Ichiro Suzuki: Mariners Retire #51, Baseball Legend Honored

Ichiro Suzuki Immortalized: The Mariners Retire Number 51

In an emotional pre-game ceremony against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park, the Seattle Mariners paid tribute to Ichiro Suzuki, retiring his iconic number 51. The recent Hall of Fame inductee joins Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24) and Edgar Martinez (No. 11) as the legends whose numbers have been retired by the franchise.

“What’s up, Seattle! I am very grateful to be here today, to receive this great honor.”
Ichiro Suzuki

Suzuki, the first player born in Japan to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, received 99.7% of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. After eight seasons in the Japanese Professional Baseball League, Suzuki debuted in the Major Leagues at age 27. In his rookie season in 2001, he won the Rookie of the Year and American League Most Valuable Player awards, being the second player to achieve this in the same season, along with Fred Lynn. Throughout his 19-year MLB career, Suzuki was a 10-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, two-time American League batting champion, and three-time Silver Slugger. He set the single-season hits record with 262 in 2004, a mark that still stands. Before Suzuki, Hall of Famer Randy Johnson also wore the number 51 for nine seasons in Seattle. Johnson threw the franchise’s first no-hitter in 1990 and won the Mariners’ first Cy Young Award in 1995. The club announced that in 2026 they will also retire Johnson’s number 51, an honor shared by two icons in the Pacific Northwest.

Ichiro Suzuki, orgulloso de ser un Mariner.

After brief stints with the New York Yankees (2012-14) and the Miami Marlins (2015-17), Suzuki returned to Seattle in 2018 and officially retired in 2019. As Suzuki approached from center field, the chants of “Ich-i-ro! Ich-i-ro!” echoed in a packed stadium. His former teammates and Mariners Hall of Famers, Johnson, Griffey, Jay Buhner, Alvin Davis, Felix Hernandez, Edgar Martinez, and Dan Wilson, awaited him. “I’m also very proud to be a Seattle Mariner,” Suzuki said. President John Stanton announced that the Mariners will place a statue of Suzuki at T-Mobile Park in 2026, which will represent his iconic batting stance. Suzuki has remained with the Mariners as Stanton’s special assistant and is often seen in uniform working with the players.