The Seattle Mariners will welcome Ken Griffey, Jr. back and retire his No. 24 at Safeco Field.

Jackie Robinson's No. 42 is currently the only number the franchise has retired.

"Having my number next to him, I don't think I did half of what he did," Griffey said. "Baseball-wise, yeah, you're going to look at numbers and things like that, but the way he went about his life and the things he did off the field, nobody can compare to that. He is a trailblazer in more ways than one."

It was announced last week that Griffey was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Ken Griffey, Jr. and his father, Ken Sr., offered strong endorsements for Edgar Martinez's inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday.

"Edgar deserves to be in," Griffey Jr. said. "Is it his fault that somebody put him in the DH role? No. He's part of a team, and he did his part. He should be in. Harold Baines should, too. There are a lot of guys with similar numbers who should be there, and Edgar's definitely one of them.

"He carried the team for a period of time. He was one of the most feared hitters in the game for 10-plus years. I root for him. Those decisions aren't up to me. They're up to [the writers]. But do I think he's a Hall of Famer? Yes."

Martinez, a seven-time All-Star, won two batting titles and had a .312 career batting average over parts of 18 seasons in Seattle. His .4178 career on-base percentage is 21st-best in Major League history.

Ken Griffey, Jr. will be enshrined in Cooperstown with a Seattle Mariners hat, and Mike Piazza will have a New York Mets cap.

Griffey spent more than eight seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, and Piazza reached the Major Leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Griffey is the first Mariners player in the Hall.

Induction ceremonies will be held at the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 24.

Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza have been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame and will be enshrined this summer.

Griffey was elected with the highest voting percentage ever. He was on 437 of 440 ballots in his first appearance. His 99.3 percentage topped the previous mark of 98.84, set when Tom Seaver appeared on 425 of 430 ballots in 1992.

"I can't be upset. It's just an honor to be elected and to have the highest percentage is definitely a shock," Griffey said.

After falling 28 votes shy last year, Piazza received 365 votes in his fourth time on the ballot and will be inducted along with Griffey on July 24.

"Incredibly special. Wow," Piazza said.

The announcement of the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2016 will be made by Hall president Jeff Idelson on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET in a simulcast on MLB Network and MLB.com.