12 notable absences from the 50 greatest Seattle Mariners of all time

The Seattle Mariners celebrated 50 seasons by unveiling the franchise's 50 greatest players on Saturday night. And we gotta say, they pretty much nailed it.

This shouldn't be surprising. The list was the result of input from fans, media members, former players and current and former baseball operations officials, which was always going to be the right list of ingredients for a perfect soup of obvious selections and fan favorites. And despite some thorny history, nothing as egregious as, say, leaving Alex Rodriguez off came to pass.

As with all lists, though, it's fair game to look at this one and wonder why so-and-so didn't make the cut. So while they're not necessarily "snubs," let's look at a dozen notable omissions.

These 4 are technically the best players who didn't make the 50 greatest Mariners

We rounded up the all-time best Mariners in terms of Baseball Reference's Wins Above Replacement and filtered out all those who made the cut for the official top 50. After we did that, the following players stood as being the best ones on the outside looking in.

Omar Vizquel, SS: 1989-1993

Mariners WAR: 10.3

Vizquel got his start with Seattle in 1989 and eventually won the first of his 11 Gold Gloves in 1993. He's of course primarily affiliated with Cleveland from his long-lasting and memorable stint with the Indians. In recent years, his reputation has been clouded by allegations of domestic abuse and sexual harassment.

José Lopez, 2B: 2004-2010

Mariners WAR: 10.2

Lopez was an All-Star for the Mariners in 2006 and generally a bright spot during a dark time for the franchise. He might best be remembered now for that "Double Play Twins" commercial featuring him and Yuniesky Betancourt.

Ken Phelps, 1B: 1983-1988 and Leon Roberts, OF: 1978-1980

Mariners WAR: 9.6

Phelps is best known as the guy who the Mariners traded to the New York Yankees for Jay Buhner in 1988, a deal that became so infamous in the 1990s that it even got skewered in an episode of Seinfeld. But to his credit, Phelps also ended his Seattle tenure with a 145 OPS+.

Roberts was there in the early days of the franchise after the Mariners were born in 1977. His big hit was a 1978 season in which he batted .301 with 22 home runs and 4.4 rWAR.

These 8 fan favorites were also left off the 50 greatest Mariners

Apart from those four, we wanted to pick out a few Mariners who were left off the list, but who nonetheless deserve their flowers as players who haven't been forgotten by fans.

Joey Cora, INF: 1995-1998

Cora was smack in the middle of the action when Edgar Martinez walked off the Yankees in Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS. He led off the inning with a single, and was the first run home before Ken Griffey Jr. slid across with the game-winner. Cora was later an All-Star for the Mariners in 1997.

Edwin Díaz, RHP: 2016-2018

Díaz was only a Mariner for three seasons? It doesn't sound right, but it's true. He nonetheless looms large in team history, both because of his franchise-record 57 saves in 2018 and because of that oh-so-memorable trade in which he and Robinson Canó went to the New York Mets for Jarred Kelenic.

Carlos Guillen, SS: 1998-2003

Guillen had the unenviable task of taking over for A-Rod at shortstop after he left for the Texas Rangers before the 2001 season. He performed more admirably than most might have, as his next three seasons with the team yielded a rock-solid 8.0 rWAR.

Tino Martinez, 1B: 1990-1995

Most baseball fans probably think of Martinez as a Yankee, not a Mariner. And that is fair, given that he was an All-Star and an MVP contender for them in a 44-homer year in 1997. Yet his first signs of stardom came with Seattle in 1995, when he put up a .920 OPS and 31 home runs.

Jeff Nelson, RHP: 1992-1995, 2001-2003

Nelson is probably the closest thing to a "snub" that Mariners fans have to gripe about. He appeared in a team-record 432 games for Seattle, and his 134 ERA+ is the best in franchise history among pitchers who logged at least 400 innings. Surprising, but true.

Jim Presley, 3B: 1984-1989

When Presley ended his run with the Mariners in 1989, only Alvin Davis had more career home runs with the franchise than Presley's 115. Of those, 79 came in a three-year stretch between 1985 and 1987 in which he earned an All-Star nod in 1986.

Eugenio Suárez, 3B: 2022-2023, 2025

Hey, who doesn't love good vibes? Geno brought plenty when the Mariners snapped their 21-year playoff drought in 2022, and then again in 2023. That alone would have endeared him to Pacific Northwest fans for life, but then he came back in 2025 and added one of the greatest hits in franchise history for good measure.

Mike Zunino, C: 2013-2018

Zunino was the No. 3 overall pick in the draft by the Mariners in 2012, and he ended up having a better career than previous high picks like Danny Hultzen and Dustin Ackley. He hit 95 home runs in six seasons as a Mariner, including some moonshots that still haven't faded from memory.

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