The Seattle Mariners’ first ever Alumni Home Run Derby will include a host of club legends, in a fitting celebration of 50 seasons.
The Mariners will be holding their 50 seasons celebration weekend this year between Aug. 7-9, and they’ve now hit the proverbial grand slam. On Thursday, they announced they will hold their first ever Alumni Home Run Derby on Friday, Aug. 7 at T-Mobile Park, and those involved fittingly read like a who’s who of special connections to the club.
Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will serve as commissioner for the event, while Nelson Cruz and Jay Buhner will captain the two teams. The Home Run Derby participants are subject to change, but as things stand the two headliners are Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki and Mariners Legend Mike Cameron.
Pending more commitments, other participants include Mariners broadcasters Ryan Rowland-Smith and Ryon Healy. The group will be rounded out by bullpen coach Austin Nola, local radio host Bucky Jacobsen and former Mariner and Oregon State alum Stefen Romero.
Ichiro and company sure to put on a show for Mariners fans
Ichiro clearly needs no introduction, as one of the best pure hitters in Major League history, and the holder of the single season record for hits with 262, set in 2004. His resume includes 10 All-Star selections, 10 Gloves and three Silver Sluggers, and he was just one vote short of unanimous election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.
Cameron only spent four seasons with the Mariners between 2000-03, but his impact was impressive, as he won two of his three Gold Gloves in Seattle and his one All-Star selection in 2001. He has the only four-home run game in franchise history, which happened on May 2, 2002, versus the White Sox in Chicago.
Rowland-Smith pitched four seasons for the Mariners between 2007-10, with his best year coming in 2008 when he produced career-bests of a 2.0 bWAR, 3.42 ERA and 118.1 combined innings. Since retiring, he’s served in a variety of roles with Mariners TV and Seattle Sports 710 AM as an analyst and field reporter.
Healy played for the Mariners in 2018 and 2019, which included hitting 24 home runs and 73 RBI during his fist season in Seattle. He attended the University of Oregon (try to stifle the boos M’s fans) and currently serves as a TV analyst for select games on Mariners TV.
Nola played for the Mariners for parts of two seasons in 2019-20, in that time batting .280 with a .827 OPS and 125 OPS+ in 108 games. The former catcher was hired as the M’s Bullpen Coach in December of last year and he’s the brother of Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola.
Jacobsen played 42 games with the Mariners in 2004 and slugged .500 with an .835 OPS, but knee issues ultimately cost him his career and he’s now a longstanding successful sports talk radio personality in Seattle. Finally, Romero was drafted by the M’s in the 12th round in 2010, and went on to play three seasons for them between 2014-16.
Jay Buhner’s statement on the Home Run Derby
Buhner shared his excitement about the event, in a statement released by the Mariners. He said:
“It’s always great being back in Seattle, but the 50 Seasons celebration is going to be on another level. I think I can speak for all of our players, past and present, when I say this city and these fans are special. It’s going to be awesome to have all the guys back in town for the weekend, and hopefully our derby participants can put on a good show to start things off on Friday night.”
The event will take place following the end of the Mariners’ series opener versus the Rays, with first pitch having been bumped up to 6:40 p.m. All fans with a ticket to the game on Friday, Aug. 7 will have access to the Alumni Home Run Derby and you can click here for availability.
It will be extremely interesting to see how Ichiro fares, given that he only had 117 home runs in 19 seasons, including a career-high 15 during the 2005 season. He previously told USA Today‘s Bob Nighengale in 2007 that he could probably hit 40 home runs in a season if he changed his offensive philosophy, albeit at the cost of his tremendous .311 career batting average.
Photos courtesy of Tim Rogers Photography & Mariners media
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