Mariners announce alumni home run derby headlined by Ichiro

It's often been said by some of baseball's best players that Ichiro could've won a home run derby if he had only participated in the All-Star event.

Well, fans will get to see his home run hitting prowess on full display at T-Mobile Park.

On Thursday, the Mariners announced they will be holding their first ever Alumni Home Run Derby" as part of their 50-year anniversary celebration weekend.

The event will take place postgame following the conclusion of the Mariners game vs. the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, August 7. The first pitch for the game has been bumped up to 6:40 p.m.

Ichiro headlines the group of alumni slated to participate in the event. He was asked to participate in the home run derby in 2008, but declined because of a tight hamstring. There was some speculation he might participate in the 2018 home run derby after he retired from baseball, but he shut down those rumors.

Despite hitting only 117 homers over his 19-year MLB career, there was a belief that Ichiro could've hit more if he focused on it. He routinely pummeled baseballs into the right field seats during batting practice.

"He hits more home runs than anyone in batting practice, every day," Barry Bonds said in an on-field interview in 2016. "I said, 'You know what? You got to stop hitting all of these home runs.' He said, 'Why?' I said, 'Because you're wasting them all in practice. We want you to hit a home run in a game.'"

The interview came when Ichiro was playing for the Marlins and Bonds was serving as a hitting coach.

Asked what would happen in the home run derby that year, Bonds replied: "I would think he'd win, easy, hands down."

Former Mariner reliever Norm Charlton told the late Jim Caple that Ichiro was capable of power in a story for ESPN about the 2001 American League MVP award.

"What doesn't he do?" Charlton told Caple. "About the only thing he doesn't do is hit 50 home runs, and if he wanted to, he could do that, too. In batting practice, he hits some of the longest balls we've seen. If he wanted to hit .280, drive in 120 runs and hit 40 home runs, you could put him in the No. 3 or 4 hole and he could do that."

Ken Griffey Jr. will serve as the commissioner of the home run derby with Nelson Cruz and Jay Buhner serving as captains of the two respective teams.

"It's always great being back in Seattle, but the 50 Seasons celebration is going to be on another level," Buhner said in a statement. I think I can speak for all of our players, past and present, when I say this city and these fans are special. It's going to be awesome to have all the guys back in town for the weekend, and hopefully our derby participants can put on a good show to start things off on Friday night."

The Mariners are still finalizing the participants for the event. But as of now, per the release, they've received commitments from:

Mike Cameron, the Mariners starting center fielder for four seasons (2000-03), made the 2001 All-Star Game and won two Gold Gloves. He most famously tallied the only four-homer game in Mariners history on May 2, 2002 in a game at the Chicago White Sox. It was also the first four-homer game by an American League player in 43 years. Cameron currently serves as a Special Assignment Coordinator for the Mariners.

Ryon Healy appeared for the Mariners in 2018 and '19, hitting 24 home runs during the 2018 season. Healy, who attended the University of Oregon, currently serves as a TV analyst for select games on Mariners TV.

Austin Nola played for the Mariners for two seasons (2019-20), hitting 10 home runs as a rookie. The former catcher currently serves as bullpen coach for the Mariners. Nola is the brother of Phillies All-Star pitcher Aaron Nola, who he faced six times (1 for 5, RBI, BB).

Bucky Jacobsen appeared in a 42-game stint with the Mariners in 2004, slugging .500 with an .835 OPS. The 6-foot-4 Jacobsen achieved cult hero status with towering home runs when he came up in '04, and has served as a longtime radio personality on 93.3 KJR's "Chuck and Buck" program.

Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched four seasons (2007-10) for the Mariners and has served in a variety of roles with Mariners TV and Seattle Sports 710 AM as an analyst and field reporter. "Hyphen" is an Australia native and currently hosts "The Top Step Podcast," with weekly episodes, often featuring interviews with Mariners players and personnel.

Stefen Romero played three seasons (2014-16) for the Mariners and attended Oregon State University, where he was drafted by Seattle in the 12th round in 2010.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 4:49 PM.