners.

2. Julio Rodriguez – A native of the Dominican Republic, he was signed by the Mariners as a 16-year-old in 2017. Before making his major league debut in 2022, Rodriguez spent the previous two years playing for his home country in the Summer Olympics (earning a bronze medal) and participating in the MLB All-Star Futures Game. He had superstar vibes from the beginning, earning an All-Star selection, a silver slugger, making the All-MLB second team and winning the Rookie of the Year Award after batting .284 with 28 home runs, 75 RBIs, 84 runs and 25 stolen bases. The Mariners were so impressed by his performance that they signed Rodriguez to a massive extension at the end of the season that could be worth up to $470 million if all the options are exercised.

The following year, “J-Rod” was even better, becoming the first player in major league history to post 25 home runs and 25 steals in each of his first two seasons and joining the 30-30 club. He earned All-Star and silver slugger honors once again and finished fourth in the MVP voting after posting a .275-32-103 stat line with 102 runs, 180 hits, 37 doubles, 37 steals and 317 total bases. Rodriguez had an incredible two-year run in the precursor to the Midsummer Classic, finishing second in the 2022 All-Star Home Run Derby then hitting a record 41 homers in the first round the following year only to be eliminated in the semifinals. He also appeared with the Mariners in the 2022 playoffs, totaling five runs, five hits, three doubles and two RBIs in five games.

1. Ken Griffey Jr. – He was born in Western Pennsylvania in the same hometown as Cardinals great Stan Musial but spent most of his childhood in Cincinnati while his father played for the Reds. A much-touted player in high school, Griffey Jr. was selected by the Mariners with the first pick in the 1987 draft, but that almost didn’t occur. George Argyros wanted to draft pitcher Mike Harkey and it took a lot of convincing to get the owner to change his mind, In the end, the outfielder was signed before the draft and disaster was averted (although he would have made a fantastic pair with Barry Bonds for the Pirates, who owned the second pick). Griffey quickly worked through the minor leagues, playing just 129 games over two seasons before joining a young Mariners team in 1989 that included fellow rookies Briley and Omar Vizquel, as well as Randy Johnson, a hard-throwing lefty who was acquired from the Expos during the season.

Griffey Jr. hit 16 home runs and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting, then went on a run where he earned 11 straight All-Star selections and 10 consecutive god gloves. One of his greatest highlights came in September 1990. His father had been released from his second stint with the Reds and had joined his son in Seattle, becoming the first duo of its kind to play for the same team. In a game against the Mariners, Griffey Sr. batted second and played left field while “Junior” batted behind him in his usual spot in center. The pair hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning in a 7-5 loss. From that point on, he became one of the most feared power hitters in the game, and fans were in awe of his sweet swing and jaw-dropping defensive plays. Griffey Jr. started garnering serious MVP consideration in 1993, when he batted .309 with 45 home runs, 109 RBIs, 113 runs and 180 hits, and tied a major league record by going deep in eight straight games in late July. He followed that with an MVP runner-up performance, hitting .303 with 94 runs, 90 RBIs and a league-leading 40 home runs in the strike-shortened season. Thanks to his play on the field, other avenues were opened to him, including movies, television shows and a video game bearing his name.

“The Kid” missed part of the 1995 season after breaking his wrist making another spectacular catch but returned in time to hit five home runs against the Yankees in the Division Series, which was the Mariners’ first foray into the postseason. His final four seasons in his initial run in Seattle included at least 120 runs, 160 hits, 130 RBIs, 300 total bases, a top 10 finish in the MVP race and 48 home runs (leading the league three times). Griffey Jr. took home the MVP Award in unanimous fashion in 1997, setting a career-high with 185 hits, leading the league with 125 runs and a .646 slugging percentage while also setting team records with 56 home runs, 147 RBIs and 393 total bases. He matched his record homer total the following year (with 146 RBIs) and won his third straight homer crown in 1999 after posting a .285-48-134 stat line and stealing a personal-best 24 bases. Griffey Jr. turned down an eight-year offer from Seattle to play for his hometown club in Cincinnati, with the trade occurring in February 2000 and the outfielder signing a nine-year deal soon after. During his time with the Mariners, he earned seven silver sluggers, won the All-Star Home Run Derby three times and was named MVP of the 1992 All-Star Game.

Griffey’s first season with the Reds was his best. He hit 40 homers, scored 100 runs, drove in 118 and was selected to his 11th straight All-Star Game. From there, Griffey had a string of injuries that interrupted each of his next five seasons. Included in the litany of ailments was a sore hamstring, a torn patella, a ruptured ankle tendon requiring surgery in 2003 and a torn hamstring the following year. Although his 2005 season ended early because of an ankle injury, “The Natural” hit 35 home runs and won the Comeback Player of the Year Award. He continued his power resurgence in his final two years in Cincinnati, including his 13th and final All-Star Game in 2007. That season, he smashed his 600th home run and asked to wear Jackie Robinson‘s number 42 on April 15, the date Robinson played his first game. Two years later, the entire league would wear identical 42s on their jerseys, a tradition that continues to this day. Griffey was traded to the White Sox during the 2008 season and signed back with the Mariners, where he ended his illustrious 22-year career as a designated hitter.

“Junior” spent 13 seasons with Seattle (1989-99 and 2009-10) and is the all-time franchise leader with 417 home runs, which includes seven seasons hitting at least 40. He also ranks second in doubles (341), RBIs (1,216, driving in 100 or more seven times), total bases (3,495, with at least 300 on six occasion), walks (819) and slugging percentage (.553), third in games (1,685), runs (1,113, with 100 or more five times), hits (1,843, including 160 or more eight times) and triples (30), fourth in steals (167) and strikeouts (1,081), tied for sixth in on-base percentage (.374) and eighth in average (.292, including seven seasons of .300 or better). In 15 postseason games with the Mariners, Griffey totaled 11 runs, 18 hits, six homers, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases. His 630 career home runs rank seventh on the all-time major league list, and he also amassed 1,662 runs, 2,781 hits and 1,836 RBIs. He is so beloved in Seattle that the team hired him as a consultant, named a section of a road around T-Mobile Park after him and inducted him into their Hall of Fame (he earned that honor with the Reds as well). Griffey Jr. was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016 with a then-record 99.3 percent of the vote (437 of 440). He became the first former player to be a part-owner of the Mariners when he purchased an interest in the club in 2021.

Right Fielders

Honorable Mention – Leon Roberts was a Michigan native who played college ball at the University of Michigan and got drafted by the hometown Tigers in 1972. After two seasons with Detroit and two with Houston, he was traded to Seattle in 1978 and put up his best season. That year, Roberts received MVP votes for the only time in his career after setting personal bests with a .301 average, 78 runs, 142 hits, 22 home runs and 92 RBIs. He had two more solid seasons with the Mariners before he was sent to the Rangers in an 11-player trade following the 1980 campaign. Roberts spent time with the Blue Jays and Royals until an eye injury sustained as a child began to affect him at the plate. He retired in 1984 and became a minor league manager.

Teoscar Hernandez is a Dominican-born slugger who signed with Houston and earned an All-Star selection and two silver sluggers with Toronto before he was traded to Seattle after the 2022 season. In his lone campaign with the Mariners, he played in 160 games, batting .258 with 70 runs, 161 hits, 25 home runs and 93 RBIs and leading the American League in assists and double plays. “Mr. Seeds” (a nickname he earned by dumping sunflower seeds on Blue Jays home run hitters when they reached the dugout) signed with the Dodgers in 2024 and rewarded his new team with an All-Star selection and a victory in the Home Run Derby.

5. Al Cowens – The Los Angeles native was drafted by the Royals in the 75th round in 1969 and spent his first six seasons with Kansas City, finishing second in the MVP voting after posting a .312-23-112 stat line and winning a gold glove in 1977. He had two incidents with pitcher Ed Farmer in back-to-back years, beginning in 1979. Farmer, then with the Rangers, suspected Cowens of stealing signs, so he threw up and in, breaking the outfielder’s jaw and causing him to miss 21 games. The following season, Farmer was in the midst of an All-Star campaign with the White Sox when the two squared off again. Cowens, now with the Tigers, hit a ground ball and while the pitcher watched his infielders, the batter charged the mound, tackled Farmer and began punching him. The incident led to benches clearing, Cowens being suspended for seven games and charges being filed (Farmer dropped the issue when the outfielder apologized). Following stints in California and Detroit, Cowens joined the Mariners and held onto the starting spot until he was released in 1986. He spent five seasons in Seattle (1982-86), batting .255 with 235 runs, 504 hits, 128 doubles, 56 homers (including 20 in his first season in the Pacific Northwest) and 266 RBIs in 545 games. Cowens, a three-time ALCS participant with the Royals, was a scout for Kansas City when he passed away due to a heart attack in 2002 at age 50.

4. Nelson Cruz – While he spent most of his four years in Seattle as designated hitter, he played more games in right field in his first season in 2015. During that campaign, the native of the Dominican Republic earned an All-Star selection and a silver slugger, and he finished sixth in the American League MVP voting after batting .302 with 90 runs and 93 RBIs and setting career highs with 178 hits, 44 home runs (including the 200th of his career) and 334 total bases. Following his time in Seattle, “Boomstick” played for four other teams over his final five seasons, retiring after the 2023 campaign with San Diego. He is now a special advisor with Major League Baseball.

3. Mitch Haniger – The team’s current starter was drafted by the Brewers with a supplemental first round pick in 2012. Haniger was traded first to the Diamondbacks and then to the Mariners after playing 34 major league games with Arizona in 2016. He batted .292 with 16 home runs in an injury-marred first season in Seattle, then rebounded with an All-Star selection and MVP votes after scoring 90 runs, hitting 26 homers and driving in 93 runs while setting career highs with a .285 average, 170 hits and 38 doubles. Haniger missed half of the 2019 season with a ruptured testicle after fouling a ball off his groin in June, then sat out the COVID-shortened campaign. He responded with arguably his best season in 2021, posting career-bests with 110 runs, 39 home runs and 100 RBIs. Haniger missed most of the following year with an ankle injury but returned in time to help the Mariners reach the Division Series. He signed with San Francisco and broke his forearm then was traded back to Seattle in 2024. In his five years before his current stint (2017-19, 21-22 and 24-present), Haniger had a .263 average, 335 runs, 540 hits, 107 doubles, 107 home runs (tenth in franchise history), 306 RBIs, 986 total bases and 556 strikeouts (tenth).

2. Jay Buhner – The Kentucky-born, Texas-raised star had the look of an intimidating home run hitter, with a shaved head, goatee and stocky build. Buhner was drafted by the Pirates in 1984 and traded at the end of the year to the Yankees. He spent nearly four years in the minor leagues and played just 32 games with New York over two seasons before a fateful trade to Seattle (along with two other minor leaguers) for designated hitter Ken Phelps. Buhner’s first few seasons with the Mariners were shortened by injuries (wrist, ankle and forearm), but he finally started to produce once he got healthy. From 1991-94, he hit at least 20 home runs each season and posted the first cycle in team history in 1993. After returning from the strike in 1995, Buhner spurned to Orioles to re-sign with the Mariners and became a fan favorite. Playing on his nickname “Bone” (due to taking a fly ball off his head in high school), the section behind him in the right field stands was known as “The Boneyard.” He also was part of a yearly marketing promotion called Buhner Buzz Cut Night, where fans would receive free admission either if they were bald or got their head shaved before the game (sometimes the slugger would volunteer to do the shaving).

Buhner’s next three seasons cemented his place among the most productive in baseball. He hit 123 home runs from 1995-97, one more than Griffey in that span. Buhner finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1995 thanks to 40 homers and 121 RBIs, then had an ever better season the following year, earning an All-Star selection and a gold glove after batting .271 and setting career highs with 107 runs, 153 hits, 44 home runs, 138 RBIs and 314 total bases. He finished off the run with 40 dingers and 109 RBIs, although he led the league with 175 strikeouts. During this time, the Mariners made the playoffs for the first two times in franchise history. Although they lost to Cleveland in the 1995 ALCS, Buhner was not the reason why. He amassed 11 hits against the Yankees, then bashed three home runs and drove in five runs in six games against the Indians. He dealt with more injuries in 1998-99 before rebounding to hit 26 home runs in 2000 and bashing another long ball in the playoffs against the White Sox.

“Bone” played his final season in 2001, but injuries finally caught up to him. He missed the first five months of the season with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and the injury limited him to a pair of home runs in 19 games while Seattle went on to tie a major league record with 116 wins. Buhner had one last run in the playoffs, posting two hits in five games and hitting his final home run against his old team, the Yankees. He finished his 14-year Mariners career (1988-2001) as the all-time franchise leader with 1,375 strikeouts. Buhner ranks third in home runs (307), RBIs (951) and walks (788), fourth in runs (789), fifth in games (1,440), hits (1,255), doubles (231) and total bases (2,445), sixth slugging percentage (.497) and tied for eighth in triples (19) to go with a .255 average. He appeared in 26 playoff games, amassing 12 runs, 26 hits, eight homers and 12 RBIs and was a top-notch fielder, boasting one of the best arms in the game while winning three fielding titles and leading the league in assists twice. In addition to the reference to his trade on the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld, Buhner was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2004, was an analyst on team broadcasts, ran a motorsports company and did charity work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

1. Ichiro Suzuki – He used the work ethic taught to him by his father as a boy to become one of the most talented hitters to grace the major leagues. After two minor league seasons, Suzuki spent nine years with the Orix BlueWave in Japan’s top league, called Nippon Professional Baseball (or NPB). In the seven years from 1994-2000, he won the batting title and earned All-Star, Golden Glove and Best Nine Awards in each season. In addition to a league record .385 average in 1994, Ichiro was also a three-time Pacific League MVP and helped the BlueWave win the Japan Series championship in 1996. Suzuki became the first Japanese-born hitter to reach the major leagues when he signed with Seattle before the 2001 season. He picked the right year to come to the Mariners, since his first campaign coincided with Seattle winning a record-tying 116 games. Ichiro became just the second player to win both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in the same season (Fred Lynn did it with the Red Sox in 1975) after winning the batting title with a .350 average, scoring a career-high 127 runs and leading the league with 242 hits (second in team history) and a personal-best 56 stolen bases (third). Word began to spread about his talent early in his first season, when he gunned down a runner at third base, the first of many times he would show off his stellar throwing ability in his storied career.

Suzuki’s style of slap hitting and drag bunts mixed with occasional power was a throwback to a long-forgotten era, and he began his career with a run that most players only can dream about. During his time in Seattle, he stole at least 25 bases 11 times, hit better than .300, had at least 200 hits and earned All-Star selections and gold gloves in each of his first 10 seasons and topped 100 runs scored in his first eight campaigns. After a stellar rookie campaign, Ichiro had two more solid seasons before a year that would rank as one of the greatest in history. In 2004, he not only won his second batting title with a career-best and team-record .372 average, but he set a major league record with 262 hits, passing the previous mark of 257 set by George Sisler in 1920. Suzuki had 80 multi-hit games during his record-setting season and had four hits in a game five times. Over the next few seasons, he continued his torrid hitting and stole 45 straight bases between April 2006 and May the following year. Another of Suzuki’s great career moments came during the 2007 All-Star Game, when he smashed a ball off the outfield wall in San Francisco. The ball took a strange carom, and he ended up with the first inside-the-park home run in Midsummer Classic history, also winning the MVP Award after hit three-hit performance.

Ichiro won three more hit titles, giving him seven for his career, but he began to slow down as the decade changed over. He dropped below a .300 average and 200 hits for the first time in 2011 and although, he stole 40 bases he would not earn an All-Star selection or a gold glove for the rest of his storied career. The following year, Suzuki was traded to the Yankees, batting .322 and helping New York reach the postseason. He spent three years with the Yankees and still showed flashes into his 40s, even after signing with the Marlins in 2015. During his time in South Florida, Ichiro collected both his 3,000th hit and his 500th stolen base during the 2016 season. Following one more season as a reserve, Suzuki returned to the Mariners and appeared in 15 games in April before joining the front office as a special assistant. He appeared in two games in 2019 when Seattle opened the season playing Oakland in Japan. Following the series, Ichiro officially retired, leaving the game as the Mariners’ all-time franchise leader in batting average (.321), hits (2,542), triples (79) and steals (438). He also ranks second in games (1,861) and runs (1,181), third in total bases (2,292), fourth in doubles (295), fifth in strikeouts (800), sixth in RBIs (633) and walks (517) and ninth in on-base percentage (.497) to go with 99 home runs.

In addition to the All-Star and gold glove honors, Suzuki also won three silver sluggers and four fielding titles, and he led American League right fielders in putouts seven times, double plays three times and assists twice. “The Wizard” finished his 19-year major league career with a .311 average, 1,420 runs, 509 steals and 3,089 hits, and he is one of just seven players in major league history to top 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases. If you counted his time in Japan, he would have world records with 4,367 hits and 28 seasons played. His skill and competitiveness allowed him to succeed no matter where he played. Ichiro led Japan to championship victories in the first two World Baseball Classic tournaments and was a Mariners Hall of Fame selection in 2021. At one point, he showed interest in pitching, first in Japan, then by throwing one inning with the Marlins in 2015. During an exhibition in his home country in 2023, Suzuki took the mound as a 50-year-old with a team of former professional players and threw a five-hit shutout against a team of the best high school girls players in Japan. There is little doubt he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in his first year of eligibility in 2025. The only question is will he join Mariano Rivera (who he hit a walk-off home run against in 2009) as a unanimous inductee.