With the 36th Pick in 2001, the Mariners should've selected - David Wright (38th)
Well, not quite in order. I saved this for last because, more than any other player on this list, this is the one I wish happened. David Wright was one of my favorite players, and is the only non-Mariners player that I almost bought a jersey of.
I mean, come on, how can you not like the guy?
Plus, he was so. darn. good. Check out these numbers from 2005-2013.
Time Frame | 2B | HR | RBI | SB | BA | OBP | SLG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005-2013 | 328 | 208 | 836 | 177 | .302 | .384 | .505 |
Average GP (145) | 36 | 23 | 93 | 20 | .302 | .384 | .505 |
You're getting 145 games a year from a 20/20 guy that's hitting .300+, and mashing doubles while doing it. Oh, he was an above average defender as well, even winning a couple of Gold Gloves while manning the hot corner.
More than anything else on this list, I wish the Mariners would've taken David Wright back in 2001. That would've been amazing to watch one of the most liked Mets players ever don a Mariners jersey instead. This was the year they drafted Garciaparra, so instead of Wright's 49.2 WAR, they got 49.2 less WAR from that spot.
There were some other close calls for years I thought that they blew it, and definitely could've taken a better player. However, these were the top 5 to me that stood out as franchise altering and defining moves that they reasonably missed out on. Stay tuned for some more draft related news and historical altering chances that the Mariners have had throughout their history.