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The all-time single season performance Mariners lineup
Since joining the league in 1977, the Seattle Mariners have had their fair share of historically good seasons. From multiple MVP winners to some of the most significant personalities in league history, the all-time season performance lineup from the Mariners is elite.
For this lineup, I will be picking the best season from a player from each position, including the DH, and building a team based on those years. All players played in their respective position for the majority of the season, with a single exception.
Several players had seasons that can be argued were better than the seasons I selected, but based on value and statistics, with a slight weight in team success and accolades, I selected the seasons in which I think the player performed best.
Honorable Mentions: 2015 Nelson Cruz, 2020 Austin Nola, 2017 Mike Zunino, 2021 Ty France, 1996 Jay Buhner
Mariners C - 2022 Cal Raleigh
If the 2020 season was not already shortened down to 60 games and Austin Nola playing more than 29 games and somehow maintained his 151 OPS+ over a near-full season, then he is the easy choice for this spot, but due to the circumstances surrounding that year and his career averages, it seems like more of a fluke than anything.
For Zunino, his 2017 year was the season that he put it all together while in Seattle, he stayed healthy enough to play 124 games, the second-most in a single season of his career, and put up great numbers slashing .251/.331/.509 with 25 HR and 64 RBI, Zunino was worth 3.4 WAR for his season.
But for a major reason, Raleigh was the pick. Not only did he put up an OPS+ of 122 with 27 HR, stats comparable to Zunino, but he was also a better defender. This led to him being worth 3.9 WAR, but that is not what got him his selection.
His walk-off home run at the end of the ‘22 regular season to send the Mariners to the playoffs and end their drought secured this spot for him, as he is forever attached to franchise history.
Mariners 1B - 2001 John Olerud
One of the greatest collegiate baseball players of all time from his time at WSU, Olerud was a key player in the regular season win record-setting ‘01 team. Beating out the 2021 France season (128 OPS+, 4.4 WAR) is easy, given similar production but far better team success.
Ending the season slashing .302/.401/.472 with 21 HR and 95 RBI for an OPS+ of 136, he made one of his two career All-Star teams. While he did not win a Gold Glove as he had done in the previous season, as well as the next two years, he certainly was not a bad defender.
His ‘01 season was worth 5.2 WAR and barely beat out his 2002 5.1 WAR Gold Glove season, where he also had a higher OPS and OPS+, but the team success of ‘01 is what edges out an otherwise comparable stat line.
Mariners 2B - 2001 Bret Boone
The second player from that legendary ‘01 season, Boone’s dominance was unprecedented given his career averages. Putting everything together, he finished third in MVP voting behind teammate his teammate and MVP-winner Ichiro and Jason Giambi.
He added an All-Star Game nod and Silver Slugger Award win to his resume this year, as well as being worth 1.7 dWAR, the highest mark of his career. While he did not win a Gold Glove, his showing in 2001 led to a positive defensive reputation that allowed for him to win three-straight Gold Gloves between 2002–04.
As for stats, he was worth 8.8 WAR slashing .331/.372/.578 with 37 HR and an American League-leading 141 RBI. His 153 OPS+ was easily the best of his career and far higher than his 101 OPS+ career average.
Boone’s breakout was obviously a major factor in the 116-game winning season from the Mariners, as well as his nod as the single greatest season by a second baseman in franchise history.
Mariners 3B - 2016 Kyle Seager
While he made his lone career All-Star Game in 2014, his season that occurred two years later was arguably better. It was his highest career OPS, OPS+, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, WAR and more.
Finishing 12th in MVP voting, he was a part of the three-headed monster that was the Mariners’ offense in the mid-2010s, alongside Cruz and Robinson Canò.
For the ‘16 season, he slashed .278/.359/.499 with 30 HR (second-most of his career), 99 RBI and his .859 OPS was the only time of his career that he even marked over .800.
With 99 total extra-base hits for the year, he was one of the best hitters in the league. His .902 first-half OPS also pointed to the fact that he should have been given an All-Star nod for his production, but history shows no accolades for the third-baseman.
Mariners SS - 2000 Álex Rodríguez
Despite a rather unsavory departure from the team and tainted reputation from links to steroid use, A-Rod, in seven years in Seattle, finished top-three in MVP voting twice and was already worth 38.1 WAR through the age of 24.
If the team had his talent during the ‘01 season, the hypothetical win total is insurmountable, but alas, that is not the case. Still, he did have the single-greatest season for a Mariner playing shortstop.
His second-place MVP finish in 1996 with a league-leading .358 batting average and 36 HR comes to mind first. It is not the season that was his best. Neither is his 42 HR-46 Stolen Base 1998 season.
Ranking as his best is the only season of his career. He was worth over 10.0 WAR, his 10.4 WAR ‘00 season.
Being the best defensive season of his career (2.4 dWAR), as well as one of, if not arguably his best, offensive seasons, it was a relative no-brainer to pick.
Hitting 41 HR and driving in 132 runs, he had a 1.026 OPS and Mariners’ career-high 163 OPS+. One of the biggest reasons it was his best season was his ability to get on base by any means. His 100 walks were the most of his career, and was 41 more times than in his ‘96 season and 55 more than in 1998.
Walking at a much higher rate led to a .420 on-base percentage, the best of his time at Seattle and the third-best of his career.
Although he only had 15 stolen bases, it was the most all-around year of his time in Seattle, and his defensive ability being much better in 2000 than the other two great offensive years makes the decision to pick ‘00 easy.
Mariners LF - 2022 Julio Rodríguez
Now, this is technically cheating. However, it felt like a disservice to leave out the sensation and spectacle of J-Rod’s rookie season. The previously mentioned 1996 Buhner season also nearly fit the bill, but he was a right fielder during his time in Seattle, meaning that likely this left-field spot would need to be filled from somewhere else on the diamond.
There is a reason that he won the Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger and was named to the All-Star Game. He was worth 6.2 WAR in his rookie year. A seventh-place finish in MVP voting was another fantastic first showing at the MLB level for a franchise with a pretty good history of it.
J-Rod slashed .284/.345/.509 with 28 HR and 75 RBI, adding 28 stolen bases and plus-defense with 95th-percentile outs above average.
Although his walk and strikeout rates are less than favorable, his rookie season already ranks amongst the best in Mariners outfield history.
Mariners CF - 1996 Ken Griffey Jr.
The Kid, a.k.a the greatest player in franchise history. He is yet another example of someone with so many seasons that could be given this spot. However, his defense was by far the best in the ‘96 season. Being worth 3.4 dWAR, he himself could man the hypothetical outfield of this team.
Offensively, this is only the fifth-highest season in terms of OPS+, but any season that ends with the hitter ending with an OPS above 1.000 is legendary.
Every offensive statistical category is comparable to the best years of his career, and his 9.7 WAR overall is the best in his storied career, making the decision to nominate ‘96 an easy one.
As for those numbers, he slashed .303/.392/.628 with 49 HR and 140 RBI. Griffey Jr. also added 16 stolen bases while being caught only once. He would not win his first MVP until the next season, but this year at the minimum, should have given him a second-place finish.
Mariners RF - 2004 Ichiro Suzuki
It was difficult not to give the right field honor to the ROY, MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and All-Star season of 2001 that kickstarted his career, his record-setting season for hits in a single season is a pretty good choice.
Getting 262 hits may never be beaten, especially given that a player such as 2023 Luis Arraez is only on pace for no more than 230 hits this season. On top of his record-breaking contact hitting, he hit 37 extra-base hits and had 36 stolen bases.
He was also a true five-tool player, as like is the trend with these seasons, ‘04 was the best season in terms of dWAR for Ichiro, as he was worth 2.5, more than double his second-highest season.
Although he finished just seventh in MVP voting, his career-best defense and record-setting hit total are what give him the nod, as in this hypothetical lineup, there is no room for improvement for a leadoff hitter.
Mariners DH - 1995 Edgar Martinez
Martinez will forever be one of the greatest hitters in franchise history, evident by his number being forever retired by the team. He is the perfect DH and was a no-brainer for this slot. Like a broken record, it was all about deciding what his best year was.
Given that 95’ was his highest on-base percentage and slugging, as well as his highest OPS, the decision was relatively easy.
Slashing .356/.479/.628 with 29 HR and 113 RBI for an OPS of 1.107 and OPS+ of 185, he was probably the best hitter in the league but finished third in MVP voting. Being worth 7.0 WAR, Martinez was as productive as can be.
Most impressively was his plate discipline, as he walked 116 times with just 87 strikeouts. Surrounded by fantastic hitters in this all-time lineup, he is a perfect middle-of-the-order bat.