Ichiro Suzuki

This article is about the baseball player. For other uses, see Ichiro Suzuki (disambiguation).

Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro in 2016
Seattle Mariners
Right fielder
Born: (1973-10-22) October 22, 1973 (age 45) Kasugai, Aichi, Japan
Bats: Left Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: July 11, 1992, for the Orix BlueWave
MLB: April 2, 2001, for the Seattle Mariners
NPB statistics
Batting average	.353
Hits	1,278
Home runs	118
Runs batted in	529
Runs	658
Stolen bases	199
MLB statistics
Batting average	.311
Hits	3,089
Home runs	117
Runs batted in	780
Runs	1,420
Stolen bases	509
Teams
Orix BlueWave (1992–2000) Seattle Mariners (2001–2012) New York Yankees (2012–2014) Miami Marlins (2015–2017) Seattle Mariners (2018)
Career highlights and awards
NPB 7× All-Star (1994–2000) 3× PL MVP (1994–1996) 7× Golden Glove Award (1994–2000) 7× Best Nine Award (1994–2000) 3× Matsutaro Shoriki Award (1994–1995, 2004) 3× Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize (1994–1995, 2001) 7× PL batting champion (1994–2000) PL stolen base leader (1995) PL RBI leader (1995) Japan Series champion (1996) MLB 10× All-Star (2001–2010) AL MVP (2001) AL Rookie of the Year (2001) 10× Gold Glove Award (2001–2010) 3× Fielding Bible Award (2006, 2009, 2010) 3× Silver Slugger Award (2001, 2007, 2009) Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award (2005) 2× AL batting champion (2001, 2004) AL stolen base leader (2001) Japan national baseball team All-World Baseball Classic Team (2006) 2× World Baseball Classic champion (2006, 2009) MLB records 262 hits in a single season Ten consecutive 200-hit seasons Most hits by a Japanese born player Most hits in interleague play Most Hits in a season by a rookie
Medals Men's baseball Representing  Japan World Baseball Classic 2006 San Diego Team 2009 Los Angeles Team

Ichiro Suzuki /ˈiːtʃɪroʊ suːˈzuːki/ (鈴木 一朗, Suzuki Ichirō, born October 22, 1973), often referred to mononymously as Ichiro (イチロー, Ichirō), is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder. With 27 seasons combined in top-level professional leagues, he spent the bulk of his career with two teams: nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan, where he began his career, and 12 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. After playing for the Mariners, he played two and a half seasons in MLB with the New York Yankees before signing with the Miami Marlins. Ichiro played three seasons with the Marlins before returning to the Mariners in 2018. Ichiro established a number of batting records, including MLB's single-season record for hits with 262. He achieved 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player in history. Between his major league career in both Japan and the United States, Ichiro has the most hits by any player in top-tier professional leagues. He also has recorded the most hits of all Japanese born players in MLB history.

In his combined playing time in NPB and MLB, Ichiro received 17 consecutive selections both as an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won nine league batting titles and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) four times. While playing in NPB, he won seven consecutive batting titles and three consecutive Pacific League MVP Awards. In 2001, Ichiro became the first Japanese-born position player to be posted and signed to an MLB club.^[1] He led the American League (AL) in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP.

Ichiro was the first MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club). He was a ten-time MLB All-Star and won the 2007 All-Star Game MVP Award for a three-hit performance that included the event's first-ever inside-the-park home run. Ichiro won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in each of his first ten years in the majors, and had an American League–record seven hitting streaks of 20 or more games, with a high of 27. He is also noted for his longevity, continuing to produce at a high level with batting, slugging, and on-base percentages above .300 in 2016 while approaching 43 years of age. In 2016, Ichiro notched the 3,000th hit of his MLB career off Chris Rusin of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, becoming only the 30th player ever to do so. In total he has over 4,300 hits in his professional career across Japan and the United States.

Contents

• 
  1 Early life
  


• 
  2 Career in Japan
  


• 
  3 Career in MLB
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Seattle Mariners (2001–2012)
    
    
    
    • 
      3.1.1 2001: postseason appearance
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.2 2002
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.3 2003
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.4 2004
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.5 2005
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.6 Inaugural World Baseball Classic
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.7 2006
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.8 2007
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.9 2008
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.10 2009 World Baseball Classic
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.11 2009
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.12 2010
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.13 2011
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.14 2012
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 New York Yankees (2012–2014)
    
    
    
    • 
      3.2.1 Rest of 2012: second postseason appearance
      
    
    
    • 
      3.2.2 2013
      
    
    
    • 
      3.2.3 2014
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Miami Marlins (2015–2017)
    
    
    
    • 
      3.3.1 2015
      
    
    
    • 
      3.3.2 2016
      
    
    
    • 
      3.3.3 2017
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    3.4 Second stint with the Mariners
    
    
    
    • 
      3.4.1 2018
      
    
    
    • 
      3.4.2 2019
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Playing style
  


• 
  5 Personality and influence
  


• 
  6 Personal life
  


• 
  7 American League records
  


• 
  8 National League records
  


• 
  9 See also
  


• 
  10 References
  


• 
  11 Sources
  


• 
  12 Further reading
  


• 
  13 External links
  

Early life

Ichiro grew up in the town of Toyoyama, a relatively small town just outside Nagoya.^[2][3][4] At the age of seven, Ichiro joined his first baseball team and asked his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki (鈴木宣之), to teach him to be a better player. The two began a daily routine which included throwing 50 pitches, fielding 50 infield balls and 50 outfield balls, and hitting 500 pitches, 250 from a pitching machine and 250 from his father.^[5]

As a little leaguer in Toyoyama,^[6] Ichiro had the word "concentration" (集中, shūchū) written on his glove. By age 12, he had dedicated himself to pursuing a career in professional baseball, and their training sessions were no longer for leisure, and less enjoyable. The elder Suzuki claimed, "Baseball was fun for both of us", but Ichiro later said, "It might have been fun for him, but for me it was a lot like Star of the Giants," a popular Japanese manga and anime series about a young baseball prospect's difficult road to success, with rigorous training demanded by the father. According to Ichiro, "It bordered on hazing and I suffered a lot".^[7]

When Ichiro joined his high school baseball team, his father told the coach, "No matter how good Ichiro is, don't ever praise him. We have to make him spiritually strong".^[5] When he was ready to enter high school, Ichiro was selected by a school with a prestigious baseball program, Nagoya's Aikodai Meiden (ja:愛工大名電) High School. Ichiro was primarily used as a pitcher instead of as an outfielder, owing to his exceptionally strong arm. His cumulative high school batting average was .505, with 19 home runs. He built strength and stamina by hurling car tires and hitting Wiffle balls with a heavy shovel, among other regimens. These exercises helped develop his wrists and hips, adding power and endurance to his thin frame. Despite his outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the professional draft in November 1991, because many teams were discouraged by his small size of 5 ft 9 ¹⁄₂ in (177 cm) and 124 pounds (56 kg).^[8] Years later, Ichiro told an interviewer, "I'm not a big guy and hopefully kids could look at me and see that I'm not muscular and not physically imposing, that I'm just a regular guy. So if somebody with a regular body can get into the record books, kids can look at that. That would make me happy."^[9]

Career in Japan

Ichiro made his Pacific League debut in 1992 at the age of 18, but he spent most of his first two seasons in the farm system because his then-manager, Shōzō Doi, refused to accept Ichiro's unorthodox swing. The swing was nicknamed 'pendulum' (振り子打法, Furiko Dahō) because of the pendulum-like motion of his leg, which shifts his weight forward as he swung the bat, and goes against conventional hitting theory. Even though he hit a home run against Hideo Nomo, who later won a National League Rookie-of-the-Year Award as a Dodger, Ichiro was sent back to the farm system on that very day. In his second career game, he recorded his first ichi-gun (Japan's major professional league) hit in Japan's Pacific League against Hawks pitcher Keiji Kimura.^[10] In 1994 he benefited from the arrival of a new manager, Akira Ōgi, who played him every day in the second spot of the lineup. He was eventually moved to the leadoff spot for the Orix BlueWave, where his immediate productivity dissolved any misgivings about his unconventional swing. He set a Japanese single-season record with 210 hits, the first player ever to top 200 hits in a single season. Five other players have since done so: Matt Murton, Norichika Aoki (twice), Alex Ramírez, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and Shogo Akiyama. Ichiro's record was eventually surpassed in 2010 by former major leaguer Matt Murton, who had 214 hits in a 144-game season. Also, in 2015, current Saitama Seibu Lions Outfielder Shogo Akiyama had 216 hits in a 143-game season. Ichiro's 210 hits had come in a 130-game season.

Ichiro's .385 batting average was a Pacific League record and won the young outfielder the first of a record seven consecutive batting titles. Ichiro also hit 13 home runs and had 29 stolen bases, helping him to earn his first of three straight Pacific League MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards.

It was during the 1994 season that he began to use his given name, "Ichiro", instead of his family name, "Suzuki", on the back of his uniform. Suzuki is the second-most-common family name in Japan, and his manager introduced the idea as a publicity stunt to help create a new image for what had been a relatively weak team, as well as a way to distinguish their rising star. Initially, Ichiro disliked the practice and was embarrassed by it; however, "Ichiro" was a household name by the end of the season and he was flooded with endorsement offers.

In 1995, Ichiro led the Blue Wave to its first Pacific League pennant in 12 years. In addition to his second batting title, he led the league with 80 RBI, 25 home runs, and 49 stolen bases. By this time the Japanese press had begun calling him the "Hit Manufacturing Machine" (安打製造機, Anda Seizōki). The following year with Ichiro winning his third-straight MVP award the team defeated the Central League champion, Yomiuri Giants, in the Japan Series. Following the 1996 season playing in an exhibition series against a visiting team of Major League All-Stars kindled Ichiro's desire to travel to the United States to play in the Major Leagues.

In November 1998, Ichiro participated in a seven-game exhibition series between Japanese and American all-stars. Ichiro batted .380 and collected seven stolen bases in the series, winning praise from several of his MLB counterparts including Sammy Sosa and Jamie Moyer (who would become his teammate with the Mariners).

In 2000, Ichiro was still a year away from being eligible for free agency, but the Blue Wave was no longer among Japan's best teams. Because the team would probably not be able to afford to keep him, and would lose him without compensation in another year, Orix allowed him to negotiate with Major League clubs. Ichiro used the posting system, and the Seattle Mariners won the right to negotiate with him with a bid of approximately $13 million.^[11] In November, Ichiro signed a three-year, $14 million contract with the Seattle Mariners. In his nine seasons in Japan, Ichiro had 1,278 hits, a .353 career batting average, and won seven Golden Glove Awards. Ichiro's time in the Japanese baseball leagues matured him as a player and a person, and he often credits it for his current success.

Career in MLB

Seattle Mariners (2001–2012)

2001: postseason appearance

Ichiro in July 2001

Due to an agreement between Japanese baseball and the MLB, Ichiro was not allowed to play in the United States before 2001.^[12] 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 Ichiro 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. Ichiro made an auspicious debut with Seattle, and in the Mariners' eighth game revealed his tremendous throwing arm by gunning down Oakland's Terrence Long, 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 Ichiro's progress.^[13]

After expressing no preference as to a uniform number, Ichiro was issued #51 by the Mariners. He was initially hesitant because it had previously been worn by pitching star Randy Johnson. To avoid insulting Johnson, Ichiro sent a personal message to the pitcher promising not to "bring shame" to the uniform.^[14] His trepidation was unfounded, as he had a remarkable 2001 season, accumulating a rookie-record 242 hits, the most 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, Ichiro 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 Ichiro's games. More than 150 Japanese reporters and photographers were given media access. Safeco Field's sushi stands began selling "Ichirolls".^[15]

Aided by Major League Baseball's decision to allow All-Star voting in Japan, Ichiro was the first rookie to lead all players in voting for the All-Star Game. That winter, he won the American League 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. Ichiro is also the only player in major league history to have won an MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove Award, Silver Slugger Award, all while starting in the All-Star Game in the same season.^[16]

2001 had been an exceptionally successful regular season for the Seattle Mariners as a team, as they matched the 1906 Chicago Cubs' Major League record of 116 wins.^[17] In his only postseason appearance with the Mariners, Ichiro continued his hot hitting into the playoffs, batting .600 in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians. However, on Ichiro's 28th birthday, Seattle's stellar season ended against the New York Yankees in the ALCS, as Ichiro 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, Ichiro said, "If that is true, it would give me great joy. I don't believe he is right."^[9]

2002

Ichiro in right field in 2002

Ichiro finished his second year in American baseball with 208 total hits, making him the first Mariners player ever with two consecutive seasons of 200+ hits. He got off to a hot start in 2002, but a late-season slump drove his batting average down to .321, 29 points below his batting average as a rookie. He was the fifth player in MLB history to start a career with two 200-hit seasons. Ichiro finished the season second in the AL in hits, fourth in batting average, and fourth in steals. Ichiro led the major league All-Star 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.

2003

In 2003, Ichiro 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 ten for hits, batting average, steals, and runs, and, again, a late season slump brought his average down almost 40 points (to .312). Ichiro was elected to his third All Star game in the three years he had been in the league, and he was again the vote leader in both leagues. However, the second-place Mariners again fell short of the playoffs.

2004

The display of Ichiro Suzuki, located on the third floor of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which shows the Ichi-meter, record for hits in a season for Ichiro Suzuki in 2004.

Ichiro had his best offensive season to date in 2004, highlighted by his breaking of George Sisler's 84-year-old record for most hits (257) in a season. An increase in games played benefited Ichiro, as he accumulated only 251 hits through the first 154 games of the season. Ichiro recorded 50 hits in four different months of the year (September and October are combined by MLB for this computational purpose), becoming the first player ever to have four in a season. With 51 hits in August 2001, Ichiro joined Pete Rose as the only players with five 50-hit months in a career.^{[citation needed]}

On May 21, Ichiro recorded his 2,000th professional hit. His 200th hit of 2004 came in just his 126th game. By the end of September, with one three-game series remaining, Ichiro's hit total stood at 256—one shy of Sisler. Ichiro singled off the Rangers' Ryan Drese on October 1 to tie Sisler's record. In the third inning, on a 3–2 count, Ichiro singled up the middle for his 258th hit of the year, which Ichiro later called "the greatest moment of my baseball career".^[18][19] He was greeted by a swarm of teammates, and a standing ovation from the fans. Sisler's daughter, Francis Sisler Drochelman attended the game, and was greeted by Ichiro after his hit.^[20] Ichiro finished the 2004 season with a record 262 hits, giving him the single-season records for both the United States^[21] and Japanese baseball.

In July 2009, while in St. Louis for his ninth All-Star appearance, Ichiro 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."^[22]

From 2001 to 2004, Ichiro 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 Ichiro during their respective four-year spans.^[23] He would later surpass his own mark by recording 930 hits from 2004 to 2007. During one 56-game stretch in 2004, Ichiro batted over .450. By comparison, Joe DiMaggio batted .408 during his record-setting 56-game hitting streak. Ichiro batted over .400 against left-handed pitching 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. It was Hargrove who had predicted that Ichiro would be no better than "a fourth outfielder on [an American] major league team" back when Ichiro was still in Japan.^[24] Speculation started that Hargrove and Ichiro did not get along very well in the season.^[25]

In 2005, Ichiro 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 allowed Ichiro to become the first player to collect 200 hits per season in each of his first five years in the Major Leagues. Only Willie Keeler, Wade Boggs, Chuck Klein, Al Simmons, and Charlie Gehringer had had five consecutive 200-hit seasons at any point in their careers. During the season, he accumulated 1,000 career hits, reaching the career milestone faster than any other player in MLB history.^[26] Ichiro hit a career-high 15 home runs. In the off-season, Ichiro played himself in Furuhata Ninzaburō, a Japanese Columbo-like TV drama that he loves. In the drama, he kills a person and is arrested.

Inaugural World Baseball Classic

Ichiro Suzuki at the World Baseball Classic, March 2006

Ichiro played for the Japan national baseball team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March 2006. During the March 15 Japan-Korea game Ichiro was booed by a few spectators during every at-bat, reportedly in response to a previous statement that he wanted "to beat South Korea so badly, that the South Koreans won't want to play Japan for another 30 years."^[27] That, however, was an incorrect translation mostly spread to the public through ESPN. Ichiro was variously quoted as saying "I want to win in a way that the opponent would think, 'we cannot catch up with Japan for the coming 30 years'. We should not merely win the games."^[28] Japan would later beat Korea in the playoffs and win the tournament after defeating Cuba in the finals, 10–6.^[29] For the tournament, Ichiro had twelve hits including a home run, seven runs, and four stolen bases.

2006

Ichiro's 2006 season got off to an unexpected start, with the outfielder hitting as low as .177 in the season's third week. He quickly rebounded, finishing the season with a .322 average (sixth in the AL and 11th in the majors). Ichiro's 224 hits led the majors, and he recorded 110 runs and 45 stolen bases. Ichiro was caught stealing only twice in 2006, for a 96% success rate. His 1,354 career U.S. hits topped Wade Boggs's record for the most hits in any six-year period.^[30] In his sixth year in the majors, Ichiro 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.^[31]

Ichiro began wearing high stocking baseball pants in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.^[32]

2007

Ichiro rounding the bases on September 22, 2007

In May and June, Ichiro hit in 25 consecutive games, breaking the previous Seattle Mariners record set by Joey Cora in 1997.^[33][34] Ichiro broke Tim Raines's American League record by stealing 41 consecutive bases without being caught.^[35] Ichiro extended the record to 45; the major league record of 50 belongs to Vince Coleman.^[36]

On July 10, 2007, he became the first player to hit an inside-the-park home run in any MLB 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 Ichiro's professional career.^[37] Ichiro was a perfect 3-for-3 in the game and was named the Most Valuable Player in the American League's 5–4 victory.

2007 marked the end of Ichiro's second contract with the Mariners, and he initially told MLB.com that he would likely enter the free agent market, citing the team's lack of success in recent years. However, in July Ichiro signed a five-year contract extension with Seattle.^[38] The deal was reported to be worth $90 million, consisting of a $17 million annual salary and $5 million signing bonus.^[39] The Associated Press reported that Ichiro's contract extension defers $25 million of the $90 million at 5.5% interest until after his retirement, with payments through 2032. Other provisions in Ichiro's contract include a yearly housing allowance of more than $30,000, and four first-class round-trip tickets to Japan each year for his family. He is provided with either a new Jeep or Mercedes SUV, as well as a personal trainer and interpreter.

On July 29, 2007, Ichiro collected his 1,500th U.S. hit, the third fastest to reach the MLB milestone behind Al Simmons and George Sisler.^[40] Ichiro had 213 hits in 2008, his eighth straight 200-hit season. This tied the 107-year-old record set by Wee Willie Keeler. Typically, Ichiro was among baseball's leaders in reaching base on an error (14 times in 2008, more than any other batter in the AL), and in infield hits (his 56 were the most in the majors).^[41][41] Ichiro has amassed more than 450 infield hits in his U.S. 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."^[42] In May 2008, Ichiro stole two bases, giving him a career total of 292, surpassing the previous Seattle Mariners team record of 290 set by second baseman Julio Cruz. Cruz, who now does Spanish-language broadcasts of Mariners games, was watching from the broadcast booth as Ichiro broke his record.^[43][44]

2008

Ichiro Suzuki

On July 29, 2008, Ichiro became the second-youngest player to amass 3,000 top-level professional hits (1,278 in Japan + 1,722 in the U.S.) after Ty Cobb. He also became just the second Japanese professional to get 3,000 hits. (Nippon Professional Baseball's record holder is Isao Harimoto, with 3,085 hits).^[45]

By 2008, it had emerged in the media that Ichiro was known within baseball for his tradition of exhorting the American League team with a profanity-laced pregame speech in the clubhouse prior to the MLB All-Star Game.^[46] Asked if the speech had had any effect on the AL's decade-long winning streak, Ichiro 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 World Baseball Classic

Despite struggling uncharacteristically during most of the tournament, Ichiro provided the game-winning hit in the Championship game against South Korea. With two outs in the top of the tenth inning, he broke a 3–3 tie with a two-run single. This would prove to be the margin of victory in Japan's 5–3 defeat of South Korea. Ichiro ended the night 4-for-6, bringing his total to 6-for-10 in WBC championship games.

2009

Ichiro 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 World Baseball Classic.^[47] After missing 8 games, Ichiro debuted on April 15 and went 2-for-5 against the Angels, including a grand slam for his 3,085th career hit. The home run matched Isao Harimoto's Japanese record for career hits, and Harimoto had been flown out to Seattle to witness the event.^[48] Ichiro surpassed the record the following night.

Ichiro 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, Ichiro surpassed his own franchise record with a 27-game hitting streak.^[49] Ichiro went on to record 44 hits in June 2009, his 20th career month with 40 or more hits. The previous players to have accomplished this were Stan Musial in the NL and Lou Gehrig in the AL.

On September 6 against the Oakland A's, Ichiro 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 Texas Rangers, Ichiro collected his 200th hit of the season for the ninth consecutive year, setting an all-time major league record. Ichiro recorded 210 hits with Orix in 1994, thereby giving him a total of ten 200 hit seasons in his professional career.

Ichiro meeting President Barack Obama before the 2009 All-Star Game on July 14, 2009

With two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, September 18, Ichiro hit a walk-off, two-run 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 9 innings pitched.^[50]

On September 26, 2009, Ichiro 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, Ichiro 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.^[51][52] The ejection may have hurt Ichiro's chances regarding an esoteric record: the longest playing streak without going hitless in consecutive games. Ichiro'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. Ichiro went hitless in the following afternoon's game.

Ichiro again led the majors in hits in 2009, with 225.^[53] In spite of hitting ground balls at a rate of 55 percent, he grounded into only one double play all season, in the April 15th game, his first game played in 2009.^[54] He won his second Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding right fielder in MLB.^[55]

2010

Ichiro's 32 career leadoff home runs rank ninth all time. Nevertheless, in 2009, Ichiro 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.^[56]

After playing in the season opener against the Oakland Athletics, Ichiro became eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, by playing in his tenth MLB season.^[57] On June 5, 2010, Ichiro scored his 1,000th career MLB run against the Angels on Franklin Gutierrez's RBI groundout. He is the third Mariner in history to reach that milestone. On September 1, 2010, Ichiro also collected his 2,200th hit, a leadoff infield single against Cleveland Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin.

During the August 2010 series against the New York Yankees, Ichiro traveled to the Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York, to pay his respects at the grave of Hall-of-Famer "Wee Willie" Keeler.^[58]

On September 23, Ichiro hit a single to center field against Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shawn Hill to become the first MLB player in history to reach the 200 hit mark for 10 consecutive seasons. This feat also tied him with Pete Rose for the most career seasons of 200+ hits, and he surpassed Ty Cobb for most career seasons of 200+ hits in the AL. He finished the season with 214 hits, topping the MLB in that category. Ichiro also finished the season "ironman" style, playing in all 162 games. Only Ichiro and Matt Kemp did so for the 2010 season. This was Ichiro's 3rd season playing in all 162 games. Also, Ichiro was nominated for the This Year in Baseball Award.^[59] Ichiro finished first or second in hits in all of his first 10 MLB seasons.

Ichiro won his tenth consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2010, tying Ken Griffey Jr., Andruw Jones, and Al Kaline, and trailing only Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays (twelve each) for major league outfielders.^[60][61] Ichiro also won his second consecutive and third overall Fielding Bible Award for his statistically based defensive excellence in right field.^[62]

2011

On April 2, 2011, Ichiro broke the Seattle Mariners' all-time career hits record with his 2,248th hit in the 9th inning versus the Oakland Athletics, overtaking the team's previous leader Edgar Martínez.^[63] 2011 marked the first time in Ichiro's 11 seasons that he failed to make the all star team. He batted under .300 (.277) before the all star break for the first time in his career. On July 10, manager Eric Wedge did not start Ichiro, ending his then-major league-best active streak of 255 consecutive starts. Ichiro followed with an 11-game hitting streak, but Wedge noted "it's not that easy to give that guy a day off" due to Ichiro's iconic stature.^[64] On August 22, Ichiro hit his 35th career leadoff homer, tying him for 6th place with Bobby Bonds.^[65] Ichiro finished the season batting a career-low .272 with 184 hits, the first time in his 11-year MLB career he did not record 200 hits. It was also his first season not playing in the All-Star game, as well as his first season not winning a Gold Glove.^[66]

2012

On June 19, 2012, Ichiro led off a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a single to center field, the 2,500th hit of his MLB career. Ichiro reached the milestone in the fourth-fewest games in major league history, after Al Simmons, Ty Cobb, and George Sisler.^[67] In a 13-inning road loss to the Oakland A's on July 8, Ichiro was placed second in the batting order and responded by going 2 for 6 to bring his season batting average to .261 heading into the All-Star break.^[68] In the previous night's game, Ichiro recorded two hits to break a career-worst 0 for 23 hitless streak.^[69] Ichiro had also been tried at the three-spot in the batting order^[70] during a season for which he earned $18 million. Former teammate Jay Buhner stated he felt Ichiro was the recipient of too much blame for the Mariners' difficulties but "at the same time, they need help desperately." Buhner stated that if Ichiro were awarded a three-year contract extension for somewhere between $35 million and $40 million, "I'd vomit. I mean, really, no offense. No offense, we've got to get this organization turned around. You can't be spending all the money on one guy."^[71]

With a contract extension with the Mariners unknown, Ichiro stated, "It's going to go both ways. It can't just come from the player. It's got to come from the team, too. If the team is saying they need you, you're necessary, then it becomes a piece. But if it's just coming from the player, it's not going to happen."^[72] Ichiro's agent, Tony Attanasio, said, "He knows that the club has to grow. He knows they have to play the younger guys and get them more playing time. The only way he knows to do that is to move on. He doesn't want to stop playing. He wants to continue."^[73]

New York Yankees (2012–2014)

Rest of 2012: second postseason appearance

Ichiro as a Yankee, on deck in July 2012

Ichiro approached the Mariners to ask for a trade at midseason in 2012, as he felt guilty for taking a roster spot from a younger player while his team was in a rebuilding process. His first choice was to play for the New York Yankees. The Mariners traded him to the Yankees for minor league pitchers D. J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar on July 23. Seattle also received cash in the trade. Ichiro left Seattle hitting .261 with a .288 on-base percentage (OBP), four home runs, 28 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 95 games. His first game as a Yankee was played the night of the trade, at Safeco Field against the Mariners.^{[74][75][76][77]} Before the trade was consummated, Ichiro agreed to the Yankees' conditions, which stated that they would play Ichiro primarily in left field, bat him at the bottom of the lineup, and occasionally sit him against left-handed pitching.^[78] Ichiro would go on to hit safely in his first 12 games as a Yankee, tying a record set by Don Slaught.^[79] He wore #31 during his tenure with the Yankees, as his traditional #51 was out of commission (later retired) by the Yankees for Bernie Williams.^[80]

Ichiro hit his first home run as a Yankee, and the 100th of his career, on July 30 against the Baltimore Orioles.^[81] For the week ending September 23, Ichiro was named AL Player of the Week after hitting .600 (15-for-25) with three doubles, two home runs, five RBI, seven runs scored, and six stolen bases in six games. He led all MLB players in batting average, hits, steals and OBP (.630).^[82] In 67 games with New York, Ichiro batted .322 with a .340 OBP, 28 runs, five home runs and 27 RBIs. With his improved performance, the Yankees at times batted him second and also started him against left-handers.^[77]

Ichiro performed well in his first playoff appearance since the beginning of his career. Against the Baltimore Orioles in the 2012 ALDS, Ichiro ran home on a ball hit by Robinson Canó. Despite the ball beating him to the plate, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters had difficulty tagging Ichiro, who evaded multiple tag attempts by jumping over and around Wieters. In Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS, Ichiro hit his first career postseason home run; however, the Yankees lost the series to the Detroit Tigers in only 4 games.

On December 19, 2012, Ichiro finalized a $13 million deal for two years with the Yankees.^[83]

2013

On June 25, 2013, Ichiro hit a walk-off home run against Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Earlier in the game, three of his teammates had led off the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings with home runs, so all of the Yankees' runs in the game were provided by solo home runs.^[84]

On August 21, 2013, Ichiro collected his 4,000th professional career hit with a single off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey, becoming the seventh player in professional baseball history known to have reached the mark after Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Julio Franco, Hank Aaron, Jigger Statz, and Stan Musial. It is quite possible that Jake Beckley and Sam Crawford may have also produced 4,000 hits, but data for some of their minor league seasons is missing.^[85][86]

2014

On July 10, 2014, Ichiro collected his 2,800th MLB hit off of Cleveland Indians pitcher Scott Atchison in the top of the eighth inning at Progressive Field.^[87] On August 9, 2014, Ichiro hit a single in a game, again against the Indians, to pass George Sisler on the all-time hit list with his 2,811th hit.^[88] Ichiro had previously broken Sisler's single season hit record in the 2004 season.

Miami Marlins (2015–2017)

2015

Ichiro in 2015

On January 23, 2015, Ichiro agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Miami Marlins.^[89] The Marlins originally planned for him to be their fourth outfielder, but he finished the season with 439 plate appearances due to team injuries—primarily Giancarlo Stanton, who suffered a season-ending injury on June 26.^[12][90] On April 25, Ichiro scored his 1,310th major league run, which, combined with the 658 runs he scored in Japan, surpassed the record for runs scored by a Japanese player set by Sadaharu Oh.^[91] On June 18, he was batting .294 after playing in 64 of the Marlins' 68 games, but his average fell to .229 by season's end.^[12] On August 14 at Busch Stadium, Ichiro singled off St. Louis Cardinals starter John Lackey to earn his 4,192nd top-level hit, passing Ty Cobb.^[92] On July 29, Ichiro recorded his 2,900th major league hit, against Washington Nationals pitcher Doug Fister.^[93] On August 18, Ichiro had his first four-hit game since 2013.^[94] On August 31, against the Atlanta Braves, Ichiro scored his 2,000th professional run when combining his runs scored in MLB (1,342) and in Japan's NPB (658).^[95] On September 5, Ichiro recorded his 100th right field assist in the major leagues.^[96] In the season finale against the Philadelphia Phillies on October 4, he made his major league pitching debut, completing the final inning and allowing one run and two hits in a 7–2 loss.^[97] For the 2015 season, he batted .229/.282/.279 with 11 stolen bases.^[98]

2016

On October 6, 2015, Ichiro and the Marlins agreed on a one-year, $2 million contract for the 2016 season. The deal also came with a $2 million club option for 2017.^[99] He stole his 500th career MLB base on April 29, 2016, against the Milwaukee Brewers, and led off the game with a single against Zach Davies to move ahead of Frank Robinson into 33rd place on the all-time MLB hit list with the 2,944th hit of his career.^[100]

On June 15, Ichiro recorded his 4,257 career hit, breaking Pete Rose's all-time record for hits in top tier professional baseball.^[101] Rose commented that "I'm not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he's had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know you'll be counting his high school hits".^[102] This was in response to the Japanese media labeling Ichiro as the "Hit King", claiming that Ichiro should be considered to be the all-time hits leader when his hits in Japan are included.^[102]

On August 7, Ichiro collected the 3,000th hit of his MLB career when he hit a triple off the right field wall at Coors Field playing against the Colorado Rockies. He is just the second player to reach that milestone by way of a triple, joining Hall of Famer Paul Molitor.^[103] He also became one of only seven players to have collected 3000 hits and 500 stolen bases.^[104] At the end of his 16th season, Ichiro had played in exactly 2,500 major league games.^[105] Ichiro and Pete Rose are the only two players in MLB history to have accomplished playing in 2,500 games in their first 16 seasons.^[98][106]

After the 2016 season, the Marlins exercised their option on Ichiro's contract for the 2017 season, and added an option for the 2018 season.^[107]

2017

On April 19, Ichiro hit his first home run against his former team the Seattle Mariners,^[108] a 9th-inning drive off Evan Marshall.^[109] Ichiro scored his 1400th run in a May 23 game against the Oakland A's.^[110][111] On June 14, Ichiro singled for his 365th interleague hit, passing Derek Jeter (364), becoming the all-time leader in inter-league hits.^[112]

On June 25, Ichiro (age 43 and 246 days) became the oldest player to start a game in center field since at least 1900, breaking the record previously held by Rickey Henderson.^[113] On June 29, Ichiro became the oldest active MLB player when Bartolo Colón was designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves,^[114] although Colon latched on with the Minnesota Twins a few weeks later.^[115] On July 6, Ichiro hit two singles against the St. Louis Cardinals, bringing his hits total to 3,054 and surpassing Panamanian-born Rod Carew as the all-time leader in MLB hits among foreign-born players.^[116] Dominican born Adrian Beltre surpassed Ichiro as the foreign hits leader on June 13, 2018.^[117]

On August 26, Ichiro set the Marlins' single-season franchise record for pinch-hits with his 22nd pinch hit.^[118] On September 3, he set a major league record for most pinch-hit at-bats in a season, with 84,^[119] and four days later he set a major league record for most pinch-hit plate appearances in a season, with 95.^[120] On September 8, Ichiro became the sixth player all-time to hit 2,500 career singles,^[121] as well as the 8th right fielder of all-time to record over 4,000 putouts at the position. On October 1, Ichiro flied out in his last chance to tie John Vander Wal's MLB record of 28 pinch hits in a season, finishing with 27.^[122]

For the season, he batted .255/.318/.332 with one stolen base (the first season in which he did not steal at least 10 bases).^[98] After the season, the Marlins declined a $2 million club option for the 2018 season, instead paying Ichiro a $500,000 buyout.^[123]

Second stint with the Mariners

2018

On March 7, 2018, Ichiro signed a one-year contract to return to the Mariners.^[124][125] On Opening Day, March 29, against the Cleveland Indians, Ichiro became the 20th outfielder all-time to record 5,000 career putouts at the position.^{[citation needed]}

On May 3, the Mariners announced that Ichiro would move to the front office as a special assistant for the remainder of the season,^[126] but Ichiro did not rule out a possible return as a player for the 2019 season.^[127] In his final game for the year on the previous day, he went 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and a run in a 3–2 loss to the Oakland Athletics.^[128] In 15 games played with the 2018 Mariners, Ichiro batted 9-for-44 (.205) without a home run or RBI.

At the time of his sabbatical as an active player, Ichiro held the record for most hits in Major League Baseball history by a foreign-born player (3,089). He was surpassed six weeks later by Adrián Beltré.^[129]

On May 11, he became the interim bench coach for two games as manager Scott Servais was gone to attend his daughter's college graduation and regular bench coach Manny Acta was filling in as manager.^[130]

2019

On October 2, 2018, it was announced that Ichiro will be on the Mariners' active roster when they open the 2019 season against the Oakland Athletics in Japan. It is presumed by GM Jerry Dipoto that he will not be on the active roster after the Japan series concludes.^[131][132]

Playing style

Ichiro taking a lead from first base

Sportswriter Bruce Jenkins, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, described Ichiro's distinctive style of play:

There's nobody like Ichiro in either league—now or ever. He exists strictly within his own world, playing a game 100 percent unfamiliar to everyone else. The game has known plenty of 'slap' hitters, but none who sacrifice so much natural ability for the sake of the art... Ichiro, a man of wondrous strength, puts on impressive power-hitting displays almost nightly in batting practice. And he'll go deep occasionally in games, looking very much like someone who could do it again, often... [but] the man lives for hits, little tiny ones, and the glory of standing atop the world in that category. Every spring, scouts or media types write him off, swearing that opposing pitchers have found the key, and they are embarrassingly wrong.^[133]

While he is known for his hitting ability, he does not draw many walks. In 2004, when he set the single-season record for hits, his low walk total (49) led to him being on base a total of 315 times. It was the 58th-most times a player has reached base in a season and short of the major league record of 379 set by Babe Ruth in 1923.^{[134][64][134]}

The New York Times criticized his inability to improve his power when his Mariner teams were often low-scoring while noting that he also did not steal bases as frequently as Rickey Henderson or Tim Raines.^[134] Ichiro, however, once commented, "If I'm allowed to hit .220, I could probably hit 40 [home runs], but nobody wants that."^[64]

Ichiro has long been interested in pitching professionally, and he actually took the mound to pitch to one batter in the 1996 NPB All Star game, reaching close to 91 MPH (145 km) in warm up pitches.^[135] In 2009, it was reported that during an early February workout at the World Baseball Classic his fastball was clocked at 92 MPH.^[136] On the final day of the 2015 season on October 4, Ichiro pitched in his first MLB game, throwing one complete inning at the end of a 7–2 Marlins loss against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing one run on two hits.^[97] He was still able to touch 88 mph with his fastball to go along with a mid 80s slider.^[137]

Personality and influence

Ichiro in 2009

Ichiro is noted for his work ethic in arriving early for his team's games, and for his calisthenic stretching exercises to stay limber even during the middle of the game. Continuing in Seattle the custom he began in Japan, he used his given name (written in Romaji) on the back of his uniform instead of his family name, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball to do so since Vida Blue; the custom was not continued following his trade to the Yankees in 2012, as the Yankees do not include players' names on their jerseys. However, upon joining the Marlins in 2015, he resumed using his given name on the back of his uniform.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to being a ten-time Gold Glove winner, Ichiro was a ten-time All-Star selection from 2001 to 2010. His success has been credited with opening the door for other Japanese players like former Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui, former Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima, former teammate So Taguchi, and former Seibu Lions infielder Kazuo Matsui to enter the Major Leagues. Ichiro's career is followed closely in Japan, with national television news programs covering each of his at-bats, and with special tour packages arranged for Japanese fans to visit the United States to attend his games.^{[citation needed]}

Ichiro'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."^[9] According to Forbes, at one point in his career, Ichiro earned roughly $7 million annually from endorsements, most of which came from Japanese companies.^[138]

Ichiro performs in TV commercials in Japan for ENEOS.^[139] His likeness is used as the basis of the character "Kyoshiro" in the anime and manga Major.^{[citation needed]}

When he first came to the United States, he especially enjoyed trips to Kansas City to talk with former Negro Leagues star Buck O'Neil. When O'Neil died in 2006, Ichiro sent a very large memorial wreath to the funeral service. The following year, he visited the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum while on a road trip to Kansas City, and made what, as of 2016, remains the largest contribution ever made to the museum by an active MLB player.^[140]

When Ichiro 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.^[141][142]

Personal life

Ichiro and his wife Yumiko at the 2009 Red Carpet All-Star Parade

The Japanese name "Ichiro" is often written 一郎, meaning "first son". Ichiro's name, however, is written with a different character, 一朗, so that his name roughly means "brightest, most cheerful". He has an elder brother, Kazuyasu Suzuki, who is a fashion designer.^{[citation needed]}

Ichiro married Yumiko Fukushima (福島弓子, Fukushima Yumiko), a former TBS TV announcer,^[143] on December 3, 1999,^[144] at a small church in Santa Monica, California. They have no children. They have a pet dog (Shiba Inu) named "Ikkyu",^[145] a combination of "Ichi" (一) of "Ichiro" and "Yumi" (弓) of "Yumiko", which can be vocalized "kyu" as well. The couple resided in Issaquah, Washington during the season while he played in Seattle and in Greenwich, Connecticut while he played for the Yankees. They resided in Miami Beach during the seasons with the Marlins.^[140]

On March 18, 2011, Ichiro donated ¥100 million ($1.25 million) to the Japanese Red Cross for earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.^[146]

Ichiro's father, Nobuyuki, handled Ichiro's finances early in his career^[147] until, in 2002, due to Nobuyuki underreporting Ichiro's income, Ichiro was saddled with a significant bill for unpaid taxes.^[148] The scandal cost Ichiro an undisclosed amount of money and caused him great embarrassment. This incident along with Nobuyuki's relentless training and unforgiving attitude toward his son caused their relationship to collapse.^[147] Subsequently, Ichiro's finances have been looked after by his wife Yumiko.^[149]

Since November 2000, Nobuyuki has run the Ichiro exhibition room named "I-fain" in Toyoyama, Ichiro's hometown. It exhibits a wide variety of Ichiro memorabilia, including personal items from his childhood and up-to-date baseball gear.^[2][6]

Ichiro is the honored chairman of the Ichiro Cup,^[150] a six-month-long boys' league tournament with more than 200 teams, held in Toyoyama and surrounding cities and towns since 1996. Ichiro watches the final game and attends its awards ceremony every year.^[151][152]

American League records

Ichiro Suzuki's hits by year

• 
  Most at-bats by rookie, season: 692 (157 games in 2001)


• 
  Most at-bats by lefthander, season: 704 (161 games in 2004)


• 
  Most seasons leading the league in at-bats: 8 (2001, 2004–2008, 2010–2011)


• 
  Most consecutive seasons leading the league in at-bats: 5 (2004–2008)


• 
  Most hits, season: 262 (2004)


• 
  Most hits by rookie, season: 242 (2001)


• 
  Most hits by lefthander, season: 262 (2004)


• 
  Most consecutive seasons leading the league in hits: 5 (2006–2010)


• 
  Most games with one or more hits, season: 135 (2001)
  
  • tied with Wade Boggs (Boston Red Sox, 1985) and Derek Jeter (New York Yankees, 1999)
  
  


• 
  Most seasons with 200 or more hits: 10 (2001–2010)


• 
  Most consecutive seasons with 200 or more hits: 10 (2001–2010)


• 
  Most hits, two consecutive seasons: 474 (212 in 2003, 262 in 2004)
  
  • tied with Ty Cobb (Detroit Tigers, 248 in 1911, 226 in 1912)
  
  


• 
  Most games with five or more hits, season: 4 (July 29 (13 inn.), August 3, September 4, September 21, 2004)
  
  • tied with Ty Cobb (Detroit Tigers, May 7, July 7, July 12, July 17, 1922)
  
  


• 
  Most batting streaks of 20 or more games, career: 7 (2001 (2), 2004, 2004–05, 2006, 2007, 2009)
  
  • tied with Ty Cobb (Detroit Tigers, 1911, 1912, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1926, Philadelphia Athletics, 1927)
  
  


• 
  Most singles, season: 225 (2004)


• 
  Most singles by rookie, season: 192 (2001)


• 
  Most singles by lefthander, season: 225 (2004)


• 
  Most seasons leading the league in singles: 10 (2001–2010)


• 
  Most consecutive seasons leading the league in singles: 10 (2001–2010)


• 
  Fewest grounding into double plays by rookie, season [min. 150 games]: 3 (2001)


• 
  Most seasons leading the league in fewest grounding into double plays [min. 150 games]: 4 (2001, 2003, 2005–2006)


• 
  Most consecutive stolen bases without caught stealing, career: 45 (April 29, 2006 – May 19, 2007)


• 
  Only inside-the-park home run in MLB All-Star Game history: July 10, 2007, 1 on, off Chris Young, 5th inning, AT&T Park, San Francisco

Set with teammates

• 
  Most wins, one regular season: 116 wins, 2001 Seattle Mariners (46 losses)
  
  • tied ML mark set by 1906 Chicago Cubs (116 wins, 36 losses)
  
  

National League records

• 
  Most at-bats as a pinch hitter, season: 100 (2017)


• 
  Most plate appearances as a pinch hitter, season: 109 (2017)

See also

• Biography portal


• Baseball portal


• Japan portal


• Seattle portal

• Best Nine Award


• Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award


• Fielding Bible Award


• History of the Japanese in Seattle


• Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize


• List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders


• List of Major League Baseball batting champions


• List of Major League Baseball career at-bat leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career games played leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career plate appearance leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a right fielder leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career singles leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders


• List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders


• List of Major League Baseball hit records


• List of Major League Baseball players from Japan


• Major League Baseball titles leaders


• Major League Baseball titles streaks


• Matsutaro Shoriki Award


• Mitsui Golden Glove Award


• Meikyukai


• Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Series


• Players Choice Awards


• Seattle Mariners award winners and league leaders


• This Year in Baseball Awards

References

1. 
   ^ "48 players born in Japan". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2009..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ ^ab "Museum Showcases Ichiro's Baseball Career". New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
   


3. 
   ^ "A Seeker on the Diamond". Aichi Prefecture. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
   


4. 
   ^ "豊山町長 鈴木幸育 あいさつ(Greetings from Mayor Yukiyasu Suzuki)" (in Japanese). Town of Toyoyama. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
   


5. 
   ^ ^ab Whiting 2009.
   


6. 
   ^ ^ab "Ichiro museum opens window to Japan's baseball icon". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
   


7. 
   ^ Whiting 2009, p. 6.
   


8. 
   ^ Whiting 2009, pp. 2–12.
   


9. 
   ^ ^abc "Ichiro Suzuki Quotes". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
   


10. 
    ^ Curry, Jack (July 30, 2008). "How Ichiro's 3,000th Hit Was Covered in Japan". New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
    


11. 
    ^ Isidore, Chris (January 22, 2002). "The latest Japanese import". CNN. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
    


12. 
    ^ ^abc Waldstein, David (October 3, 2015). "Ichiro Suzuki Aiming at Age 50 (but First, 3,000 Hits)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015.
    


13. 
    ^ Kuehnert, Marty (April 18, 2001). "The legend of Ichiro and 'The Throw'". The Japan Times Online. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
    


14. 
    ^ http://www.simplethingcalledlife.com/stcl/ichiro-suzuki-randy-johnson-meaning-respect/
    


15. 
    ^ Borelli, Stephen (January 18, 2002). "ALCS notebook: Sincere in Seattle". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
    


16. 
    ^ "All-Star snub Ichiro Suzuki still an all-time great - Lucas".
    


17. 
    ^ "Games Won Records by Baseball Almanac". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
    


18. 
    ^ Ichiro's 258th hit, tudou.com
    


19. 
    ^ "ichiro honored at Safeco". Seattle Mariners. April 22, 2005. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
    


20. 
    ^ "The Seattle Times: Sports: HITS-TORY! Ichiro breaks Sisler's record". Retrieved August 7, 2016.
    


21. 
    ^ "Ichiro's most memorable moments with the Mariners".
    


22. 
    ^ Ichiro visits Sisler's grave, ESPN.com, July 15, 2009
    


23. 
    ^ Unknown (October 1, 2004). "Ichiro breaks single-season hits record". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
    


24. 
    ^ Noonan, Tim (November 20, 1998). "Taken by Sosa, Japanese Star Dreams of Playing in U.S." International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
    


25. 
    ^ "Did Hargrove, Ichiro not get along?". FanNation. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
    


26. 
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27. 
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    ^{[permanent dead link]}
    


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Sources

• 
  Whiting, Robert (2009). The Meaning of Ichiro. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9780446565226.
  

Further reading

• Allen, Jim. Ichiro Magic. New York: Kodansha America, 2001.
  ISBN 978-4-7700-2871-6
  


• Christopher, Matt, and Glenn Stout. At the Plate With... Ichiro. New York: Little, Brown, 2003.
  ISBN 0-316-13679-4.


• Dougherty, Terri. Ichiro Suzuki. ?: Checkerboard Books, 2003.
  ISBN 1-59197-483-6.


• 
  Johnson, Daniel (2006). Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-2841-4.
  


• Komatsu, Narumi, and Philip Gabriel. Ichiro on Ichiro: Conversations with Narumi Komatsu. Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2004.
  ISBN 1-57061-431-8.


• Leigh, David S. Ichiro Suzuki. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2004.
  ISBN 0-8225-1792-2.


• Levin, Judith. Ichiro Suzuki. New York: Chelsea House Publications, 2007.
  ISBN 0-7910-9440-5.


• Rappoport, Ken. Super Sports Star Ichiro Suzuki. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Elementary, 2004.
  ISBN 0-7660-2137-8.


• Rosenthal, Jim. Ichiro's Art of Playing Baseball: Learn How to Hit, Steal, and Field Like an All-Star. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2006.
  ISBN 0-312-35831-8.


• Savage, Jeff. Ichiro Suzuki. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2003.
  ISBN 0-8225-1344-7.


• Shields, David. "Baseball Is Just Baseball": The Understated Ichiro: An Unauthorized Collection Compiled by David Shields. Seattle: TNI Books, 2001.
  ISBN 0-9678703-1-3.


• Stewart, Mark. Ichiro Suzuki: Best in the West. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press, 2002.
  ISBN 0-7613-2616-2.


• Whiting, Robert. The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime. Warner Books, 2004; retitled for the 2005 paperback to The Samurai Way of Baseball: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime.
  ISBN 0-446-53192-8,
  ISBN 0-446-69403-7.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Ichiro Suzuki

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ichiro Suzuki.

• 
  


• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
  

Ichiro Suzuki

Awards and achievements Preceded by Terrence Long Players Choice AL Most Outstanding Rookie 2001 Succeeded by Eric Hinske Preceded by Alex Rodriguez Players Choice AL Most Outstanding Player 2004 Succeeded by David Ortiz Preceded by Mark Teixeira American League Player of the Month August 2004 Succeeded by Vladimir Guerrero Preceded by George Sisler Single season base hit record holders 2004–present Incumbent v t e Pacific League MVP Award 1950: Betto 1951: Yamamoto 1952: Yuki 1953: Okamoto 1954: Oshita 1955: Iida 1956: Nakanishi 1957: Inao 1958: Inao 1959: Sugiura 1960: Yamauchi 1961: Nomura 1962: Harimoto 1963: Nomura 1964: Stanka 1965: Nomura 1966: Nomura 1967: Adachi 1968: Yoneda 1969: Nagaike 1970: Kitaru 1971: Nagaike 1972: Fukumoto 1973: Nomura 1974: Kaneda 1975: Katō 1976: Yamada 1977: Yamada 1978: Yamada 1979: Manuel 1980: Kida 1981: Enatsu 1982: Ochiai 1983: Higashio 1984: G. Wells 1985: Ochiai 1986: Ishige 1987: Higashio 1988: Kadota 1989: Bryant 1990: Nomo 1991: T. Kaku 1992: Ishii 1993: Kudo 1994: Suzuki 1995: Suzuki 1996: Suzuki 1997: Nishiguchi 1998: K. Matsui 1999: Kudo 2000: Matsunaka 2001: Rhodes 2002: Cabrera 2003: Johjima 2004: Matsunaka 2005: Sugiuchi 2006: Ogasawara 2007: Darvish 2008: Iwakuma 2009: Darvish 2010: Wada 2011: Uchikawa 2012: Yoshikawa 2013: Tanaka 2014: Kaneko 2015: Yanagita 2016: Ohtani 2017: Sarfate 2018: Yamakawa v t e American League Rookie of the Year Award 1949: Sievers 1950: Dropo 1951: McDougald 1952: Byrd 1953: Kuenn 1954: Grim 1955: Score 1956: Aparicio 1957: Kubek 1958: Pearson 1959: Allison 1960: Hansen 1961: Schwall 1962: Tresh 1963: Peters 1964: Oliva 1965: Blefary 1966: Agee 1967: Carew 1968: Bahnsen 1969: Piniella 1970: Munson 1971: Chambliss 1972: Fisk 1973: Bumbry 1974: Hargrove 1975: Lynn 1976: Fidrych 1977: Murray 1978: Whitaker 1979: Castino & Griffin 1980: Charboneau 1981: Righetti 1982: Ripken Jr. 1983: Kittle 1984: Davis 1985: Guillén 1986: Canseco 1987: McGwire 1988: Weiss 1989: Olson 1990: Alomar Jr. 1991: Knoblauch 1992: Listach 1993: Salmon 1994: Hamelin 1995: Cordova 1996: Jeter 1997: Garciaparra 1998: Grieve 1999: Beltrán 2000: Sasaki 2001: Suzuki 2002: Hinske 2003: Berroa 2004: Crosby 2005: Street 2006: Verlander 2007: Pedroia 2008: Longoria 2009: Bailey 2010: Feliz 2011: Hellickson 2012: Trout 2013: Myers 2014: Abreu 2015: Correa 2016: Fulmer 2017: Judge 2018: Ohtani v t e American League MVP Award 1931: Grove 1932: Foxx 1933: Foxx 1934: Cochrane 1935: Greenberg 1936: Gehrig 1937: Gehringer 1938: Foxx 1939: DiMaggio 1940: Greenberg 1941: DiMaggio 1942: Gordon 1943: Chandler 1944: Newhouser 1945: Newhouser 1946: Williams 1947: DiMaggio 1948: Boudreau 1949: Williams 1950: Rizzuto 1951: Berra 1952: Shantz 1953: Rosen 1954: Berra 1955: Berra 1956: Mantle 1957: Mantle 1958: Jensen 1959: Fox 1960: Maris 1961: Maris 1962: Mantle 1963: Howard 1964: B. Robinson 1965: Versalles 1966: F. Robinson 1967: Yastrzemski 1968: McLain 1969: Killebrew 1970: Powell 1971: Blue 1972: Allen 1973: Jackson 1974: Burroughs 1975: Lynn 1976: Munson 1977: Carew 1978: Rice 1979: Baylor 1980: Brett 1981: Fingers 1982: Yount 1983: Ripken Jr. 1984: Hernández 1985: Mattingly 1986: Clemens 1987: Bell 1988: Canseco 1989: Yount 1990: Henderson 1991: Ripken Jr. 1992: Eckersley 1993: Thomas 1994: Thomas 1995: Vaughn 1996: González 1997: Griffey Jr. 1998: González 1999: I. Rodríguez 2000: Giambi 2001: Suzuki 2002: Tejada 2003: A. Rodriguez 2004: Guerrero 2005: A. Rodriguez 2006: Morneau 2007: A. Rodriguez 2008: Pedroia 2009: Mauer 2010: Hamilton 2011: Verlander 2012: Cabrera 2013: Cabrera 2014: Trout 2015: Donaldson 2016: Trout 2017: Altuve 2018: Betts v t e American League batting champions 1901: Lajoie 1902: Disputed 1903: Lajoie 1904: Lajoie 1905: Flick 1906: Stone 1907: Cobb 1908: Cobb 1909: Cobb 1910: Disputed 1911: Cobb 1912: Cobb 1913: Cobb 1914: Cobb 1915: Cobb 1916: Speaker 1917: Cobb 1918: Cobb 1919: Cobb 1920: Sisler 1921: Heilmann 1922: Sisler 1923: Heilmann 1924: Ruth 1925: Heilmann 1926: Manush 1927: Heilmann 1928: Goslin 1929: Fonseca 1930: Simmons 1931: Simmons 1932: Alexander 1933: Foxx 1934: Gehrig 1935: Myer 1936: Appling 1937: Gehringer 1938: Foxx 1939: DiMaggio 1940: DiMaggio 1941: T. Williams 1942: T. Williams 1943: Appling 1944: Boudreau 1945: Stirnweiss 1946: Vernon 1947: T. Williams 1948: T. Williams 1949: Kell 1950: Goodman 1951: Fain 1952: Fain 1953: Vernon 1954: Ávila 1955: Kaline 1956: Mantle 1957: T. Williams 1958: T. Williams 1959: Kuenn 1960: Runnels 1961: Cash 1962: Runnels 1963: Yastrzemski 1964: Oliva 1965: Oliva 1966: Robinson 1967: Yastrzemski 1968: Yastrzemski 1969: Carew 1970: Johnson 1971: Oliva 1972: Carew 1973: Carew 1974: Carew 1975: Carew 1976: Brett 1977: Carew 1978: Carew 1979: Lynn 1980: Brett 1981: Lansford 1982: Wilson 1983: Boggs 1984: Mattingly 1985: Boggs 1986: Boggs 1987: Boggs 1988: Boggs 1989: Puckett 1990: Brett 1991: Franco 1992: Martínez 1993: Olerud 1994: O'Neill 1995: Martínez 1996: Rodriguez 1997: Thomas 1998: B. Williams 1999: Garciaparra 2000: Garciaparra 2001: Suzuki 2002: Ramirez 2003: Mueller 2004: Suzuki 2005: Young 2006: Mauer 2007: Ordóñez 2008: Mauer 2009: Mauer 2010: Hamilton 2011: Cabrera 2012: Cabrera 2013: Cabrera 2014: Altuve 2015: Cabrera 2016: Altuve 2017: Altuve 2018: Betts v t e American League season stolen base leaders 1901: Isbell 1902: Hartsel 1903: Bay & Flick 1904: Bay 1905: Hoffman 1906: Anderson & Flick 1907: Cobb 1908: Dougherty 1909: Cobb 1910: Collins 1911: Cobb 1912: Milan 1913: Milan 1914: Maisel 1915: Cobb 1916: Cobb 1917: Cobb 1918: Sisler 1919: Collins 1920: Rice 1921: Sisler 1922: Sisler 1923: Collins 1924: Collins 1925: Mostil 1926: Mostil 1927: Sisler 1928: Myer 1929: Gehringer 1930: McManus 1931: Chapman 1932: Chapman 1933: Chapman 1934: Werber 1935: Werber 1936: Lary 1937: Chapman & Werber 1938: Crosetti 1939: Case 1940: Case 1941: Case 1942: Case 1943: Case 1944: Stirnweiss 1945: Stirnweiss 1946: Case 1947: Dillinger 1948: Dillinger 1949: Dillinger 1950: DiMaggio 1951: Miñoso 1952: Miñoso 1953: Miñoso 1954: Jensen 1955: Rivera 1956: Aparicio 1957: Aparicio 1958: Aparicio 1959: Aparicio 1960: Aparicio 1961: Aparicio 1962: Aparicio 1963: Aparicio 1964: Aparicio 1965: Campaneris 1966: Campaneris 1967: Campaneris 1968: Campaneris 1969: Harper 1970: Campaneris 1971: Otis 1972: Campaneris 1973: Harper 1974: North 1975: Rivers 1976: North 1977: Patek 1978: LeFlore 1979: Wilson 1980: Henderson 1981: Henderson 1982: Henderson 1983: Henderson 1984: Henderson 1985: Henderson 1986: Henderson 1987: Reynolds 1988: Henderson 1989: Henderson 1990: Henderson 1991: Henderson 1992: Lofton 1993: Lofton 1994: Lofton 1995: Lofton 1996: Lofton 1997: Hunter 1998: Henderson 1999: Hunter 2000: Damon 2001: Suzuki 2002: Soriano 2003: Crawford 2004: Crawford 2005: Figgins 2006: Crawford 2007: Crawford & Roberts 2008: Ellsbury 2009: Ellsbury 2010: Pierre 2011: Crisp & Gardner 2012: Trout 2013: Ellsbury 2014: Altuve 2015: Altuve 2016: Davis 2017: Merrifield 2018: Merrifield v t e American League Outfielder Silver Slugger Award 1980: Oglivie, Oliver, Wilson 1981: Evans, Henderson, Winfield 1982: Jackson, Wilson, Winfield 1983: Moseby, Rice, Winfield 1984: Armas, Rice, Winfield 1985: Bell, Henderson, Winfield 1986: Barfield, Bell, Puckett 1987: Bell, Evans, Puckett 1988: Canseco, Greenwell, Puckett 1989: Puckett, Sierra, Yount 1990: Burks, Canseco, Henderson 1991: Canseco, Carter, Griffey Jr. 1992: Carter, González, Puckett 1993: Belle, González, Griffey Jr. 1994: Belle, Griffey Jr., Puckett 1995: Belle, Ramirez, Salmon 1996: Belle, González, Griffey Jr. 1997: Griffey Jr., González, Justice 1998: Belle, González, Griffey Jr. 1999: Green, Griffey Jr., Ramirez 2000: Erstad, Ordóñez, Ramirez 2001: González, Ramirez, Suzuki 2002: Anderson, Ordóñez, Williams 2003: Anderson, Ramirez, Wells 2004: Guerrero, Ramirez, Sheffield 2005: Guerrero, Ramirez, Sheffield 2006: Dye, Guerrero, Ramirez 2007: Guerrero, Ordóñez, Suzuki 2008: Hamilton, Quentin, Sizemore 2009: Bay, Hunter, Suzuki 2010: Bautista, Crawford, Hamilton 2011: Bautista, Ellsbury, Granderson 2012: Hamilton, Trout, Willingham 2013: Hunter, Jones, Trout 2014: Bautista, Brantley, Trout 2015: Cruz, Martinez, Trout 2016: Betts, Trout, Trumbo 2017: Judge, Springer, Upton 2018: Betts, Martinez, Trout v t e American League Outfielder Gold Glove Award 1957: Kaline, Mays, Miñoso 1958: Kaline, Piersall, Siebern 1959: Jensen, Kaline, Miñoso 1960: Landis, Maris, Miñoso 1961: Kaline, Landis, Piersall 1962: Kaline, Landis, Mantle 1963: Kaline, Landis, Yastrzemski 1964: Davalillo, Kaline, Landis 1965: Kaline, Tresh, Yastrzemski 1966: Agee, Kaline, Oliva 1967: Blair, Kaline, Yastrzemski 1968: Smith, Stanley, Yastrzemski 1969: Blair, Stanley, Yastrzemski 1970: Berry, Blair, Stanley 1971: Blair, Otis, Yastrzemski 1972: Berry, Blair, Murcer 1973: Blair, Otis, Stanley 1974: Blair, Otis, Rudi 1975: Blair, Lynn, Rudi 1976: Evans, Manning, Rudi 1977: Beníquez, Cowens, Yastrzemski 1978: Evans, Lynn, Miller 1979: Evans, Lezcano, Lynn 1980: Lynn, Murphy, Wilson 1981: Evans, Henderson, Murphy 1982: Evans, Murphy, Winfield 1983: Evans, Murphy, Winfield 1984: Evans, Murphy, Winfield 1985: Evans, Murphy, Pettis, Winfield 1986: Barfield, Pettis, Puckett 1987: Barfield, Puckett, Winfield 1988: Pettis, Puckett, White 1989: Pettis, Puckett, White 1990: Burks, Griffey Jr., Pettis 1991: Griffey Jr., Puckett, White 1992: Griffey Jr., Puckett, White 1993: Griffey Jr., Lofton, White 1994: Griffey Jr., Lofton, White 1995: Griffey Jr., Lofton, White 1996: Buhner, Griffey Jr., Lofton 1997: Edmonds, Griffey Jr., Williams 1998: Edmonds, Griffey Jr., Williams 1999: Green, Griffey Jr., Williams 2000: Dye, Erstad, Williams 2001: Cameron, Hunter, Suzuki 2002: Erstad, Hunter, Suzuki 2003: Cameron, Hunter, Suzuki 2004: Hunter, Suzuki, Wells 2005: Hunter, Suzuki, Wells 2006: Hunter, Suzuki, Wells 2007: Hunter, Suzuki, Sizemore 2008: Hunter, Suzuki, Sizemore 2009: Hunter, Suzuki, Jones 2010: Crawford, Gutiérrez, Suzuki 2011: Ellsbury, Gordon, Markakis 2012: Gordon, Jones, Reddick 2013: Gordon, Jones, Victorino 2014: Gordon, Jones, Markakis 2015: Calhoun, Céspedes, Kiermaier 2016: Betts, Gardner, Kiermaier 2017: Betts, Buxton, Gordon 2018: Betts, Bradley Jr., Gordon v t e Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award 1962: Wills 1962: Wagner 1963: Mays 1964: Callison 1965: Marichal 1966: B. Robinson 1967: Pérez 1968: Mays 1969: McCovey 1970: Yastrzemski 1971: F. Robinson 1972: Morgan 1973: Bonds 1974: Garvey 1975: Madlock & Matlack 1976: Foster 1977: Sutton 1978: Garvey 1979: Parker 1980: Griffey Sr. 1981: Carter 1982: Concepción 1983: Lynn 1984: Carter 1985: Hoyt 1986: Clemens 1987: Raines 1988: Steinbach 1989: Jackson 1990: Franco 1991: Ripken Jr. 1992: Griffey Jr. 1993: Puckett 1994: McGriff 1995: Conine 1996: Piazza 1997: Alomar Jr. 1998: Alomar 1999: Martínez 2000: Jeter 2001: Ripken Jr. 2003: Anderson 2004: Soriano 2005: Tejada 2006: Young 2007: Suzuki 2008: Drew 2009: Crawford 2010: McCann 2011: Fielder 2012: Cabrera 2013: Rivera 2014: Trout 2015: Trout 2016: Hosmer 2017: Canó 2018: Bregman v t e Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award Barry Bonds Roger Clemens Roberto Clemente Ken Griffey Jr. Tony Gwynn Rickey Henderson Derek Jeter Mark McGwire Cal Ripken Jr. Mariano Rivera Rachel Robinson Vin Scully Seattle Mariners Sammy Sosa Ichiro Suzuki v t e 3,000 hit club Pete Rose Ty Cobb Hank Aaron Stan Musial Tris Speaker Derek Jeter Honus Wagner Carl Yastrzemski Paul Molitor Eddie Collins Willie Mays Eddie Murray Nap Lajoie Cal Ripken Jr. Adrián Beltré George Brett Paul Waner Robin Yount Tony Gwynn Alex Rodriguez Dave Winfield Ichiro Suzuki Albert Pujols Cap Anson Craig Biggio Rickey Henderson Rod Carew Lou Brock Rafael Palmeiro Wade Boggs Al Kaline Roberto Clemente Italics denotes active player Book:3,000 hit club v t e Sporting News Major League Baseball All Decade Team (2000–2009) Catcher: Joe Mauer First baseman: Albert Pujols Second baseman: Jeff Kent Shortstop: Derek Jeter Third baseman: Alex Rodriguez Outfielders: Barry Bonds, Ichiro Suzuki, Manny Ramirez Designated hitter: David Ortiz Starting pitcher: Randy Johnson Relief pitcher: Mariano Rivera Manager: Joe Torre Executive: Theo Epstein v t e GIBBY/This Year in Baseball Defensive Player of the Year Award 2002: Hunter 2003: Edmonds 2004: Edmonds 2005: Suzuki 2006: Lowell 2007: Polanco 2008: O. Cabrera 2009: Ellsbury 2010: Andrus 2011: A. Cabrera 2012: Molina 2013: Molina 2014: Simmons v t e Right Fielder Fielding Bible Award 2006: Suzuki 2007: Ríos 2008: Gutiérrez 2009: Suzuki 2010: Suzuki 2011: Upton 2012: Heyward 2013: Parra 2014: Heyward 2015: Heyward 2016: Betts 2017: Betts 2018: Betts v t e Matsutaro Shoriki Award 1977: Oh 1978: Hirooka 1979: Nishimoto 1980: Koba 1981: Fujita 1982: Hirooka 1983: Tabuchi 1984: Kinugasa 1985: Yoshida 1986: Mori 1987: Kudo 1988: Kadota 1989: Fujita 1990: Mori 1991: Akiyama 1992: Ishii 1993: Nomura 1994: Nagashima, Suzuki 1995: Suzuki 1996: Ohgi 1997: Furuta 1998: Sasaki 1999: Oh 2000: Matsui 2001: Wakamatsu 2002: Hara 2003: Hoshino, Oh 2004: Ito, Suzuki 2005: Valentine 2006: Oh 2007: Ochiai 2008: Watanabe 2009: Hara 2010: Nishimura 2011: Akiyama 2012: Abe, Hara 2013: Hoshino 2014: Akiyama 2015: Kudo 2016: Kuriyama 2017: Sarfate 2018: Kudo v t e Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize 1968: Shozo Saijo 1969: Yomiuri Giants 1970: Taihō Kōki 1971: Shigeo Nagashima 1972: Katsuaki Matsumoto 1973: Tadashi Sawamura 1974: Sadaharu Oh 1975: Hiroshima Toyo Carp 1976: Sadaharu Oh 1977: Sadaharu Oh 1978: Yakult Swallows 1979: Yoko Gushiken 1980: Yoko Gushiken 1981: Koichi Nakano 1982: Hiromitsu Ochiai 1983: Tatsuro Hirooka 1984: Sachio Kinugasa 1985: Randy Bass 1986: Hiromitsu Ochiai 1987: Ayako Okamoto 1988: Chiyonofuji Mitsugu 1989: Chiyonofuji Mitsugu 1990: Hideo Nomo 1991: Joichiro Tatsuyoshi 1992: Takanohana Kōji 1993: Kazuyoshi Miura 1994: Ichiro Suzuki 1995: Ichiro Suzuki 1996: Masashi Ozaki 1997: Hidetoshi Nakata 1998: Kazuhiro Sasaki 1999: Daisuke Matsuzaka 2000: Hideki Matsui 2001: Ichiro Suzuki 2002: Japan men's football team 2003: Hideki Matsui 2004: Asashōryū Akinori 2005: Asashōryū Akinori 2006: Japan national baseball team 2007: Urawa Red Diamonds 2008: Ryo Ishikawa 2009: Ryo Ishikawa 2010: Hakuhō Shō 2011: Japan women's football team 2012: Shinnosuke Abe 2013: Masahiro Tanaka 2014: Kei Nishikori 2015: Japan national rugby union team 2016: Shohei Ohtani 2017: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 2018: Shohei Ohtani Ichiro Suzuki – World Baseball Classic rosters v t e Japan roster – 2006 World Baseball Classic – Champions 1 Akinori Iwamura 2 Michihiro Ogasawara 3 Nobuhiko Matsunaka 5 Kazuhiro Wada 6 Hitoshi Tamura 7 Tsuyoshi Nishioka 8 Toshiaki Imae 9 Tatsuhiko Kinjoh 10 Shinya Miyamoto 11 Naoyuki Shimizu 12 Soichi Fujita 15 Tomoyuki Kubota 17 Kosuke Fukudome 18 Daisuke Matsuzaka 19 Koji Uehara 20 Yasuhiko Yabuta 21 Tsuyoshi Wada 22 Tomoya Satozaki 23 Nori Aoki 24 Kyuji Fujikawa 25 Takahiro Arai 27 Motonobu Tanishige 31 Shunsuke Watanabe 40 Akinori Otsuka 41 Hiroyuki Kobayashi 47 Toshiya Sugiuchi 51 Ichiro Suzuki 52 Munenori Kawasaki 59 Ryoji Aikawa 61 Hirotoshi Ishii 61 Takahiro Mahara Manager 89 Sadaharu Oh Coach 84 Kazuhiro Takeda Coach 85 Hatsuhiko Tsuji Coach 86 Yoshitaka Katori Coach 87 Yasunori Oshima Coach 88 Sumio Hirota v t e Japan roster – 2009 World Baseball Classic – Champions 1 Kosuke Fukudome 2 Kenji Johjima 5 Kenta Kurihara 6 Hiroyuki Nakajima 7 Yasuyuki Kataoka 8 Akinori Iwamura 9 Michihiro Ogasawara 10 Shinnosuke Abe 11 Yu Darvish 14 Takahiro Mahara 15 Masahiro Tanaka 16 Hideaki Wakui 18 Daisuke Matsuzaka 19 Minoru Iwata 20 Hisashi Iwakuma 22 Kyuji Fujikawa 23 Nori Aoki 24 Seiichi Uchikawa 25 Shuichi Murata 26 Tetsuya Utsumi 28 Satoshi Komatsu 29 Yoshiyuki Ishihara 31 Shunsuke Watanabe 35 Yoshiyuki Kamei 39 Tetsuya Yamaguchi 41 Atsunori Inaba 47 Toshiya Sugiuchi 51 Ichiro Suzuki 52 Munenori Kawasaki Manager 83 Tatsunori Hara Coach 72 Tsutomu Ito Coach 71 Hisashi Yamada Coach 92 Tsuyoshi Yoda Coach 81 Kazunori Shinozuka Coach 63 Nobuhiro Takashiro v t e 2006 World Baseball Classic All WBC Team Catcher: Tomoya Satozaki First Baseman: Seung-yuop Lee Second Baseman: Yuli Gurriel Shortstop: Derek Jeter Third Baseman: Adrián Beltré Outfielders: Ken Griffey Jr., Jong-beom Lee, Ichiro Suzuki Designated Hitter: Yoandy Garlobo Pitchers: Yadel Martí, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Chan-ho Park

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