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Ranking the Seattle Mariners greatest seasons ever by Hitters

By Christopher O'Day

Seattle Mariners' Edgar Martinez(C) grimaces after he is congratulated by teammates Ken Griffey, Jr.(L) and Alex Rodriguez(R) after Martinez hit a first inning, three-run homer, against the New York Yankees in Seattle 26 May. Seattle defeated New York, 4-3. AFP PHOTO (Photo by DAN LEVINE / AFP) (Photo by DAN LEVINE/AFP via Getty Images)
Seattle Mariners' Edgar Martinez(C) grimaces after he is congratulated by teammates Ken Griffey, Jr.(L) and Alex Rodriguez(R) after Martinez hit a first inning, three-run homer, against the New York Yankees in Seattle 26 May. Seattle defeated New York, 4-3. AFP PHOTO (Photo by DAN LEVINE / AFP) (Photo by DAN LEVINE/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Mariners: Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger
SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 23: Kyle Seager #15 of the Seattle Mariners is congratulated by Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners after hitting a solo home run off of starting pitcher Joe Musgrove #59 of the Houston Astros during the fourth inning of a game at Safeco Field on June 23, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

#9: Kyle Seager: 2016 w/5.3 oWAR

#8: Mitch Haniger: 2018 w/5.5 oWAR

Not sure if it’s surprising or not, but Seager and Haniger each only have a single season above 5.0 oWAR on their resume. Seager was closer plenty of times though.

For three straight years, Seager would post oWARs in the 4s. 4.6, 4.6, and 4.2. He was in the midst of a great run, and after making a massive leap on defense, had turned into one of the premier third basemen in all of baseball.

2016 would be his career year. Paired with his GG ability, he would actually post the 14th highest single-season WAR in team history at 6.7. His offense that year was incredible and showed what he was capable of when everything clicked.

  • .278/.359/.499, 133 OPS+, 30 HR, 99 RBI, 89 R, 16.0% K rate, 10.2% BB rate, 90.7 Exit Velocity, 45.0% hard hit rate

Up to that point in his career, every single one of those was a career-high other than K rate, which was his second-best rate. It doesn’t quite measure up to Haniger’s season in 2018 though. Remember, this is just an article about how well they hit, not about the entirety of how they performed. Otherwise, Seager would be much higher on the list.

Haniger had a career-high 139 OPS+, with a .285/.366/.493 slash, 26 HR, 93 RBI, 90 R, and 38 2Bs. It showed what he was capable of, and if not for the odd injury history with him, the Mariners could have one of the best hitting outfielders in baseball. If he can bring the average back up near there, there is a great shot at him eclipsing his 2018 production.

It’s time to take a step up. Everyone else on the list has multiple seasons above 5.0, and at least one season above 6.0.

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