Ranking the 11 Greatest Outfielders in Seattle Mariners History

The Seattle Mariners have had some absolute Hall of Famers grace their outfield presence throughout their history, but who are the best 11?

When I started researching, I realized that Mariners outfielders fell into about four tiers.

The first tier is guys who are obvious Hall of Famers.

The next tier is fan favorites who also put up amazing stats.

Next is the Phil Bradley tier. I'll give this one away. It's just Phil Bradley in that category. He doesn't belong anywhere else.

After this is a bunch of so-so guys who probably wouldn't find themselves on other teams' lists.

Essentially, the Mariners outfield history is very top heavy. Some absolute greats grace the top five, but it really drops off after that.

Here's the list.  

11) Dave Henderson, Center Field

Before joining the Seattle Mariners' broadcast team, Dave "Hendu" Henderson had a successful 14-year career in the major leagues.

At the start of that career, Henderson spent five-and-a-half underwhelming seasons with the M's. But, hey, he was consistently underwhelming.

Hendu always hit somewhere around .260 with about 15 home runs and 50 RBI.

Sure, those stats would probably make him one of the best hitters on today's team, but Henderson's lack of a standout season with the M's keeps him at the bottom of the list.

He did, of course, go on to have two All-Star seasons with the Oakland Athletics. 

10) Ruppert Jones, Center Field

Ruppert Jones spent three seasons with the Seattle Mariners.

In 1977, he was an All-Star, hitting .263 with 24 home runs. In 1979, he scored 109 runs and hit 21 home runs and nine triples.

Uh, that's all I got.  

9) Randy Winn, Left Field/Center Field

Randy Winn came over to the Seattle Mariners after an All-Star season with the Tampa Bay Rays, and even though he didn't quite copy that production, he was stellar during his time with Seattle.

In 2003, Winn hit .295 with 11 home runs, 23 steals and 103 runs scored. In 2004, he came back with a .286 average to go along with 14 homers and 21 steals. 

He doesn't climb any higher on this list, however, because of his 2005. In 102 games with Seattle, Winn hit .275/.342/.391 with six home runs.

The M's traded him to the San Francisco Giants for Yorvit Torrealba and Jesse Foppert. With San Fran, Winn exploded for a .359/.391/.680 line and 14 homers in just 58 games.

That hurt to watch.  

8) Franklin Gutierrez, Center Field

Yes, even Franklin "Death to Batting Averages" Gutierrez makes this list.

Sure, his career .254 average as a Mariner is anything but special, and his .202 average this season is anything but good, but Guti has had success in a Mariner uniform.

In 2009, he hit .283 with 18 homers and 70 RBI, and even in 2010 when he struggled mightily, he managed to rack up 12 homers and 25 stolen bases.

Oh yeah, and there's the fact that Gutierrez is the best defender at the hardest outfield position since another guy that might land on this list.

A winner of the AL Gold Glove award in 2010, Guti might just be the best major league defensive outfielder of the past three years.  

7) Mark McLemore, Left Field/Utility

Sure, for his career, Mark McLemore played mostly second base. During his time with Seattle, however, he spent most of his time in left field, while also playing second, third, short, center and right.

McLemore's stats aren't eye-popping, but that's not why he makes this list. The super-utility man always did everything right, and was one of the most underrated players in Mariner history.

During that magical 2001 season, McLemore played seven different positions, hit .286, stole 39 bases and walked 69 times to bump his OBP up to a terrific .384.

In fact, during his time with Seattle, McLemore walked 249 times and struck out just 296 times, and that's counting a disappointing 2003 season as a 38-year-old.

In essence, Mark McLemore was a good Chone Figgins. He was everything Figgins was supposed to be.  

6) Phil Bradley, Left Field

Phil Bradley spent his first five seasons with the Seattle Mariners, where he was arguably the most consistent player on the team.

Over that five-season span, Bradley hit .301 with an average of 10 home runs, 47 RBI, 21 stolen bases and 69 runs scored. Still though, those numbers are brought down slightly because he didn't become a starter until his third year with the M's.

In 1985, his first season as a full-time starter, Bradley hit .300, scored 100 runs, hit 26 HR, 88 RBI and stole 22 bases. 

He was an All-Star that season, and finished 16th in MVP voting.

His two years after that weren't as great, but still very solid. Bradley was one of the Mariners' best players before 1990. 

5) Mike Cameron, Center Field

In his four seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Mike Cameron hit .256, averaged 22 home runs, 86 RBI, 26 stolen bases, 88 runs and played amazing defense in center.

Just to clarify, those are averages. He was averaging a 20-20 season with gold glove type defense in center. Cameron turned himself into a fan favorite very quickly, but in a way, he was still slightly underrated because of his average.

His best year came in 2001 when he hit 25 homers, 110 RBI and stole 34 bases on his way to an All-Star selection, his first of two gold gloves with the M's and a top 20 (16) finish in MVP voting.

Cameron ranks eighth in WAR, seventh in triples and seventh in stolen bases on Mariners' career leading lists.   

4) Raul Ibanez, Left Field

The Seattle Mariners signed Raul Ibanez, but after five underwhelming seasons, they let the Kansas City Royals sign him in free agency.

After a couple successful seasons with the Royals, the M's decided they wanted Ibanez back, and signed him in free agency.

He spent five more seasons with Seattle, where he hit .291 with an average of 23 homers and 98 RBI.

In 2006, Ibanez hit .289 with 33 HRs and 123 RBI. Ibanez was never the most exciting player, but he always got it done, and he established himself as one of the best power hitters in Seattle history.

Ibanez ranks ninth in slugging percentage, 10th in OPS, eighth in runs, eighth in hits, eighth in doubles, seventh in home runs and seventh in RBI in Mariner history.  

3) Jay Buhner, Right Field

In one of the greatest trades in Seattle Mariners history, Jay Buhner was acquired from the New York Yankees for Ken "Digger" Phelps.

Seriously, there's another Digger Phelps. Who would have guessed that? But I digress. 

In addition to being possibility the favorite Mariner of all time (was there anything better than Buhner Buzz Night?), Buhner was an amazing power threat, and stayed with Seattle throughout his whole career.

Over an impressive three-year span—when Seattle first started having national success—from 1995 to 1997, Buhner averaged 41 home runs and 123 RBI.

He was an All-Star in 1996, won a gold glove in '96, finished in the top 20 in MVP voting in '96 and '97 and finished fifth in MVP voting in '95.

Buhner ranks fifth in WAR, fifth in SLG, fifth in OBP, fourth in games played, fourth in runs scored, fourth in hits, fourth in doubles, third in home runs and third in RBI in Mariner record books. 

Not too shabby for a guy who was legally blind in his left eye. 

2) Ichiro Suzuki, Right Field

So, this Ichiro Suzuki guy is kind of good.

Prior to this un-finished season, Ichiro played 10 seasons with the Seattle Mariners.

He has 10 200-hit seasons. 10 All-Star appearances. 10 Gold Gloves. Top 20 in MVP voting nine times. 

Oh yeah, and he won Rookie of the Year and the MVP in the same year when he led the M's to a 116-win season.

In addition to holding several team records, he's even 12th in team history in home runs. Actually.

He doesn't quite pass No. 1 on this list, but it's probably a lot closer than you might think. 

1) Ken Griffey Jr., Center Field

Was there every any doubt as to who was going to top this list?

Ken Griffey Jr. was a national hero. Everyone, even those outside of Seattle, loved him and wanted to be like him. No Mariner player, let alone outfielder, had an effect on the game of baseball like Junior did.

Not that you need convincing, but here's some stats:

In his first 11 seasons with the M's, Griffey hit .299, averaged 36 homers and 105 RBI, but that's with some injuries.

His stats per 162 games?

43 home runs, 123 RBI and 113 runs. 

He finished third in voting for Rookie of the Year, he was selected to 10 All-Star games, won 10 gold gloves, won MVP once and finished in the top five in MVP voting five times. 

98 percent of Seattlites wept when he left for Cincinnati, but 100 percent forgave him. Actual stats.