25 years ago, in November of 2000, the Seattle Mariners changed the course of franchise history, and baseball, forever when they signed Ichiro Suzuki as a free agent out of Japan.
The Mariners were coming off their second ALCS appearance in franchise history, after a surprise run that saw the team claim the AL Wild Card and come two wins away from their first World Series appearance. However, they were about to lose superstar Alex Rodriguez to free agency, and would need a new star to replace him in the lineup and on the field.
25 years have passed since the Mariners changed everything by signing Ichiro Suzuki
Enter Ichiro, the Japanese outfielder who was known for hitting literally everything, and for running the bases at an extraordinarily high level. Then 27 years old, he had already played nine seasons in Japan, from 1992-2000, and was a star across the sea. He had led the Orix Blue Wave to a Pacific League pennant, and won awards like nobody else. By the time the 2000 season was over, Suzuki had won seven straight batting titles and seven straight Gold Glove awards.
It’s incredible the Mariners were able to secure him for $14 million over three seasons. At the time, it was more money than any other team was willing to give a japanese player. For Seattle, the contract was a bargain.
Of course, the rest is history. Suzuki went on to win AL MVP and AL ROY in his first season with the Mariners. He would set the MLB single-season hits record in 2004. He would reach 10 All-Star games, win 10 Gold Glove awards, and three Silver Slugger awards. He’d finish with over 5 bWAR six times (including an MLB-leading 9.2 bWAR in 2004). He’d collect over 200 base hits in 10 straight seasons, leading the league in seven of those years. He scored over 100 runs eight years in a row. He stole over 40 bases five times, including a league-leading 56 in 2001. He’d hit for a batting average over .300 for 10 years in a row, leading the league twice. He even led the league three times in intentional walks!
Now, Suzuki is a Hall-of-Famer, and deservedly so. It’s worth wondering what the league would be like had Seattle not taken a chance on Suzuki. Would Japanese players have such a stronghold on today’s game? With superstars like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominating in the World Series for the Dodgers, Japenese baseball is peaking like it never has before. Would that be the case if not for Suzuki, who cleared the path for so many Japanese stars after him?