Just recently, I did a post on the Top 10 Athletes I Have Ever Seen Play. Noticeably absent were all Seattle athletes. I just felt like I had to do a separate post for them. These ten athletes below are the greatest I have seen play for a Seattle team. The more they played for a Seattle team, the better. And the more I saw them play, the better. Unfortunately, that means guys like Steve Largent, Alvin Davis, and Gus Williams won't be on here. I'm not going to label what teams they played for, because we know if they played for the Mariners, Seahawks, or Sonics.
First, some honorable mentions:
Sonics: Rashard Lewis, Brent Barry
Seahawks: Marshawn Lynch, Doug Baldwin, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor
Mariners: Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Kyle Seager, Jamie Moyer
10. Ken Griffey, Jr.
It feels weird putting him this low on the list. But I only saw the tail end of his career with the Mariners and then the 2009 and 2010 seasons. But I've been able to watch highlights, mainly of the 1995 season. I think he's the most talented baseball player to ever play for the Mariners. It's such a shame he not only got traded but had an injury-plagued career from that point on.
9. Gary Payton
Again, he would be higher had I seen him play more. He was definitely the best defensive point guard I ever watched. There's a reason they called him "The Glove". It was quite a shock to me when the trade was announced that he had been included in a trade that netted us Ray Allen.
8. Earl Thomas
I couldn't include the entire Legion of Boom, so I went with who I considered their best player and the one I had most fun watching. Earl has been such a great safety in the NFL, the ability to range from deep center field to come up and make a tackle on a quick pass or run. Earl's quickness and smarts allowed Pete Carroll and his defensive coaching staff to play him deep, which meant no big throws were ever really completed against the Hawks defense. The Hawks certainly would not have had the success they did on defense without Earl.
7. Felix Hernandez
There has not been a better pitcher with the Mariners in the last 15 years. Felix not only was dominant, but proved his loyalty all the way until he was no longer productive for us. It breaks my heart that he never got to experience the postseason with us. No other player has inspired something like a "King's Court", something I made certain to be a part of a few times. His perfect game in 2012 is definitely one of the best moments in Mariners history, and might be the best moment of that decade.
6. Ray Allen
Ray has to be the best shooter of the basketball I have ever seen, especially from three point range. He hit a ton of clutch shots with the Sonics and easily became my favorite player on the team in the mid-2000's. He and Rashard Lewis formed quite the scoring duo, even guiding the Sonics to the playoffs a couple times. And Ray was one of the very few high scorers in the NBA that didn't talk too much. He let his play and his scoring speak for itself.
5. Bobby Wagner
At the end of his career, he may end up as the greatest defensive player in Seahawks history. Right now, that's probably Cortez Kennedy, but Bobby may pass Tez in longevity and overall production. Bobby hasn't won a defensive player of the year like Tez did, but I think he should have. There's just been too many other great players in the league. But to me, Bobby is the best tackler and linebacker in Seahawks history, and I'm fortunate to have seen him play.
4. Ichiro Suzuki
The greatest contact hitter in Mariners history for sure. He set the all-time record for hits in a season in 2004. He won MVP in his first season in Major League Baseball. It's a huge shame we could never get back to the postseason with Ichiro, but the guy is a bona fide legend. The way he would make contact with the worst of pitches and get hits out of them just blew my mind.
3. Walter Jones
An offensive lineman in the Top 3? Why not? Big Walt is one of the best tackles in NFL history. In fact, he was voted to the NFL 100 club in the NFL's 100th season, meaning he is one of the 100 greatest players in NFL history. I think he had fewer holding calls than seasons played, and he hardly ever got beat. Walt was devoted to his craft and it showed.
2. Russell Wilson
My favorite current athlete winds up at #2 on this list. Russell is a born leader. What I love most about him is his faith in his team and his belief that they will win, despite sometimes near insurmountable odds. The most notable example of that would be the 2015 NFC Championship Game, where the Hawks fell behind 16-0, yet Russell kept believing. It paid off. Besides that, Russ is going to end up with every team passing record, he is our winningest quarterback of all time and guided us to our only ever championship, and he has sometimes done this with very little help.
1. Edgar Martinez
EdddddGAARRRRRR....EdddddGARRRR... I can still hear the chants of his name ring throughout the Kingdome and Safeco Field. Edgar was pure class, pure all-around hitter, and a clutch one at that. Edgar is often known as one of the greatest Mariners, even though he has been passed in a lot of hitting categories by Ichiro or Griffey. There's a reason he's so loved, has a street named after him, and had his number retired before even entering the Hall of Fame. That clutch double he hit in the 1995 ALDS has a lot to do with it. Edgar Martinez is my greatest Seattle sports athlete I have ever seen play.
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