Baseball Legend Ichiro Retires

MLB Opening Day is always a time of celebration, but this year’s opening series was a little extra special and bittersweet.

On Thursday, March 21, iconic Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki played his final game on a professional baseball field. The announcement was made in the middle of the final game of the series between the Mariners and the Oakland Athletics, coming as a not-so-surprising surprise to everyone as the series was being held in Suzuki’s home country of Japan.

Ichiro, now 45-years-old, played an incredible 28 seasons in professional baseball between Japan and America and is widely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in the history of the sport. He is one of only 32 Major League players to ever record 3,000 career hits, and his 4,367 combined hits between MLB and the Japan League is more than any MLB player has ever achieved. He is a 10-time All Star, 10-time Gold Glove Award recipient, and won the AL MVP in his first season in the States.

Beyond his achievements, Ichiro quickly became an international icon upon his arrival in America, acting as the definitive face of baseball. He was an unlikely candidate for this role, however, as while the sport started rapidly shifting towards power pitching and three-outcome hitters (players who either strike out, walk, or hit a homerun in most plate appearances), Ichiro found success in a contrarily small ball mentality. He was far from the strongest player in the league and hit very few balls over the fence, but he simply had a knack for getting on base and finding holes in the defense, introducing the Major Leagues to a faster-paced, more action-packed style of baseball.

Fans had been anticipating Suzuki’s exit all night, and once the defensive substitution was announced at the start of the bottom of the 8th inning, the crowd at the Tokyo Dome gave him an ovation that was nothing short of awe-inspiring. He was ending his career where it all started, and it was a perfectly emotional moment. Ichiro has fittingly already accepted a new job with the Seattle Mariners front office; even off of the diamond, he will always be an icon of baseball.

By Jaden Ellman