Seattle Mariners: Left Field History from Phil Bradley to Domingo Santana

The Seattle Mariners have gone through so many left fielders over the years it is hard to count how many. Every year Ken Griffey Jr. was playing in center field we wondered who would be next to him in left field.

The last time Jr. patrolled center field was 1999 so in twenty years things haven’t changed much either. So we will look at all those who played significant time in left field for the Mariners beginning with Phil Bradley.

Phil Bradley was the Mariners third-round pick in the 1981 amateur draft. He made his major league debut with the Mariners in 1983 where he played in 21 games all in center field. In 1984 his first full season in the major leagues he played 68 in center field and 48 in left field. He hit for an average of .301; he had no home runs that season but stole 21 bases.

In 1985 he played most of the season in left field and made the all-star team. He hit .300 with 26 home runs and 88 RBI. A career high in a season for Bradley. He was the Mariners left fielder that season through 1987. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1988 season.

In 1988 Mickey Brantley was the Mariners left fielder. He was drafted by the Mariners in the second round of the 1983 amateur draft. He made his major league debut with the Mariners in 1986 where he played 25 games in center field.

In 1987 he played his time in center field and right field. The following year 1988 was the only year he played regularly in left field though he did spend time in center field as well. He hit .263 with 15 home runs and drove in 56 runs.

In 1989 he played in 34 games for the Mariners where he hit .157. He spent most of the year in triple-A. Also in 1990, he started in the Mariner’s organization at triple-A however was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on June 6. He never played again in the major leagues.

In 1989 the Mariners played a promising young outfielder Greg Briley in left field. He was the Mariners top draft pick in 1986. He hit .266 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI in 1989. In 1990 he split time between time between left and right field. He didn’t hit as well that season batting .246 with five home runs and 29 RBI.

In 1990 when Greg Riley split time between left and right field veteran outfielder Jeffrey Leonard played 74 games in left field. In 1989 the Mariners signed Leonard as a free agent. That season he was designated hitter most of the season other than playing a handful of games in left field.

As DH, Leonard had his best season in the major leagues hitting .254 with 24 home runs and 93 RBI. In 1990 playing mostly left field his batting was .251 however he hit only ten home runs though he did drive in 75 runs.

In 1991 Riley played most of his time again in left field. His batting went up to .260 but he had low production hitting only two home runs with 26 runs driven. In 1992 his last year with the Mariners he played in a reserve role. During spring training of 1993, he was released by the Mariners. He signed with the Florida Marlins for one last year in the major leagues.