The Seattle Mariners were awarded the
negotiating rights to Ichiro Suzuki in 2000. In blind bidding among several
major-league teams, the Mariners submitted the highest figure — a staggering
$13.125 million (1.4 billion yen) that went to the BlueWave. The Mariners
then signed him to a three-year, $14 million contract.
Ichiro Suzuki 's agent, Tony Attanasio of San Diego, said one way to measure
the impact Ichiro's signing had in Japan would be if a Japanese team signed
the likes of Derek Jeter or Mark McGwire. "When you mail Ichiro something
from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets
it. He's that big." Ichiro is the Michael Jordan of Japan, so popular and so
watched that he and Yumiko, well known herself in Japan as a sportscaster,
had to go to Los Angeles to be married.
In 2001, Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese position player to play in
the major leagues (he was closely followed by right fielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo
of the New York Mets). He has not only been embraced by the fans in Seattle
but has been recognized around the majors as an extremely skilled player.
Highlights from his first season in Seattle:
2001 AL MVP
2001 Rookie of the Year
Led ML in batting average (.350)
Led ML in stolen bases (56)
Had 51 hits in August, 2001, which led the league
Set M's club record with 242 hits
First player since 1980 with three hitting streaks of 15 games or more.
What Ichiro Suzuki does best is play the game at
his tempo, which forces the opposition to make serious adjustments. His
speed on the bases, speed with the bat, arm strength, defense and amazing
hitting ability all shift the opposition out of their comfort zone and puts
them firmly on the defensive. Pitchers must change up their "out" pitch
because he hits anything, anywhere. Infielders must rush and hurry throws.
Defensively, his arm gets respect — baserunners are stuck with singles
rather than end up on an Ichiro Suzuki highlight reel for an attempted
double.
Through 62 games in 2002 for the Mariners, Ichiro Suzuki is batting a league-leading
.377 with one home run, 27 RBI, 19 stolen bases, a .447 on-base percentage,
and a .480 slugging percentage.
At a mere 160 pounds, Ichiro Suzuki breaks the standard of baseball players
and changes the way everyone around him plays.
ICHIRO SUZUKI `S TRANSACTIONS
November 30, 2000: Ichiro Suzuki was purchased by the
Seattle Mariners
from the Orix (Japan Pacific).
