Ichiro Suzuki

Seattle Mariners (2001–2012)

2001: Rookie of the Year and AL MVP

Due to an agreement between Japanese baseball and the MLB, Suzuki was not allowed to play in the United States before 2001. His move to the United States was viewed with some interest because he was among the first Japanese position players to play for an MLB team. In the same way that many Japanese teams had considered the 18-year-old Suzuki too small to draft in 1992, many Americans believed he would prove too frail to succeed against major league pitching or endure the longer 162-game season. Suzuki made an auspicious debut with Seattle, and in the Mariners' eighth game revealed his tremendous throwing arm by gunning down Terrence Long of the Oakland Athletics, who had tried to advance from first to third on a teammate's single to right field. That play would be dubbed "The Throw" by Japanese media covering Suzuki.

After expressing no preference as to a uniform number, Suzuki was issued #51 by the Mariners, which was his number when he played in Japan. He was initially hesitant because it had previously been worn by pitching star Randy Johnson. To avoid insulting Johnson, Suzuki sent a personal message to the pitcher promising not to "bring shame" to the uniform. His trepidation was unfounded, as he had a spectacular 2001 season, accumulating a rookie-record 242 hits, breaking Lloyd Waner's record of 223 hits in 1927, and the most hits by any MLB player since 1930. His perennial Gold Glove fielding led Safeco's right field to be dubbed "Area 51". With a.350 batting average and 56 stolen bases, Suzuki was the first player to lead his league in both categories since Jackie Robinson in 1949. The season included hitting streaks of 25 and 23 games, an appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and intense media attention on both sides of the Pacific. Fans from Japan were taking $2,000 baseball tours, sometimes flying in and out of the U.S. just to watch Suzuki's games. More than 150 Japanese reporters and photographers were given media access. Safeco Field's sushi stands began selling "Ichirolls", a spicy tuna roll served with wasabi and ginger.

Aided by MLB's decision to allow All-Star voting in Japan, Suzuki was the first rookie to lead all players in All-Star Game voting. That winter, he won the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year awards, becoming only the second player in MLB history (after Fred Lynn) to receive both honors in the same season. Suzuki is the only player ever to win an MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove Award, and Silver Slugger Award and start in the All-Star Game in the same season.

2001 was an exceptionally successful regular season for the Mariners, as they matched the 1906 Chicago Cubs' major league record of 116 wins. In his only postseason appearance with the Mariners, Suzuki continued his hot hitting, batting.600 in the AL Division Series (ALDS) against the Cleveland Indians. However, on Suzuki's 28th birthday, Seattle's stellar season ended against the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series (ALCS), as Suzuki was held to a.222 average during the series. Yankees manager Joe Torre had emphasized to his pitchers, "Do not let Ichiro beat you. He is the key to Seattle's offense." Informed of this assessment, Suzuki said, "If that is true, it would give me great joy. I don't believe he is right."

2002

Suzuki finished his second year in American baseball with 208 hits, making him the first Mariners player with two consecutive seasons of at least 200 hits. He was the sixth player in MLB history to start a career with two 200-hit seasons. He got off to a hot start, batting.363 on July 25, but a late-season slump drove his batting average down to.321, 29 points below his rookie batting average. Suzuki finished the season second in the AL in hits, fourth in batting average, and fourth in steals. He led All-Star Game balloting for the second straight year. Although the Mariners had a 93–69 record, that was good for only a third-place finish in the competitive AL West division.

2003

In 2003, Suzuki became just the third player in history to begin his career with three 200-hit seasons, by garnering 212. He again finished in the top 10 in the AL in hits, batting average, steals, and runs. Again, a late-season slump brought his average down by 42 points from mid-July to.312. Suzuki was elected to his third All-Star game, and he was again the vote leader in both leagues. However, the second-place Mariners again fell short of the playoffs. Following the season, Suzuki signed a 4-year, $44 million contract that kept him with the Mariners through 2007.

2004: Single-season hit record

Suzuki had his best offensive season in 2004, highlighted by his breaking of George Sisler's 84-year-old record for most hits (257) in a season. The longer, 162-game MLB schedule, in place since 1961, benefited Suzuki, as he accumulated only 251 hits through the first 154 games of the season. Suzuki recorded 50 hits in four different months of the year (with September and October combined), becoming the first player ever to have four in a season. With 51 hits in August 2001, Suzuki joined Pete Rose as the only players with four 50-hit months in a career.

On May 21, Suzuki recorded his 2,000th professional hit. His 200th hit of 2004 came in his 126th game. By the end of September, with one three-game series remaining, Suzuki's hit total stood at 256—one shy of Sisler. Suzuki singled off the Texas Rangers' Ryan Drese on October 1 to tie Sisler's record. In the third inning, on a 3–2 count, Suzuki singled up the middle for his 258th hit of the year, which Suzuki later called "the greatest moment of my baseball career." He was greeted by a swarm of teammates, and a standing ovation from the fans. Sisler's daughter, Frances Sisler Drochelman, attended the game and was greeted by Suzuki after his hit. Suzuki finished the season with a record of 262 hits, giving him the single-season records for both MLB and NPB.

In July 2009, while in St. Louis for his ninth All-Star appearance, Suzuki made a trip to Sisler's grave. He later told reporters, "There's not many chances to come to St. Louis. In 2004, it was the first time I crossed paths with him, and his family generously came all the way to Seattle. Above all, it was a chance. I wanted to do that for a grand upperclassman of the baseball world. I think it's only natural for someone to want to do that, to express my feelings in that way. I'm not sure if he's happy about it."

From 2001 to 2004, Suzuki had more hits (924) than anyone in history over any four-year period, breaking the record of 918 that Bill Terry accumulated from 1929 to 1932; Terry, however, played in 34 fewer games than Suzuki during their respective four-year spans. Suzuki would later surpass his own mark by recording 930 hits from 2004 to 2007. During the 59-game stretch from June 30 to September 4, Suzuki batted.460. By comparison, Joe DiMaggio batted.408 during his record 56-game hitting streak. Suzuki batted.404 against left-handed pitching, despite lacking the platoon advantage, in 2004.

2005

During the off-season, then-manager Bob Melvin's contract was not extended and the Mariners brought in Mike Hargrove as the new manager with a contract through 2007. Hargrove, when Suzuki still played in Japan, had predicted that Suzuki would be no better than "a fourth outfielder on [an American] major league team". Speculation started that Hargrove and Suzuki did not get along very well in the season.

In 2005, Suzuki had his second worst year in his MLB career to date, collecting only 206 hits, the lowest total of his career to that point. However, he reached the plateau of a.300 batting average, 100+ runs, 30+ steals, and 200+ hits for the fifth straight season. That made him the first player to collect 200 hits in each of his first five years in the major leagues. Only Willie Keeler, Wade Boggs, Chuck Klein, Al Simmons, and Charlie Gehringer had five consecutive 200-hit seasons at any point in their careers. During the season, Suzuki accumulated 1,000 career hits, reaching the career milestone faster than any player in MLB history. Suzuki hit a career-high 15 home runs.

2006

Suzuki's 2006 season got off to a disappointing start, with the outfielder hitting as low as.177 on April 18. He quickly rebounded, finishing the season with a.322 average (sixth in the AL and 11th in the majors). Suzuki's 224 hits led the majors, and he had 110 runs and 45 stolen bases. He was caught stealing only twice for a 96% success rate. His 1,354 career MLB hits topped Wade Boggs's record for the most hits in any six-year period. In his sixth year in the majors, Suzuki collected his sixth Gold Glove Award, and a sixth All-Star Game selection. He also won a Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding MLB right fielder.

Suzuki began wearing high stocking baseball pants in the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

2007

In May and June, Suzuki hit in 25 consecutive games, breaking the previous Mariners record set by Joey Cora in 1997. Suzuki broke Tim Raines' AL record by stealing 41 consecutive bases without being caught. Suzuki extended the record to 45; the major league record of 50 belongs to Vince Coleman.

On July 10, Suzuki became the first player to hit an inside-the-park home run in an All-Star Game after an unpredictable hop off the right field wall of AT&T Park in San Francisco. It was the first inside-the-park home run of his professional career. Suzuki was a perfect 3-for-3 in the game and was named the Most Valuable Player in the AL's 5–4 victory. On July 29, Suzuki collected his 1,500th MLB hit, the third fastest to reach the MLB milestone behind Simmons and Sisler.

2007 marked the end of Suzuki's second contract with the Mariners, and he initially told MLB.com that he would likely enter the free agency, citing the team's lack of success in recent years. However, Suzuki signed a five-year contract extension with Seattle in July. The deal was reported to be worth $90 million, consisting of a $17 million annual salary and $5 million signing bonus. The Associated Press reported that Suzuki's contract extension deferred $25 million of the $90 million at 5.5% interest until after his retirement, with payments through 2032. Other provisions in Suzuki's contract included a yearly housing allowance of more than $30,000, and four first-class round-trip tickets to Japan each year for his family. He was provided with either a new Jeep or Mercedes SUV, as well as a personal trainer and interpreter.

2008

Suzuki had 213 hits in 2008, his eighth straight 200-hit season. This tied the 107-year-old record set by Willie Keeler. Typically, Suzuki was among baseball's leaders in reaching base on an error (14 times in 2008, most in the AL), and in infield hits (his 56 were the most in the majors). Suzuki amassed an estimated 694 infield hits in his MLB career. Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge told The New York Times, "I wish you could put a camera at third base to see how he hits the ball and see the way it deceives you. You can call some guys' infield hits cheap, but not his. He has amazing technique." In May, Suzuki stole two bases, giving him 292 career steals, besting the franchise record of 290 set by Julio Cruz. Cruz, who worked on Spanish-language broadcasts of Mariners games at the time, was watching from the broadcast booth as Suzuki broke his record.

On July 29, Suzuki became the second-youngest player to amass 3,000 top-level professional hits (1,278 in Japan and 1,722 in the U.S.) after Ty Cobb. He also became just the second Japanese professional to get 3,000 hits. (NPB's record holder is Isao Harimoto, with 3,085 hits).

By 2008, it had emerged in the media that Suzuki was known within baseball for his tradition of exhorting the AL team with a profanity-laced pregame speech in the clubhouse prior to the All-Star Game. Asked if the speech had had any effect on the AL's decade-long winning streak, Suzuki deadpanned, "I've got to say over 90 percent." Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau describes the effect: "If you've never seen it, it's definitely something pretty funny. It's hard to explain, the effect it has on everyone. It's such a tense environment. Everyone's a little nervous for the game, and then he comes out. He doesn't say a whole lot the whole time he's in there, and all of a sudden, the manager gets done with his speech, and he pops off." Boston's slugger David Ortiz says simply, "It's why we win."

2009

Suzuki began his 2009 season by going on the disabled list for the first time in his career. He had a bleeding ulcer, which team doctor Mitch Storey said may have been caused in part by the stress of playing in the WBC. After missing 8 games, Suzuki debuted on April 15 and went 2-for-5 against the Angels, including a grand slam for his 3,085th overall professional career hit. The home run matched Harimoto's Japanese record for career hits, and Harimoto flew out to Seattle to witness the event. Suzuki surpassed the record the following night.

Suzuki was named #30 on the Sporting News' 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, voted upon by a 100-person panel of experts and former stars. In May and June, Suzuki surpassed his own franchise record with a 27-game hitting streak. Suzuki had 44 hits in June, the 20th month in his MLB career with 40 or more hits. The two previous players to accomplish this were Stan Musial and Lou Gehrig.

On September 6 against the Oakland A's, Suzuki collected his 2,000th MLB hit on the second pitch of the game, a double along the first base foul line. He is the second-fastest player to reach the milestone, behind Al Simmons. On September 13 against the Rangers, Suzuki collected his 200th hit of the season for the ninth consecutive year, setting an all-time major league record.

With two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning on September 18, Suzuki hit a walk-off home run against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, scoring Michael Saunders in one of the more memorable victories of the season. His homer made a winner out of Félix Hernández, who was in line for the loss despite having allowed only one run in nine innings pitched.

On September 26, Suzuki was ejected from a game for the first time in his professional career. Arguing that a strikeout pitch from Toronto's David Purcey had been outside, Suzuki used his bat to draw a line on the outer edge of the plate, and was immediately tossed by umpire Brian Runge. He was the only Mariner to be ejected from a game all season. The ejection may have hurt Suzuki's chances regarding an esoteric record: the longest playing streak without going hitless in consecutive games. Suzuki's stretch was at 180 games, the longest in the majors since Doc Cramer went 191 consecutive games without back-to-back 0-fers in 1934–35. Suzuki went hitless in the following afternoon's game.

Suzuki again led the majors in hits in 2009, with 225. In spite of hitting ground balls at a rate of 55 percent, he grounded into only one double play all season; in his first game on April 15. He won his second Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding right fielder in MLB. Suzuki totaled 2,030 hits in the 2000s, 90 more than any other MLB player despite not playing in 2000.

2010

Suzuki's 37 career leadoff home runs rank 14th all time, as of 2026. Nevertheless, in 2009, Suzuki told The New York Times:

Chicks who dig home runs aren't the ones who appeal to me. I think there's sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I'd rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.

After playing in the season opener against Oakland, Suzuki became eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, by playing in his tenth MLB season. On June 5, Suzuki scored his 1,000th career MLB run against the Angels on Franklin Gutierrez's RBI groundout. On September 1, Suzuki collected his 2,200th hit, a leadoff infield single against Cleveland Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin.

Media appearances and pop culture

Suzuki's agent, Tony Attanasio, described his client's status: "When you mail Ichiro something from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets it [in Japan]. He's that big." Suzuki's status in Japan fueled interest in MLB in Japan, including the $275 million broadcasting rights deal between MLB and Dentsu in 2003.

In 2005, Suzuki played himself in Furuhata Ninzaburō, a Japanese Columbo-like TV drama that he loves. In the drama, he kills a person and is arrested.

Suzuki's likeness is used as the basis of the character "Kyoshiro" in the anime and manga Major.

In his rookie season with Seattle, Suzuki was featured in a hip-hop song recorded by Xola Malik and remixed by Sir Mix-A-Lot. When Suzuki was traded to the Yankees in July 2012, longtime Mariners fan Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) posted his tribute song, "Ichiro's Theme", on his SoundCloud page. The previous year, The Baseball Project had released the tribute song "Ichiro Goes To The Moon" on their album Volume 2: High and Inside, which Gibbard contributed backing vocals to. KIRO Radio's Dave Ross also wrote a tribute song to Suzuki, drawing inspiration from on The Barber of Seville.