Mariners Agree to Terms with Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki

MLB’s active hits leader joins Mariners for 18th Major League season, 13th with Seattle

Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today from Spring Training that the Mariners have agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.

“The addition of Ichiro gives our team another versatile and athletic outfielder,” Dipoto said. “His incredible work ethic, prepara-tion and focus will enhance our environment in many ways. He’s truly one of the great players in the history of the game and his unquestionable presence is a valuable addition, both on the field and in the clubhouse. We’re very glad to bring him back home.”

Ichiro, 44, is the active Major League hits leader, ranking 22nd all-time in MLB history with 3,080 career hits. After amassing 1,278 hits during a 9-year career (1992–2000) with the Orix Blue Wave of Japan’s Pacific League, Ichiro has totaled 4,358 between MLB and Japan. On Aug. 7, 2016, he recorded his 3,000th career hit in the Major Leagues — a triple — becoming one of 31 players to reach that milestone. Ichiro is one of seven players to collect at least 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases in the Major Leagues, joining Lou Brock, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor and Honus Wagner.

He has spent the last six seasons with the Marlins (2015–17) and Yankees (2012–14). In 2017, Ichiro appeared in 136 games with Miami, batting .255 (50x196) with 19 runs, 6 doubles, 3 home runs and 20 RBI. He made 109 pinch-hit plate appearances and had 100 pinch-hit at-bats last season, both Major League records. His 27 pinch-hits in 2017 were one shy of the single-season Major League record (28, John Vander Wal-COL, 1995).

Ichiro began his Major League career with the Mariners, taking the American League by storm during his rookie campaign of 2001. After winning his first of two American League batting titles while also leading the league in hits and stolen bases in 2001, Ichiro was named the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year while also earning a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger. He joined Boston’s Fred Lynn (1975) as the only players in either league to claim MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. The 2001 season marked Ichiro’s first of 10 consecutive seasons with at least 200 hits — a Major League record — including a single-season Major League record 262 hits in 2004.

From 2001–2010, Ichiro won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards and made 10 straight trips to the All-Star Game. His 10 Gold Gloves are most among active players. He is one of six outfielders in Major League history to earn at least 10 Gold Gloves, joining Roberto Clemente (12), Willie Mays (12), Ken Griffey Jr. (10), Andruw Jones (10) and Al Kaline (10). Ichiro’s 10 All-Star Games appearances are tied with Ken Griffey Jr. for the most by a Mariner and are tied with Albert Pujols for the 2nd-most among active players (Miguel Cabrera, 11). In the 2007 All-Star Game in San Francisco, Ichiro was named Most Valuable Player after going 3-for-3 with the first inside-the-park home run in ASG history.

Among the Mariners all-time leaders in club history, Ichiro ranks 1st in hits (2,533), batting (.322), at-bats (7,858), triples (79) and stolen bases (438) while ranking 2nd in games (1,844) and runs (1,176), 3rd in doubles (295) and total bases (3,283), 4th in extra-base hits (473) and 5th in RBI (633) and walks (513).

During his career with Orix, Ichiro, a native of Kasugai, Aichi prefecture, Japan, led the Pacific League in batting average for a Japanese-record seven consecutive seasons. He was a 3-time league MVP and was named to the Pacific League’s “Best Nine” for seven consecutive years while also earning seven consecutive Gold Gloves. He led Japan to World Baseball Classic Titles in 2006 and 2009.