"Of all the days Mariners picked August 9th" - Fans react to Ichiro Suzuki’s No. 51 retirement coinciding with 80th anniversary of Nagasaki bombing

Fans reacted as Seattle Mariners icon Ichiro Suzuki was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Writers Association this Tuesday in his first year on the ballot. A day later, the Mariners announced that they would retire the No. 51 jersey Suzuki wore for the club, in a ceremony on Aug. 9.

MLB fans were left bemused by the date the Seattle Mariners chose to retire the jersey number belonging to Ichiro Suzuki, as it coincides with the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, Japan.

The United States had remained neutral in World War II until the bombing of their naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the military forces of Imperial Japan. The war came to an end after the US military had dropped nuclear bombs over the cities of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and on Nagasaki three days later, causing Japan, the last surviving Axis power, to surrender less than a month later.

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are estimated to have taken the lives of 150,000 to 246,000 lives, most of whom were civilians. Till date, it remains the only recorded use of nuclear weapons in active conflict, with the debate still raging on regarding the ethical justifications.

Naturally, MLB fans were surprised that the Mariners chose Aug. 9 as the date to retire the jersey number of Ichiro Suzuki.

"Of all the days Mariners picked August 9th," commented one fan.

"Of all days to celebrate a Japanese superstar," another fan posted.

"Not the best date to recognize a Japanese born player," said another.

Meanwhile, some fans also asked for fellow Mariners legend and Hall of Famer Randy Johnson to be honored.

"Is Randy Johnson also getting this honor?," asked one.

"How about retiring Randy Johnson’s number at the same time?" another asked.

"Retire it for Randy Johnson, too," another chimed in.

Randy Johnson played 10 seasons for the Seattle Mariners and also donned the No. 51 jersey before Ichiro Suzuki took the number three years after Johnson left the team.

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Ichiro Suzuki misses out on unianimous selection to Hall of Fame by a whisker

Ichiro Suzuki made 10 All-Star Games and earned 10 Gold Gloves during his career (Image Source: Imagn)

As it was widely expected, Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player to get inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also universally tipped to be voted in in his first year at the ballots but just missed out on becoming only the second player to be selected unanimously, as many MLB fans had hoped.

The legendary outfielder received 99.7% of the ballot, with just one voter going against him. Thus far, only former New Yorkees closer Mariano Rivera has been inducted into Cooperstown as an unanimous choice, while his teammate Derek Jeter was also denied by a single vote.