FOX. ICHIRO SUZUKI "ICHIRO" SEATTLE, A.L. 2001-12; NEW YORK, A.L. 2012-14; MIAMI, N.L. 2015-17; SEATTLE A.L. 2018-19 DEBUTED WITH THE SEATTLE MARINERS IN 2001 AS THE FIRST JAPANESE POSITION PLAYER IN MLB HISTORY. IN HIS DEBUT SEASON, HE WON BOTH THE AMERICAN LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AND MVP AWARDS, SHOWCASING HIS ELITE HITTING, SPEED, AND FIELDING. A 10-TIME ALL-STAR AND 10-TIME GOLD GLOVE WINNER, ICHIRO LED THE LEAGUE IN HITS SEVEN TIMES AND SET THE MLB SINGLE-SEASON HITS RECORD WITH 262 IN 2004. HE ACHIEVED OVER 3,000 HITS IN MLB, ADDING TO HIS STELLAR CAREER TOTAL THAT INCLUDES OVER 1,200 HITS IN JAPAN. PLAYING FOR THE MARINERS, YANKEES, AND MARLINS, ICHIRO RETIRED IN 2019 AS ONE OF BASEBALL'S ALL-TIME GREATS, LEAVING AN ENDURING LEGACY.
Ichiro (last name not needed!)—first ballot Hall of Famer, one vote off of unanimous. First Asian player in Cooperstown.
So deserved. A fantastic player and human, and one of the most fun people to watch on the field, even when he was on the opposing team.
