Who'll be next into Mariners Hall of Fame?

There are currently nine inductees in the Mariners Hall of Fame, though no one has been added to the group since Jamie Moyer in 2015.

Here’s the full nine: Alvin Davis (1997), Jay Buhner (2004), Edgar Martinez (’07), Dave Niehaus (’08), Randy Johnson (’12), Dan Wilson (’12), Ken Griffey Jr. (’13), Lou Piniella (’14) and Moyer (’15).

Certainly there are other inductees coming soon, the most obvious being Ichiro Suzuki. But the criteria for being selected into the Mariners Hall of Fame requires the inductee to have been out of Major League Baseball for at least two seasons … and the two games Ichiro played at the start of the 2019 season mean he won't meet that requirement until '22.

Felix Hernandez certainly will get the call in due time as well, though he’s yet to officially retire. Hernandez sat out the 2020 season with the Braves due to COVID concerns, however, so he would be eligible in ’22 as well if he doesn’t play anywhere next season.

Among earlier retirees, a case could be made for Alex Rodriguez (whose last year in MLB was 2016), though his difficult departure from Seattle and ensuing controversial career obviously make that unlikely. Raul Ibanez certainly had the longevity and popularity to earn consideration, but he’s been out of the Majors since 2014 and has yet to get the call.

The Mariners Board of Directors is the group that makes selections to the team’s Hall of Fame, and it typically considers the question once a year at its annual business meeting in the fall.

The guidelines for selection include:

• A player, coach or manager must have been active with the Mariners for at least five seasons and have ceased to be active in the Major Leagues for at least two seasons preceding their selection, though they may otherwise still be active in baseball.

• The primary criteria for selection of a player is their on-field impact while in a Mariners uniform, though other factors can be considered, including impact on the field while with other teams, a positive impact on the Northwest community outside the game of baseball and a positive impact on enhancing the image of the Mariners or MLB.

• A non-uniformed person (such as a broadcaster, like Niehaus) must have been a full-time employee of the Mariners for at least five seasons and made significant contributions to the franchise either on or off the field.

The board has maintained a high standard for induction to date, as it should. The honor is a significant one and should be reserved for those who clearly have stood tall in franchise history.