Ranking the Best First Baseman in Mariners Team History

Mariners Alvin Davis – 21.1

That’s right, Mr. Mariner himself is the top first baseman in team history. It all started back with his first season in 1984.

There was so much that happened that season, and I can only imagine how excited Mariners fans were. The team had been around less than a decade, and had seen some good seasons so far. Here comes Alvin Davis, and he puts up the best offensive season that the team had seen through their first 8 seasons.

Not only that, he made his one and only all-star game, won Rookie of the Year, and actually finished 12th in MVP voting that season. For good reason too. With a 5.3 fWAR, he hit .284/.391/.497, 140 WRC+, with 27 home runs, 80 Runs, and 116 RBI. Not only that, it was the best defensive season of his career.

Already, just with that one season, it would be enough to make Alvin Davis the 4th best first baseman in the history of the Mariners throughout their entire history. He would go on to have some more solid seasons with the Mariners, and would amass 21.1 fWAR through eight seasons. Somehow, he hit a wall at 30, and had a negative 1.6. He would play a bit with the Angels the next year, and be out of baseball at 31.

A lot of Mariners fans, even some into their mid-30’s, might not be that familiar with Alvin Davis. His last year was 1991 with the Mariners, and that’s right around the time that the Mariners started becoming more mainstream. I heard they had some Kid who was good. Who knows. Alvin Davis was special though, and a great player for the Mariners throughout the 80s.