Ranking the Best Center Fielders in Seattle Mariners History

If I would’ve started this list before last season, there is a good chance that I would’ve put Kyle Lewis (2.5 fWAR) into the top five. The 2020 ROY had a great season for the Mariners that year and showed great signs of being the Center Fielder of the future for the team.

However, with the injuries and uncertainty about his position going forward, I decided not to go too crazy in putting him in the top 5. A couple of good seasons could easily get him there, especially if he plays as he did in the 2020 short season. Remember, even though he “only” had a 1.7 fWAR, that would translate to a 4.6 if he could keep that going for a full year. I think there is a good chance he can make it into the top 3, but we are going to need to see him stay healthy for a while, first.

Near him is the trio of Leonys Martin (2.0), Jarrod Dyson (2.4), and Jeremy Reed (2.8). The Jeremy Reed name is likely a bit surprising to people. He had a great season in 2005 but was never able to figure it out after that. The 2.5 fWAR he had that season was the 21st best mark ever by a center fielder for the Mariners, but he is just one of seven to ever have that mark while playing center.

Barely missing the list is The Condor, Michael Saunders. He’s one of my favorite Mariners, as the potential he displayed was super high, and he seemed like a happy guy and very likable. Everything you would want from a center fielder, especially for a long line of jovial Mariners to man the spot. He had a WRS+ higher than 100 his last three years in Seattle and actually amassed all 6.0 of his fWAR those three years.

He was increasing his walk rate, decreasing his strikeout rate, and showing a nice combo of speed and power. It was most evident in 2012 when he was a homer short of a 20/20 season. We would trade him after the 2014 season for JA Happ. Happ would disappoint, and Saunders would slip on a sprinkler head and tear his knee.

Alas, bad things happen sometimes. Saunders did have a nice 2016 for the Jays, so at least he had one more good year. Let’s get into the top five Mariners now though, starting with someone most fans are more familiar with from his time in the broadcast booth.

Mariners #4: Ruppert Jones – 7.6 fWAR

1977. Most fans know that was when the current iteration of the Seattle Mariners started their franchise. Ruppert Jones was their first pick in the expansion draft, and it turned out to be a great choice.

As a 22-year-old, Jones would make the All-Star team in his rookie season and the inaugural season of the Mariners. He would be the lone selection from the Mariners, well deserving of the spot that he earned. There aren’t many 22-year-olds that succeed that early on in their career, but Jones was definitely one of them.

You can make an argument for either that rookie season in 1977 or two years later in 1979, which would be his final season with the team.

• 1977 – 3.7 fWAR – .263/.324/.454, 108 WRC+, 7.7 DEF, 24 HR, 13 SB, 85 R, 76 RBI
• 1979 – 3.5 fWAR – .267/.356/.444, 115 WRC+, -3.9 DEF, 21 HR, 33 SB, 109 R, 78 RBI

You tend to see this fairly often when trying to distinguish between a player’s two best seasons. One of them is a better offensive season with some poor defensive numbers, and the other is a well-rounded season. For Jones, he was able to steal a lot more and walk a lot more during the 1979 season.

Unfortunately, the Mariners were unable to benefit too much from it. He was pretty good in his short time with the team, just three years, and would go on to have 13 more fWAR over eight more seasons in the MLB. Nothing spectacular, but having league average 2.0 fWAR players in the 80s for the Mariners would’ve been better than most of what they had on the roster.

Mariners #3 CF: Franklin Gutierrez – 13.5 fWAR

There have been some underrated people that have stood out while going through the “best of” at each position. There have also been some, where you wonder how good they could’ve been if they didn’t have to deal with injuries. Franklin Gutierrez fits both of those categories.

Guti started with Cleveland and put together a couple of strong seasons early on in his career with a 1.8 and a 2.1 fWAR at ages 24 and 25. He was then a part of a massive trade between Cleveland, Seattle, and the Mets.

The Mets got Sean Green, J.J. Putz, and Jeremy Green. Cleveland got Luis Valbuena and Joe Smith. The Mariners got Jason Vargas, Aaron Heilman, Maikel Cleto, Endy Chavez, Ezequiel Carrera, Mike Carp, and Franklin Gutierrez. Yeah, that’s a big trade, and it seems like the Mariners came out of it pretty good.

Guti would put up an insanely good season his first year with the Mariners.

Throughout his time there, he was always a special defender. He won the Fielding Bible Award twice, putting up an insane 33.4 DEF and 31.0 UZR in 2009. Oh, he was pretty good with the bat as well. .283/.339/.425, 18 HR, 16 SB, 85 R, 70 RBI. When you add it together, he had a 6.1 fWAR that year, nearly 4 fWAR higher than anything else he would ever do in his career.

He would have a 2.2 in 2010 and a 2.3 in 2015. If he could’ve stayed healthy (he dealt with an odd and hard-to-diagnose stomach issue) then he would’ve been a solid player for nearly an entire decade in Seattle. Even as the defense slipped a bit, later on, he started hitting better with WRC+ of 115, 167, and 115, even though he only played 41, 59, and 98 games over those seasons.

Guti was an awesome guy in center and easily slides into the third spot for Center Field.

Mariners #2 CF: Mike Cameron – 19.9 fWAR

In the 90s, the Mariners found themselves with one of the greatest groups of superstars that any team has ever had at once. Ken Griffey Jr. Alex Rodriguez. Randy Johnson. Edgar Martinez. Unfortunately, the team was run in an awful fashion, and they had no idea what they were doing. Relations between players and the front office weren’t very good, and all of those players sans Edgar would end up leaving.

It’s how we ended up getting Mike Cameron, as he came over in the Ken Griffey Jr. trade. We will never know if Griffey would’ve stayed healthy if he remained in Seattle. We do know that he was unable to do so in Cincinnati. It’s a big part of the reason that the Mariners ended up winning that trade quite easily, as Cameron would have an incredible four-year run with the Mariners. Cameron would put up 19.9 fWAR, and Griffey would be in the 9s.

When you look at Fangraphs, Cameron had back-to-back 5.5 fWAR seasons in 2001 and 2002. He was a better hitter in 01, but had a bit better defense and baserunning in 02, which is what pulls him even.

• 2001: .267/.353/.480. 25 HR, 34 SB, 99 R, 110 RBI, 120 WRC+
• 2002: .239/.340/.442. 25 HR, 31 SB, 84 R, 80 RBI, 113 WRC+

(Does anyone hope/think Kelenic could put up numbers like that? I do)

The Mariners let him walk after the 2003 season (you can see saving money over winning games was a big thing for them back then), and he would go on to have quite the run spread across the Mets, Padres, and Brewers. He would put together a six-year run of 3.8, 2.1, 4.5, 1.9, 4.0, and 4.1. Quietly, Cameron would amass a career fWAR of 50.6.

If there was a Hall of Very Good, Cameron would be a first-ballot inductee. Between the incredible attitude, being a great teammate and clubhouse presence, and being a great player, it sure was fun watching Cameron during his four years in Seattle.

Mariners #1 CF: George Kenneth Griffey Jr – 68.4 fWAR

One of my favorite bits of trivia as a kid was that two of the greatest players in baseball history were named George, and neither one of them went by that name. One was Babe Ruth (George Herman Ruth) and the other was The Kid himself.

Are we ever going to see someone like Griffey again? I don’t just mean the impact on the field, cause there’s some guy named Trout who is doing a darn good job at trying to catch Griffey. I’m talking about the impact off the field, all that he did for the game, the swagger, and growing the game as well. He was the perfect combo and did more for the game than arguably anyone else in baseball.

Shoot, he may have saved baseball in Seattle. Without him, some jerk probably would’ve come and bought the team, promised not to move them, and then moved them to the Midwest.

(No, I’m not bitter or resentful at all after more than a decade.)

Anyone, back to Griffey. There was a very short list, if anything, that kids, and likely adults, enjoyed more in the 90s than watching Griffey play baseball. It was an incredible experience no matter where he was on the field. He floated through the outfield, chasing baseballs down and robbing home runs like very few we had ever seen before. The swing belongs in a museum, and I’ll probably end up with the silhouette tattoo at some point in my life.

I’m sure that as you sit here reading this, you can picture Griffey in BP. Backward Cap, earring glinting in the sun, effortlessly destroying baseballs, and looking incredibly cool while doing so. Shoot, the only way this picture could be cooler is if MJ was in it. There’s being cool, and then there’s being so cool that Michael Jordan stops to ask YOU for your autograph, which is what he did to Griffey.

We’ve talked about Griffey’s greatest seasons before, and it’s insane to think about just how good he could’ve been if he stayed in Seattle for his entire career AND stayed healthy. 800 HR anyone? I think there’s a solid chance. He ended up with 417 HR for the Mariners, and is the best to ever do it for Seattle.

I saw a lot of crazy things with Griffey during my life. We were there when he broke his wrist, and there when he came back. We saw him robbing home runs, hittings bombs, and swiping bases. We were also there the day that he decided to retire for the last time. Walking into the stadium team store and seeing the news break on the broadcast. I’m glad I got to witness Griffey throughout his career, and I hope the next generation of fans has a chance for someone like that as well.

Cameron or Guti? Hendu or Jones? Does anyone need to be moved around? Chime in with your thoughts on anyone that was missed or misplaced on the all-time center field rankings.