MLB Legacies: Ichiro Suzuki

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Back in 2001, Irchiro Suzuki debuted in the MLB with the Seattle Mariners. However, his legacy would go on to be one no one expected. He was the greatest rookie ever seen inside the sport. 

However, he was also like a glimpse into the future of the sport as well as a remembrance of the sport, and where it had come from.

Many fans of the sport will remember Ichiro Suzuki, even if they are only interested in the MLB betting odds, he shook up the game, and made it something true to remember, changing the way we thought about baseball. 

He gained renown worldwide, and we are not surprised, but he truly had something special about his game. 

Who Was Ichiro Suzuki? 

Ichiro Suzuki is a former professional baseball player. He played a total of 28 seasons in top-level pro leagues. He is most noted for his performances with the Mariners and the Yankees, however, he played for many more teams. 

He played for the Orix BlueWave from 1992 until 2000, then for the Seattle Mariners from 2001-2012, the Yankees from 2012-2014, and then the Miami Marlins from 2015 to 2017, and finally he returned to the Seattle Mariners for 2018 to 2019.

He had some incredible stats in the NPB and the MLB. 

In the NPB he had a batting average of .358, a total of 1,278 hits, 118 home runs, 199 stolen bases, and 529 runs batted. 

In the MLB he had a batting average of .311, 3,089 hits, 117 home runs, 780 runs batted, and 509 stolen bases in total!  

He also set a high number of records as well, he even set the MLB’s singular season record for hits at a high of 262. Also achieving a consecutive 10 season 200 hits which is the longest running streak ever achieved by a player in the history of the league. 

Seattle Mariners

So, since he spent the most of his career with the Seattle Mariners, let’s go back and look at his career with this team in particular, because this is really where he became known. Back in 2012, Suzuki was traded from the Mariners to the Yankees.

However, before this happened, he had already accumulated quite the career with the Mariners. He debuted his Hall of Fame there after all. 

He was the first Japanese position player to play the game at major league heights. This made him something of a curiosity to fans. However, it came with skepticism as you can imagine. No one knew how he would fare. 

He surprised everyone when he showed us how he could hit, but it was a hit in a way we have never before seen. He seemed to almost run out of the box as he made his swing, he would get a head start allowing him to run many hits. 

However, he could easily drive the ball far to the outfield, as if his lower body was running but his torso stayed behind to hit. 

His results were incredible, in his first season he led with 242 hits, which was a whole 26 more than his closest competitor. 

His batting average tied him to legends like Larry Walker. 

He also finished his first season with another record, he finished with the most stolen bases for that season too, at 56! 

He was a hitting machine to say the least, in Seattle for 12 years at the beginning of his major league career, he led the league many times, 7 times in hits alone. 

Back in ‘04, he actually got more hits than anyone else that year, but he also got more hits than any player had in a season. In fact, in that year he got 262 hits, breaking the record 84 years in the making of 257 hits by George Sister.

New York Yankees

However, after some time, he left the Mariners, and gave the Yankees a go. It all happened so quickly, and fans barely had time to realize what had happened, leaving everyone in a shocked state. 

However, many people love the Yankees, and they are undoubtedly a team that gets much love and recognition amongst any baseball fan. 

That being said, the Yankees did do something for Ichiro that the Mariners never did do. When he had his rookie season in 2001, and beyond, he never won a World Series title, He is one of the best players in history to not have had this on his title board. 

He had never been an MVP player, or been a multi-time batting champ, or even played in the World Series! 

So, it was great for him, and for the Yankees that they granted him the opportunity to gain this title. 

With the Yankees he played 360 games, 311 hits, 13 home runs, with a batting average of .281, and 84 RBIs. 

He had his best days with Seattle, but with the Yankees, he helped them with their success, helping them to the playoffs, and got them to the ALCS. 

He will never be remembered as a Yankee though, but that is no surprise, he kind of came in to give them what they needed when they needed it. He was fun to have around, but of course when he ended his career, he ended it with the Mariners. 

The Legacy He Left Behind

Ichiro Suzuki left behind quite the legacy, he is definitely one of the best players to have ever graced the game. He is a hitter that defined a whole generation of baseball, and was just simply awesome to watch. 

He is a hero in baseball and a legend in every way, making himself a legend in two countries and did it with such style. 

He was a legend with the Mariners, and he graced the Yankees for some time, but we can’t pin him down to having belonged to one team in particular, because in a way Suzuki was just a player in the game with so much skill, he was just an all round baseball legend.