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Strange but True: Ichiro Suzuki Becomes Longest-Tenured Marlins Hall of Famer

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ben Weinrib | Last updated Jan 22, 2025 12:23 PM ET

Ichiro Suzuki's near-unanimous election headlined Tuesday's results from the National Baseball Hall of Fame as arguably the sport's greatest hitter will finally head to Cooperstown.

Despite not debuting in the United States until age 27, Ichiro collected 3,089 hits in the majors, made 10 All-Star Games, and won AL MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in his debut season. His impact on the sport is hard to measure, even as he collected more hits, including his time in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, than any player in baseball history.

Ichiro will surely choose to wear a Seattle Mariners hat on his Hall of Fame plaque, but he'll also make history for another MLB team. As pointed out by Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman on X, he's the Hall of Famer who played the most number of games with the Miami Marlins.

Ichiro is now the all time Hall of Fame leader in games played for the Marlins.

1. Ichiro (432)
2. Iván Rodríguez (144)
3. Andre Dawson (121)
4. Tim Raines (98)
5. Trevor Hoffman (28)
6. Mike Piazza (5)
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) January 21, 2025

What's astounding is that Ichiro only played three years in Miami, following 12 in Seattle and parts of three seasons with the Yankees. He hit .256/.315/.325 with 236 hits across 432 games and picked up his 3,000th MLB hit with the Marlins, but that tenure is a mere footnote on his extensive résumé.

In fact, the other five Hall of Famers who played for the Marlins totaled just 396 games with the club — 36 fewer than Ichiro.

No Hall of Famers have a Marlins hat on their plaque — the Rays and Nationals join them in that infamy, although there are two Expos — and that may not change for a while.

There was a chance that Gary Sheffield might have donned a Marlins cap, but he'll need some luck when he comes up in a future Era Committee vote. Giancarlo Stanton seems likely to go in as a Marlin, but he may need to stay healthy to reach 500 home runs and is nearly a decade away from potential enshrinement, given the five-year waiting period after retirement.

Either way, Marlins fans finally have a reason to rejoice. Long-time shortstop Hanley Ramirez may not have gotten a vote in his sole season on the ballot, but Ichiro is officially a Marlins legend.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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