Mariners legends Ichiro, King Felix among HOF ballot newcomers

The BBWAA announced the ballot for the 2025 Hall of Fame class on Monday, and there’s plenty for Seattle Mariners fans to be excited about.

Monday was a big day in the world of baseball, as the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) released the 2025 Hall of Fame ballot. For the Seattle Mariners and their fans, it was of particular significance.

That’s because, of the 14 players included on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, two of them are Mariners legends. More specifically, we’re referring to Ichiro Suzuki and Félix Hernández.

To date there are two Mariners who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame wearing the club’s cap on their plaques. Let’s take a look at the respective cases for Ichiro and Hernández to join Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martínez in Cooperstown.

Ichiro

There seems no doubt that Ichiro is going to be selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame at the first time of asking. And we say that, even taking into account that there are few sports cities which suffer as much misfortune as Seattle. (With 2008 being a prime example.)

No, the question isn’t if Ichiro will be selected the first time around? Instead, the question is if he will become the second ever player to be a unanimous selection? (The first player was the New York Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, but we all know it should have been Griffey.)

The case for Ichiro being a unanimous selection is extremely compelling. Quite frankly, there’s never been a player quite like him in Major League history.

Ichiro stands alone as the only MLB player to ever record 10 consecutive 200+ hit seasons, including the all-time single season hits record of 262 which he set in 2004. He is one of only two Major League players to win a Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 seasons.

In addition, Ichiro is one of just seven MLB players with 3,000+ hits and 500+ stolen bases, and keep in mind the former is despite not entering the Majors until he was 27. Finally, he is one of only 11 players to have at least 10 stolen bases in each of his first 16 seasons.

So yes, you can book it that Ichiro will be enshrined in Cooperstown at the first time of asking. All that remains to be seen, is if certain writers are wanting to restrict unanimous selections to those with Yankees ties.

King Felix

The case for Hernández is not quite as clear cut. As much as his peak is Hall of Fame-worthy, the case against him is that said peak arguably did not last long enough to convince some of the BBWAA voters.

In any event, Hernández’s resume is an extremely impressive one, including an AL Cy Young Award in 2010 and two ERA titles (one for the AL and one for the Majors as a whole). He was selected to six All-Star Games, including being named the AL starter in 2014.

The crowning moment of Hernández’s career came on Aug. 15 in 2012. This was the date when he pitched just the 23rd perfect game in Major League history, in a 1-0 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

That this is Hernández’s defining moment, alludes to the fact he never pitched in the postseason, which could also go against his induction into the Hall of Fame. If so this is harsh, as last time we checked, baseball is a team game and there’s only so much you can control when you play once in every five games.

In this respect, Hernández was the definition of durability during his career between 2005 and 2019. Consider that during this time, he was first among all Major League starters, with 96 starts of eight+ innings.

As a final related and important note, Hernández is the first true modern starter to be on the Hall of Fame ballot. In a lot of ways, his fate may well pave the way for what it takes for starting pitchers to be elected moving forward.

Other Mariners notes

Another player on the Hall of Fame ballot with Mariners ties, is the polarising Alex Rodriguez. He is in his fourth year on the ballot, and it remains to be seen if enough of the voters will eventually overlook his admission that he used steroids.

All eligible BBWAA voters have until Dec. 31 to submit their ballots, with the results being announced Jan. 21, live on MLB Network. Players who receive 75 percent of the vote, will be enshrined during the 2025 Induction Ceremony on July 27.

There seems little doubt Ichiro will make the Hall of Fame at the first time of asking, but do you believe he will be a unanimous selection? As for Hernández, do you think he will be good enough to be enshrined full stop? Let us know in the comments section below.