The last bow of a legend came in his home country. Irchiro Suzuki announced his retirement after the second game of the early season. As MLBTR stated:
With these two games, the 2653rd game of his MLB career, Ichiro, 45, has now appeared in parts of the last 28
seasons in both Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball,
completing one of the most remarkable careers in the history of the
sport. Over 951 games with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan and then 2653
games with the Mariners, Yankees, and Marlins in North America, Ichiro
recorded more professional hits than any player ever.
Heading into today’s action, Ichiro had an incredible 4367 career
hits — 1278 in NPB, and 3089 in MLB, reaching the 3000-hit club in the
majors despite not playing his first North American game until he was
already 27 years old.
After nine years as a star in Japan, Ichiro made a
heavily-anticipated jump to the majors prior to the 2001 season after
the Mariners won a posting bid to acquire his services. The transition
was more than just seamless — Ichiro’s debut in the Show saw him hit
.350/.381/.457 over a league-high 738 plate appearances for a 116-win
Mariners team. He became just the second player to win both the Rookie
Of The Year and MVP Awards in the same year, also winning the first of
three Silver Slugger Awards and the first of 10 Gold Gloves.
Ichiro’s smooth left-handed hitting stroke and quick acceleration out
of the box made him a threat to reach base every time he made contact.
Perhaps the most notable of his many achievements was setting a new
single-season hits record in 2004, as his 262 hits broke the 84-year-old
mark formerly held by Hall-of-Famer George Sisler.
Ichiro’s defense and baserunning were perhaps just as impressive as
his exploits at the plate. He stole a league-best 56 bases in 2001, and
finished his career with 509 steals, tied for 35th-most in Major League
history. As a right fielder, Ichiro unleashed a throwing arm that
instantly drew comparisons to Roberto Clemente in terms of both power
and accuracy.
While his skills inevitably declined with age, Ichiro did his best to
stave off Father Time, playing past his 45th birthday due a fitness regime and nonstop preparation. This work ethic helped make
Ichiro one of the most respected players of recent times, idolized by
both fans and teammates alike all over the world.
Irchiro ends his MLB career with a 59.4 WAR, .311 career BA, 117 HR, 780 RBI, 509 SB and 3,089 hits. His career is comparable to Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Lou Brock and Tony Gwynn. Despite his accomplishments, Irchiro probably had the "quietest" superstar career in MLB history.
