The 5 best Seattle Mariners shortstops of all time

Shortstop is one of the most coveted position players in baseball. They need to be able to patrol and field a large area between 2^nd and 3^rd base, hit for a decent average, and steal bases. Finding such a player is rare and when a baseball team does manage to find a good shortstop they try to hold on to that payer for the duration of their career.

The Seattle Mariners have been fortunate enough to have some very good shortstop in the 40 year history of the team. Unfortunately, for one reason or another the Mariners have never been able to hold on to those players for very long. For this reason other teams have looked to Seattle as the team for getting good shortstops that are just entering their prime.

The following list contains some of the best that the Seattle Mariners shortstops:

1. Alex Rodriquez: Mr. Rodriquez (ARod) has the distinction of being one of the most cheered and hated players. For 7 years we cheered as Arod played in Seattle and racked up 189 homeruns, 194 doubles, and a 309 batting average in 790 games. All that changed in 2000 when instead of resigning with Seattle he tested the free agent market and asked for more than double what Seattle was offering him.
2. Omar Visquel: Little O as he was known to Mariners' fans quickly became a fan favorite with his spectacular defense. He only played in Seattle for 5 years before leaving after the 1993 season and went to Cleveland. He went on to play 24 years and become known for being one of best defensive shortstops to ever play. He won 11 gold glove awards during his career.
3. Carlos Guillen: Mr. Guillen broken in with Settle in 1998 and was one of the key players in the Mariners 116 win season in 2001. Injuries and illness limited his playing time and after 6 season the Mariners gave up on him. After the 2003 season he headed of to Detroit where he overcame his heath issues and continued to get better year after year.
4. Yuniesky Betancourt: Before he even played Mr. Betancourt endeared himself to Seattle with his story of fleeing Cuba. In his 4 ½ seasons with the Mariners he was a fan favorite and very good all-around shortstop. Sadly, he was not happy in Seattle so he was traded to Kansas City.
5. Spike Owen: For the first 3 ½ years of his career Mr. Owen provided a solid defense up the middle of the infield. In the middle of the 1986 he was traded to Boston. He ended up playing 13 seasons with 5 teams.