4 great Mariners seasons that were unjustly denied All-Star recognition

The All-Star festivities are nearly upon us and it's an exciting time for Seattle Mariners fans, with Cal Raleigh being joined in Atlanta by Bryan Woo, Andrés Muñoz and Julio Rodríguez. Their four representatives are tied with the Detroit Tigers for the most selections in the American League, and one behind the Los Angeles Dodges overall.

Whether you say it out loud or quietly, we can all admit the inclusion of Rodríguez is surprising despite his stellar defense in center field, but what about those occasions when the opposite has occurred in Seattle? With this in mind, we look back at four Mariners players who previously had great seasons, but were unfairly denied All-Star recognition.

4 great Mariners seasons that were unjustly denied All-Star recognition

1. Edgar Martínez (1998)

Even now you sometimes sit back and wonder why it took until his 10th and final ballot for Edgar Martínez to take his rightful place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. One of the very best hitters of all time — heck, he even has an award named after him! — he's one of only 18 players in history with a slash line above .300/.400/500 with 5,000-plus plate appearances.

This wonderment — that is a word, right? — extends to Martínez's All-Star resume, which stands at seven selections, but should be higher. And there are several omissions you could pick here including in 1990, 1991 and 1999, but we decided to go with 1998. (Send your complaints and disagreements c/o SoDo Modo.)

The 1998 season was one when the Mariners underperformed after coming off the most wins in team history a year earlier. But individually speaking, Martínez was as excellent, albeit his biggest 'crime' was not performing quite up to his usual level, while also being outshone by Ken Griffey Jr. and Álex Rodríguez. And yet he still produced a 5.6 bWAR, tied a then career-high of 29 home runs, had 102 RBI and led the AL with a .429 OBP.

2. Franklin Gutierrez (2009)

The Don Wakamatsu era in Seattle was a short-lived experience which lasted just over one and a half seasons, but that first season was solid enough as the Mariners went 85-77. At the heart of the success during the 2009 campaign was Félix Hernández's first All-Star selection and Ichiro Suzuki leading the majors in hits, but most of all was the play of Franklin Gutierrez.

Gutierrez had arrived in a trade during the offseason and his first season in Seattle proved to be a resounding success and one of the best of his 12 years in the majors. This was highlighted by career-bests of 18 home runs and 70 RBI, while defensively leading baseball in UZR and UZR/150 as the game's best center fielder.

Put it all together and Gutierrez had a career-high 6.6 bWAR which led the team, but also represented the second-highest bWAR of all time for a Mariners hitter who wasn't selected to the All-Star Game. He never did make it to the Midsummer Classic during his career in the majors, but at least that tremendous 2009 season paved the way for him to sign a four-year, $20.5 million contract extension at the beginning of 2010.

3. Félix Hernández (2010)

This is the biggest snub on our list, and in true Mariners fashion Hernández missed out on All-Star recognition the one year he actually won the only Cy Young award of his potential Hall of Fame Major League career. Adding to the intrigue and confusion, he was more productive in 2010 than the previous year, when he was named an All-Star but also finished second in AL Cy Young voting.

Hernández's 2010 actually go off to an excellent start before the season had even begun, with him signing a five-year, $78 million contract extension. He would then go about (more than) proving his worth, as he led the AL in innings pitched, quality starts and fewest hits per nine innings, while also pacing the majors full stop with a 2.27 ERA.

Perhaps best highlighting the asinine nature of it all, Hernández had a 7.2 bWAR in 2010, which both led the AL and was a career high for the righty. And he achieved this despite the inadequacies of the Mariners offense, which was blanked out or only scored once in 10 of his 12 losses. (The prime example being his complete game two-hitter which the M's lost 1-0 to the Blue Jays in Toronto.)

4. Kyle Seager (2016)

We appreciate there are those who were not particularly fans of Kyle Seager due to his personality — whether perceived or real — but there's no denying his impact during 11 years with the Mariners. He is fifth all-time in team history in bWAR, fourth in hits, home runs and RBI, fifth in runs scored and so on.

The Mariners entered the 2016 with high expectations, with Scott Servais taking over as manager and a lineup including the firepower of the likes of Robinson Canó, Nelson Cruz and Seager. They would ultimately finish three games back of a wild card spot but the season was still a positive one, with Seager leading the team with a career-high 6.9 bWAR which is the highest ever for an M's hitter not making the All-Star Game.

It was a surreal situation all around, with Seager playing better overall compared to two seasons earlier when he earned the only All-Star recognition of his Major League career. However, despite finishing 12th in AL MVP voting and setting personal bests with a .278/.359/.499 slash line, .859 OPS and 133 OPS+, he was not destined to get that invaluable second All-Star selection.