by Jason Cruz
Northwest Asia Weekly
Former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki is inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame during a ceremony before the baseball game between the Mariners and the Cleveland Guardians in Seattle, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. Ichiro was a 10-time All-Star and American League Rookie of the Year in 2001. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
The Seattle Mariners honored Ichiro Suzuki by inducting him into the Mariners Hall of Fame last weekend. The Japanese-born, 5-foot-11, 175-pound baseball icon is the team’s 10th Hall of Famer and the only Asian.
On the last weekend of August, the team celebrated for Ichiro in a four-game home series against the Cleveland Guardians. The Mariners won three of four games. The team’s performance this year is reminiscent of the last time the Mariners made the playoffs in 2001, when Ichiro was a rookie.
Ichiro played for the Mariners from 2001 to 2012 before being traded to the New York Yankees. Ichiro then signed a contract with the Miami Marlins and played for them for two years before returning to the Mariners in 2018. Suzuki played for the Mariners before retiring with the team at a game in Japan earlier this season in 2019. He was then named “special assistant to the chairman” for the Mariners.
Among his career accolades – Ichiro was AL MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2001, made 10 All-Stars and set a major league season-high 262 hits.
Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan grew up in Northern California and adored Ichiro Suzuki. In tribute to his hero, who turned his bat in the batter’s box on his first bat on Friday night, the southpaw’s Guan held his bat vertically in the air and stared with his right hand. pitcher. Then, like Suzuki does every time he hits the ball, he tugs the right short sleeve lightly.
The diminutive Asian-American is considered one of the best rookies in Major League Baseball and could have been the Rookie of the Year had it not been for Julio Rodriguez. Kwan’s tribute to his hero didn’t stop on Friday night as he took a hit and recklessly gave up jumping into the stands to catch a throw-in from Cal Raleigh’s bat to keep the Defenders in play .
“I really admire his humility and simplicity,” the rookie said of Suzuki. “He’s obviously one of the biggest superstars in Japan, and he came here to do the same thing, but he never made it too big,” Guan said. “He approached everything with great humor, real humility. That’s something I admire a lot.”
“[Ichiro] Didn’t hit a big home run, he didn’t do macho things, but he was getting the job done,” Kwan told reporters. “They pushed him out every day and he made it. He is a superstar. It was very important to my confidence growing up. “
Kwan recalls watching highlights of the Japanese TV show Ichiro with his grandmother as a child. Even if Ichiro has a bad day, the Japanese highlights will show his performance.
Weekends at Ichiro include a Friday night fireworks night with music curated by Ichiro.
Saturday night was a big night with a ceremony before the game that officially inducted Suzuki into the Mariners Hall of Fame. The ceremony included Ichiro’s wife Yumiko Fukushima, Ken Griffey, Jr., Edgar Martinez and many more sailors already at the prestigious club. Lighthearted moments of the ceremony included congratulations from Ichiro’s two dogs on the big screen. Over the years, Ichiro has made a name for himself as a player through interpreters, speaking in English to the sold-out crowd of more than 45,000 at T-Mobile Park.
“What’s up, Seattle?!” Ichrio yelled to the crowd to begin his speech, which was also conducted entirely in English. Many fans wear Ichiro shirts or jerseys in honor of certified baseball rock stars.
“Despite my retirement as an active player, baseball and Seattle have never left my heart,” Suzuki said. To this day, Suzuki still wears his Mariners uniform and his now-retired No. 51 jersey. Despite the fact that he pitches, catches and swings to the batsman during batting practice, he often practices with the team and serves as a mentor to the young bats himself.
In fact, Suzuki surprised fans by attending the ceremony’s first race the night before in his full uniform.
“Baseball will always be in my soul, and my mission is to continue to help players and fans appreciate this special game,” Ichiro said in his speech.
In addition to Saturday’s ceremony, the following night was a special Ichiro Bobblehead Day, which brought another sold-out crowd for an unforgettable weekend.
Despite being on the same court as his boyhood hero, Seki didn’t want to take a break from the moment he introduced himself to Ichiro. He still has a chance to get an autographed jersey from Suzuki, though. According to Guan, the jersey was immediately given to his parents, who traveled to Seattle for the series, for safekeeping. He told reporters he would have it framed immediately and considered it “my treasured possession”.
Jason is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
