Mariners Analysis: The M’s Presence at the Hall of Fame

The newest edition to the Hall of Fame is the “Most” section. I don’t know what to call it, but they’ve tried to accumulate artifacts from players that hold records. Basically, all of your “stat junkie” or “baseball nerd” statistics in one place.

On the far right, Ichiro’s jersey represents his 10 seasons of 200 or more hits. He’s the only person to do that. One of the best pure hitters in our generation, Ichiro carried the Mariners offense from 2001 until he was traded in 2012. Ichiro was among the only things that made the Mariners interesting in that time period. Perhaps it was the language barrier, or a reclusive personality, but M’s fans probably didn’t feel the attachment to Ichiro as they did to Junior, Edgar, or Felix, but that doesn’t make Ichiro any less great. Still playing now with the Marlins, Ichiro is among the greatest Mariners in history.

The middle picture is Ichiro’s helmet. Ichiro led the league in singles 10 times. That’s a record as well. Maybe singles don’t mean a lot to you, but that’s a lot of times that Ichiro was on base and gave the Mariners a chance to score. Hitting out of the leadoff spot, he was the Mariners most feared hitters for years. Adrian Beltre, Richie Sexson, Raul Ibanez (multiple times), they all had their moments, but Ichiro was constant throughout.

Scott Spiezio, Jose Lopez, Jeremy Reed. Remember them? Ichiro’s greatness covered for all of them too.

On the bottom? Ken Griffey Jr’s bat (the black one) from when he homered in eight straight games in 1994. An unbelievable accomplishment, Jr. is among the best players in baseball history. Ironically enough, Nelson Cruz has homered in five straight games twice this season. The Boomstick has been great, but eight games in a row is on another level. Just like Jr. was.

Next: Randy Johnson's Plaque and the 116 Win Sign