:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69252359/73811874.0.jpg)
Try to stick with me here. Double plays, while very good for the defense, are quite bad for the offense. Step into the batter’s box and create one out? That’s fine, happens all the time. But you get up there and cause TWO outs in one fell swoop? That’s no good.
Grounding into a double play is usually reliant on two things. One, there has to be a guy on base. That part is required. Second, the guy hitting usually has to be pretty slow. It takes a little bit of time to get that first out before whipping the ball to first for the second out. That’s why, despite playing the second-most games of anyone in Mariner history, Ichiro is not on this list. He was simply too fast at running.
The 15 names below are also defined by longevity. Each person played at least five years in Seattle and grounded into at least 75 double plays. The MLB record for most GIDP belongs to Albert Pujols at 403. Hopefully someone signs Ol’ Man Pujols and he gets the chance to ground into at least 10-15 more by the time this season is over, which would put him even farther ahead of the second-place guy, Cal Ripken Jr., who has an even 350.