Was Ichiro Suzuki Greatest To Ever Play For Miami Marlins?

It's no secret amongst Miami Marlins fans that the number of MLB players currently enshrined in Cooperstown sporting a Marlins cap is precisely zero.

In other words, about the same odds they have of winning a title this season.

That number- Hall of Fame members and championship odds alike- won't be changing this week as another class of Hall Of Famers is introduced, headlined by the candidacy of Ichiro Suzuki, and the answer to whether or not he becomes the second unanimous selection in MLB history. Unanimous selection or not, Ichiro will rightly be going in sporting a Seattle Mariners cap. No other nominee remotely close to enshrinement ever played a game for Miami.

Now, there may be some debate out there as to whether or not Ichiro warrants unanimous approval. A fairer argument might exist as to him not even ranking amongst the three greatest Mariners of all time. After all, three people even found a reason not to vote for Ken Griffey Jr. on his first Hall of Fame ballot once upon a time. However, there should be absolutely zero debate as to this:

As of Tuesday night, none of the players in the Hall of Fame to have played for the Miami Marlins had a greater MLB career than Ichiro. In fact, a strong case could be made that claim could be extended to be true of any player to have ever played a game in a Marlins uniform.

Obviously, the Marlins chapter of Ichiro's career came at the very end. A few of you reading this might even be doing so out of shock such a thing occurred in the first place. Happened it did though, as ten years ago this month, Miami signed Ichiro to a 1-yr, $2 million deal in the hopes of adding a solid, veteran fourth outfielder to back up their All-Star trio of Marcell Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton, and Christian Yelich. The Marlins essentially extended him twice- once largely out of appreciation of the draw of having him record 3,000 hits in a Marlins uniform, and another time largely out of appreciation of how flat out amazing he was during the 2016 season in which he did so. That first year in 2015? Arguably worst of his career. That third seaosn in 2017? Not much better. That 2016 season though...there was legit All-Star buzz as he hit .291, picked up that that 3,000th hit, and produced his best season since his final All-Star appearance with Seattle back in 2010.

Still, it can't be stressed enough that the point being made here of Ichiro possibly being the greatest to ever play for the Miami Marlins is not a reflection of contributions in a Miami uniform. Ichiro doesn't crack the Top 50 in career Marlins WAR, being easily outpaced by slugging legends like Dave Berg and Greg Colbrunn in that regard. As much as Ichiro's tenure looms large as one my favorite Marlins memories of the last 20 years, there's no denying that 2012-2013 Justin Ruggiano did more quantifiable damage on the field.

For his career though, there's a reason the clamor for unanimous selection is as loud as it is. He's one of the greatest players of his generation, with the only debate being how far up that list to push him. The only real knock on him is he wasn't a slugger. As an athlete, defender, or pure hitter though? You'd have a hard time saying anyone you ever watched a play a baseball game had as sustained a run of excellence.

In terms of current Hall of Famers to have played for the Marlins, Ichiro (60.0) does trail all but Mike Piazza (59.5) in WAR. Andre Dawson (64.9), Tim Raines (69.4), and Ivan Rodriguez (68.7) all rank ahead. However, Ichiro didn't make his MLB debut until the age of 27. For perspective, that's four years after Shohei Ohtani first started taking big league at bats. Throw in even just two more seasons with the level of production he averaged with Seattle, and any debate based on WAR basically goes out the window. Give him any more than that, and there's zero contest. His already staggering numbers should be way, way more staggering.

Where there could be room for debate is in terms of best to have every played for the Marlins, period...which means you need to include Miguel Cabrera (67.1) and Gary Sheffield (60.5). Sheffield famously missed out on election in his final year on the ballot last season, and will now need to count on the Veteran's Comittee righting that wrong. The whisper of steroid rumors, though never proven, was enough to bar him. As for Cabrera...if Ichiro becomes the second unanimous player ever, the only thing stopping Cabrera from becoming the third is if Albert Pujuols pulls that off the year before. In the humble opinion of this particular baseball blogger, the three best hitters I've even take an MLB at bat have all been mentioned in this paragraph.

All the same, I feel that the combination of all those Gold Gloves, all those hits, and the fact that he spent the first eight years of his professional career in another country all serve to make him an easy pick for unanimous selection to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Not to mention the title of greatest to ever play for the Miami Marlins.