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FULL SPEECH: Ichiro Suzuki Inducted into National Baseball Hall of Fame
DerekJohnson
Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 67,844 
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I laughed so hard at the post-induction interview at the end, done by JP Morosi, who is fluent in 5 languages. Morosi concluded the interview speaking Japanese, finishing with “arigato”, to which Ichiro replied, “de nada”…
Are Griffey and Ichiro the only Mariners ever inducted? (Gaylord Perry doesn't count)
Didn't Edgar get in? Randy Johnson counts even though a Diamondback
Oh that's right. Of course I like Edgar but he didn't deserve it.
Edgar's advanced stats are 100% HOF worthy. His WAR was 68.3 as a DH, only. Insanely high.
HOF case, traditional stats:
• Martinez, arguably the greatest designated hitter ever, did his job perfectly: He hit. Martinez's .933 OPS would rank 18th among Hall of Famers, and it's tied with Albert Belle for 31st all-time among players with at least 10 seasons in the Majors.
• Martinez was an on-base machine. His .418 on-base percentage ranks 19th all-time among Major Leaguers to play 10-plus seasons, and would rank 13th among Hall of Famers, between Frank Thomas and Stan Musial.
• Martinez's .312 career batting average is 10 points higher than the Hall of Fame average, and would tie him with Johnny Mize and four others for 54th among position players in Cooperstown. Only 44 other hitters in baseball's modern era have retired with a .300-plus average over as many plate appearances as Martinez's 8,674; 35 are in the Hall of Fame, five are on this year's ballot or will appear on future ballots (Derek Jeter, Todd Helton, Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez), and another is Pete Rose.
HOF case, advanced stats:
• Even though Martinez spent most of his career at DH, which negatively affects his WAR, he was good enough at the plate to put him well within Hall of Fame range. Martinez's 68.3 WAR ranks at just about Hall of Fame average (69), tying him with Eddie Murray and Carlton Fisk and placing him just in front of Ryne Sandberg and Ernie Banks.
• Martinez's 147 career wRC+ -- signifying offensive production 47 percent better than average -- is tied for 28th all-time among players with at least 5,000 plate appearances, the same wRC+ as Honus Wagner and Mike Schmidt.
• Martinez also has a 147 OPS+, which would tie him for 25th among Hall of Famers, and is tied for 39th all-time (minimum 10 seasons), alongside Schmidt, Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell and Jim Thome.
I don't see any fielding statistics here
His WAR is higher than some HOF guys who played in the field.
If the NL hadn't also adapted the DH spot I could see the old timers still having an argument against the DH position being in the HOF.