#11: Phil Bradley: 1985 w/5.0 oWAR
#10: Alvin Davis: 1984 w/5.2 oWAR
I doubt that many people up to about their mid-30s, maybe even 40 or so, know who Phil Bradley is. A few more probably know who Alvin Davis is. What’s funny though is that they were actually teammates in the 1980s on the Mariners, and put together not just back-to-back seasons of 5.0+ oWAR, but they were the first ones in team history to have a 5.0+ oWAR season.
It started with Alvin Davis in 1984. Not only did he put together an incredible season for the Mariners, but he did it as a Rookie. That’s right. Alvin Davis was the American League Rookie of the Year back in 1984, and it would also be the lone season that he would make the All-Star game. It’s funny, because the Mariners actually finished 1-2 in ROY voting that year, with Davis beating out Mark Langston.
Davis was well-deserving, putting up a line of .284/.391/.497, with 27 HR, 34 2B, 116 RBI, an OPS+ of 147, and a K rate of just 11.5%. It was arguably the best season of his career, and the best the Mariners had seen up to that point in their history.
Bradley provided a season that was nearly as good just a year later. He posted a .300/.365/.498 slash line, with 26 HR, 22 SB, 33 2B, 88 RBI, 100 R, and an OPS+ of 134. It was the start of a great three-year stretch for Bradley where he would post oWARs of 5.0, 4.3, and 4.2, with a total of 52 HR and 83 SB, all while hitting .302/.385/.470. It was the first season that stands out though, and earned him a spot in the 5.0 oWAR club in Mariners history.