SEATTLE -- Hours after he narrowly missed out on a unanimous Hall of Fame selection, Ichiro Suzuki received news that his iconic number 51 jersey will be retired by the Mariners.
Ichiro will join fellow Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, and Jackie Robinson as the only players to have their uniform number retired by the Mariners.
The team announced Tuesday that Ichiro's number 51 will be retired in a pre-game ceremony at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 9.
"For nearly a quarter of a century, Ichiro has been an integral part of the Seattle Mariners organization," Mariners Chairman and Managing Partner John Stanton said. "Today's announcement will assure that his number will be proudly displayed in T-Mobile Park forever as he aptly joins Ken and Edgar as Mariners in the Hall of Fame."
Ichiro is set to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on July 27, according to the Mariners. After the news broke, Ichiro became the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ichiro was a trailblazer when he arrived in 2001 and ushered in a new era for international players with his impact, and he demonstrated daily his love of the game, and the skill, passion and preparation that only the truly great have over his playing career," Stanton continued. "And Ichiro has continued to have an impactful role, both on and off the field, with our club since his retirement five years ago. He is most deserving of the ultimate honor the Mariners franchise can bestow.
Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The other Mariners great on the ballot, Félix Hernández, earned 20.6% of the vote and will return to the ballot next year.
Suzuki came to Major League Baseball from Japan as a 27-year-old in 2001 and joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in the same season. He was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), the New York Yankees (2012-14) and Miami (2015-17).
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He's perhaps the best contact hitter ever, with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a season-record 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 exceeds Pete Rose's MLB record of 4,256.
Ichiro's Hall of Fame enshrinement coincides with a surge of Japanese players shining in MLB. Ohtani is a singular talent in the history of the sport, and he was one of a dozen Japanese exports in the majors last season, including Yu Darvish, Shota Imanaga and $325 million Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
"Ichiro and Ohtani command so much respect from their peers and the public alike because they are focused on honing their crafts," Kiyoteru Tsutsui, professor of sociology at Stanford University, wrote.
The Mariners announced Tuesday that Ichiro will be celebrated at T-Mobile Park as part of "Ichiro Hall of Fame Weekend" from Aug. 8 through Aug. 10 in a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.