Before the Seattle Mariners took the field against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday at T-Mobile Park, the organization made the day about its past.
In the middle of its 50th season, Seattle held a pregame celebration honoring the 50 Greatest Mariners of all time. The club’s opening nod went to the only two late members on the list, Julio Cruz and Dave Henderson.
The full group was selected through a mix of fan voting, former players, local media and former team officials. It featured a wide cross-section of Mariners history, from early-era names like Floyd Bannister, Jim Beattie and Ruppert Jones to modern stars such as Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo and Andres Munoz.
The list also included five National Baseball Hall of Famers: Adrian Beltre, Ichiro Suzuki, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez. Suzuki, Johnson, Griffey and Martinez all have their numbers retired by the organization, and those four were given a special introduction at the end of the player roll call.
Seven current Mariners were included: J.P. Crawford, Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Kirby, Gilbert, Woo and Munoz. Luis Castillo also made the list after beginning the season with Seattle, though he was traded to the Chicago White Sox during the week of the MLB trade deadline.
A few honorees were not on hand. Along with Castillo, Cruz and Henderson, Robinson Cano, Freddy Garcia and Kyle Seager were absent, and Seattle played video messages from Cano, Garcia and Seager on the T-Mobile Park scoreboard.
The ceremony didn’t stop with the players. After the top 50 were introduced, Mariners CEO/chairman John Stanton announced that longtime broadcaster Rick Rizzs, who has been with the club for 41 years, will be inducted into the team Hall of Fame. That puts him alongside the late Dave Niehaus as the only non-uniformed members of the Mariners Hall of Fame.
To close things out, former manager Lou Piniella took part in a ceremonial first pitch, standing with several of the players he managed during his time in the Pacific Northwest.
Before Stanton’s announcement, Alvin Davis - “Mr. Mariner” and one of the 50 greatest himself - spoke to the crowd, Rizzs and the current team. Davis told the Mariners that people have doubted them for 49 years and to prove them wrong, and the fans and all the former players on the field Saturday right.
The moment also came almost exactly one year after Suzuki’s No. 51 was retired. In that speech, he urged the team to “seize the moment,” a line that later became the rallying cry for Seattle’s 2025 run to the American League West title and its first trip to the American League Championship Series since 2001.
In Other News...
George Kirby May Have Been Closer To A Mariners Exit Than Fans Knew
George Kirby stayed put when the MLB trade deadline passed, but ESPNs reporting suggests his name was part of a wider market conversation even if Mariners fans never saw it play out in real time. Detroits talks on Tarik Skubal were shaped in part by the possibility that if those negotiations dragged, other clubs might redirect their attention toward Kirby, whose appeal is obvious to any front office hunting for a frontline starter.
For Seattle, the important part is simple: Kirby is still in the rotation, and the Mariners kept one of their most valuable arms rather than turning a deadline debate into a roster shakeup. The reporting also underscores why he drew such attention in the first place, with his age, affordability and long runway of team control making him exactly the kind of pitcher rival clubs would monitor if the market for an ace started to move. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Dipoto Faces New Heat As Mariners Questions Keep Growing
David Forsts dismissal in Oakland has only sharpened the spotlight on baseball operations around the division, and it inevitably turns the conversation back to Jerry Dipoto in Seattle. Forst spent 27 years with the Athletics and 11 seasons as general manager before being let go, with assistant GM Dan Feinstein now overseeing baseball operations while the club searches for a replacement.
For the Mariners, the comparison is hard to miss because the questions around Dipoto have only grown as the team has continued to struggle on the field. Seattle has built its recent identity around patience and process, but results have a way of changing the temperature fast, and another front-office reset in the AL West only adds to the scrutiny on a group already under pressure to show progress. [Read more 🡒]
Rick Rizzs Finally Gets A Place In Mariners History
Rick Rizzs has been part of the Mariners soundtrack for so long that it is hard to imagine the franchise without him. Now, the team is formally giving him a place in its history, announcing that the longtime broadcaster will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame next season. He will become the 12th member and one of only two non-uniformed inductees, joining Dave Niehaus in that distinction.
Rizzs has been connected to the organization for 41 years and has served as the lead radio voice since 2011, but his impact has gone well beyond the booth. Through his Toys for Kids charity, he has also been a familiar presence in the community. The Mariners have not yet announced when the ceremony will take place or what it will look like, leaving one more chapter in a fitting honor still to come. [Read more 🡒]