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I legitimately think if I could start my life over and choose any job in the entire world, I’d choose center fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Aside from being my hometown team that I love very much, the Mariners also do not carry the pressure that the Yankees, Dodgers, or other more famous teams do. Being the Mariners’ center fielder would also be less physically taxing than being quarterback of the Seahawks or point guard for the Sonics, who I heroically saved from moving to Oklahoma when I went back and started my life over in this hypothetical situation.
The discussion of great Mariner center fielders (in the real world, unfortunately, where I still haven’t got my shot) obviously starts with Ken Griffey Jr. If we’re being honest, it probably ends there as well. His immediate successor was damn good too, and to this day it’s still confusing why the team decided to move on from him, and the reigning Rookie of the Year will hopefully have something to say about this too when his career is over.
This is not a list of every single person who has manned center field since Griffey left prior to the 2000 season. Rather, it’s the 20 Mariners who have played center field the most often since then. The best part of looking this up was learning that Wladimir Balentien, Hiram Bocachica, and Brad Miller are the first three to miss the cut. And by best part I mean most crushing realization that made me wonder if everyone was in on the joke besides me.