Fansided

Picking the Sports Mount Rushmore for all 50 states

By Dave Stevenson

PHOENIX, AZ - APRIL 02: Detail of baseballs during batting practice to the MLB opening day game between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on April 2, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - APRIL 02: Detail of baseballs during batting practice to the MLB opening day game between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on April 2, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Washington

Washington’s Mount Rushmore features three of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Ken Griffey Junior is the Mariners career leader in home runs and is among their leaders in virtually every other offensive category. Before Griffey, the Mariners were mostly irrelevant. He made them a powerhouse in the 1990’s. Griffey won the 1997 AL MVP award and led the American League in home runs four times. And he did it with a backwards hat and a childlike smile. Had he not faced injuries, he could perhaps have put the career home run record in jeopardy.

Gary Payton starred for the Seattle Supersonics. Ever since the Sonics left for Oklahoma City, Payton has been an advocate for the city of Seattle to get another NBA team. Payton made it to nine first team NBA All-Defensive squads, is among the team’s career leaders in steals and is their all-time leading scorer.

Randy Johnson, also known as “The Big Unit,” helped make the Mariners a dominant team in the 1990’s. Johnson’s fastball and slider were a deadly combo. Many left handed hitters conveniently took a day off whenever Johnson was on the mound. And who could blame them? He won a Cy Young, led the majors in strikeouts four times, and led the American League in ERA once with the Mariners.

Griffey and Alex Rodriguez passed Washington’s baseball torch onto Ichiro Suzuki. And Suzuki lived up to expectations. He is their career hits leader and also leads the team in career batting average (.322). Suzuki set the MLB’s single season hits record while with the Mariners.

Next: Nevada