Seattle Mariners Hit King Ichiro Suzuki Named to First Hall of Fame Ballot
The Seattle Mariners have had an unofficial club rule about retiring jerseys.
The general rule is, a player must be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame to have his jersey retired. Hence why nobody will ever again in the history of the Mariners wear Edgar Martinez's No. 11 or Ken Griffey Jr.'s No. 24.
Seattle might have two more jersey retired for good in 2025: No. 51 and No. 34.
The Mariners' all-time hits and batting average leader Ichiro Suzuki (No. 51) and the club's all-time longest-tenured pitcher and owner of the only perfect game in franchise history Felix Hernandez (No. 34) were both on the ballot for the 2025 Hall of Fame, it was revealed on Monday.
Joining the two former Pacific Northwest residents on the ballot for the first time are Carlos Gonzalez, Curtis Anderson, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Fernando Rodney, CC Sabathia, Troy Tulowitzki and Ben Zobrist.
Suzuki is one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history. He won American League Rookie of the Year and MVP in his first season in the league in 2001 after nine seasons with Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
After Suzuki's rookie season, where he hit .350 with 69 RBIs and stole 56 bases, his career batting average never dipped below .300.
Suzuki owns the record for most hits in a single season (262), which he set in 2004. His .311 career hitting average is the best among players who debuted after 2000 and, including his nine years in Japan, he has more career hits than any other professional baseball player with 4,367. He led MLB in hits seven times in his 19-year career and is one of seven players ever with 3,000 career hits and 500 steals in the majors.
A career unlike any other. #IchiroHOF pic.twitter.com/yRYlnMh8Z6
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) November 18, 2024
The Hall of Fame inductees are voted on by various Baseball Writers' Association of America members.
Many media personalities and fans have been clamoring for Suzuki to be a unanimous selection. He only made the playoffs twice in his career, but his records speaks for themselves. Former New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera is the only unanimous selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame ever.
Suzuki played in Seattle for the better part of 14 years. He played with them from 2001-2012 before being traded to the New York Yankees and returning for a two-year stint to end his career from 2018-19.
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