Lefty swinging 1B Bruce Bochte was a solid player in the very early days of the Seattle Mariners. His best season came way back in 1979. He played in 150 games for the Mariners in 1979 and he was 175 of 554 (.316 avg, .878 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 16 homers, 100 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He made the All-Star team in 1979 for the Mariners. He played in 681 games in his five years with the Mariners and he was 697 for 2,404 (.290 avg, .799 OPS) with 298 runs scored, 58 homers, 329 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Bochte is 8th in Mariners’ history with a .290 batting average.

Righty closer Kazuhiro Sasaki hit the ground running when he came to the Mariners in 2000 as a 32-year old rookie. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in the majors in 2000. Sasaki pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Mariners in 2000 and he was 2-5 with 37 saves, a 3.16 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He only gave up 42 hits while whiffing 78 batters in 62 2/3 innings for the Mariners in 2000, which shows just how nasty he really was. Sasaki pitched in 228 games (0 starts) in his four years with the Mariners and he was 7-16 with 129 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He is still the Mariners’ all-time leader in saves with 129.

Righty swinging 2B Bret Boone had his best years of his major league career with the Mariners. He got one vote (0.2%) from the baseball writers in the Hall of Fame voting last year and it without a doubt came from a Mariners’ writer. Boone’s best year came back in 2001 with the Mariners. He played in 158 games in 2001, and he was 206 of 623 (.331 avg, .950 OPS) with 118 runs scored, 37 homers, 141 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Boone was 3rd in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award in 2001. He also made the All-Star Team and the Silver Slugger Award in 2001. Boone played in 803 games in his 7 years with the Mariners and he was 863 of 3,119 (.277 avg, .814 OPS) with 467 runs scored, 143 homers, 535 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. Boone is #9 all-time in Mariners’ history in OPS (.814). He is also #9 in runs scored (467), #6 in homers (143) and #8 in RBIs (535) in Mariners’ history. Boone made it to 2 All-Star Teams, won 2 Silver Slugger Awards and he won 3 Gold Gloves in his 7 years with the Mariners.

Righty swinging 3B/DH Edgar Martinez’ name is all over the record books for the Mariners. He was a 7-time All-Star in Seattle and he won 5 Silver Slugger Awards for them. Martinez played 18 years with the Mariners in which he played in 2,055 games. Martinez was 2,247 of 7,213 (.312 avg, .933 OPS) with 1,219 runs scored, 309 homers, 1,261 RBIs and 49 stolen bases in his time with the Mariners. He is the Mariners’ all-time leader in games (2,055), hits (2,247), runs scored (1,219), RBIs (1,261), doubles (514) and walks (1,283). Martinez is also #2 in batting average (.312), #2 in OPS (.933) and #2 in homers (309) in Mariners’ history. An argument could be made that Martinez is the best hitter in team history based on his numbers.

Lefty starting pitcher Floyd Bannister pitched for the Mariners from 1979-1982 when the team compiled a 246-349 record (41.3% wins). That explains his sub-par won-loss record despite his solid pitching in his time in Seattle. Bannister pitched in 118 games (117 starts) for the Mariners and he was 40-50 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. His best year for the Mariners was in 1982 when he represented them in the All-Star Game. Bannister pitched in 35 games (all starts) in 1982 and he was 12-13 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He only allowed 225 hits that season in 247 innings while whiffing 209 batters showing what kind of stuff he had. Bannister is #6 all-time for the Mariners in complete games (24), #4 in shutouts (7), #5 in ERA (3.75) and #6 in WHIP (1.29). It’s too bad that Bannister didn’t pitch for the Mariners after they got a little bit better as his record would have reflected that.