ESPN MLB Insider Calls For Seattle Mariners Legend Ichiro Suzuki to Be Unanimous Hall of Famer

Seattle Mariners fans have something to look forward to this offseason as it’s a foregone conclusion that franchise legend Ichiro Suzuki will earn election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. That announcement will come in January and the induction ceremony will take place next July in Cooperstown.

The question isn’t if Ichiro will get in to the Hall of Fame, the question is by how much? And according to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney, it should be a unanimous decision:

Ichiro should be a unanimous HOF selection. Here’s part of his resume:
.311 lifetime avg.
Played his first MLB game at 27 years, 162 days old, and finished with 3,089 hits.
Led the majors in hits in seven different seasons.
10 Gold Gloves
438 steals
10 All-Star appearances

To this point, former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is the only unanimous Hall of Fame selection in baseball history.

One of the best pure hitters in baseball history, Ichiro amassed 3,089 hits in his United States career. In addition to that lifetime .311 average, he also stole 509 career bases.

Ichiro won a laundry list of awards including Rookie of the Year (2001) and MVP (2001). He was a two-time batting champion, a 10-time Gold Glover, a 10-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger.

He played parts of 14 seasons with the Mariners, three with the Yankees and three with the Marlins. Remarkably durable throughout his career, he never played less than 136 games in a season until age 44.

He’s been working with the Mariners since retirement and is already part of the team’s Hall of Fame. He’ll be the third Mariners-specific Hall of Famer, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez.

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