Seattle Mariners: Ranking all four M’s Rookie of the Year winners
Alvin Davis, Seattle Mariners.
3. Alvin Davis – 1984
One man’s disappointment is another man’s opportunity. After one game at Triple-A Salt Lake City, Alvin Davis was called up to the show. The left-handed hitter from Arizona State had to replace opening day first baseman Ken Phelps, who went on the IL with a hand injury.
Davis was the best player on an otherwise forgettable 1984 Seattle Mariners team. He hit .284 with 27 home runs. What really stood out was Davis’ 116 RBI. At the time, that was the second-highest total by any Rookie of the Year winner (it’s now sixth-best) behind the144 knocked in by Boston’s Walt Dropo in 1950.
While it wasn’t Wally Pipp and Lou Gehrig, Davis became the M’s everyday first baseman. Over the next eight seasons, he played in 1,166 games.
2. Kazuhiro Sasaki – 2000
A 32-year-old Rookie of the Year. It sounds like something from a movie. After 10 years with Yokahama in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, relief pitcher Kaz Sasaki decided to give it a go in the Majors.
In the spring of 2020, Sasaki beat out Jose Mesa for the team’s closer job. Armed with a mid-90s fastball and devastating splitter, he revived a shaky Mariners bullpen. More importantly, a stable bullpen helped make the M’s into a serious World Series contender.
His 37 saves were third-best in the American League. Kaz Sasaki’s success in 2000 paved the road for Ichiro to come to Seattle a year later.