Outfielder, Seattle
Mariners
Age: 27
1st season
with Mariners
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 175
Prior to 2001:
Born in a
suburb of Nagoya in Japan, Suzuki excelled at baseball in high school. A
natural right-handed hitter who was trained by his father to bat left-handed,
he hit .502 over the course of his high school career and demonstrated the
excellent work ethic that would be evident throughout his career. He was
selected in the fourth round of the 1991 Japanese amateur draft by the Orix
Blue Wave. Due to concerns regarding his small stature and unusual hitting
technique, he spent two seasons in the minor leagues where he drew attention
with his hitting. With Orix in 1994, Suzuki demonstrated his excellent bat
control as he batted .385 with 210 hits and 111 runs scored in a 130-game
season. He was named MVP of the Pacific League and also received a Gold Glove
for his outstanding defensive play in the outfield. The club placed his first
name, Ichiro, on the back of his jersey in place of his surname of Suzuki,
banking on his popularity, a feature that would follow him to the United
States. In 1995 he led the Pacific League in hits (179), RBIs (80), stolen
bases (49), and batting (.342), in addition to 25 home runs and a .432 on-base
percentage. He again received league MVP honors. Orix won the Pacific League
title, losing the Japan Series to the Yakult Swallows. The Blue Wave again
topped the league in 1996 and Suzuki contributed by batting a league-leading
.356 with 193 hits (also a league high mark), 24 doubles, 16 home runs, 84
RBIs, 35 stolen bases, a .422 OBP, and a .504 slugging percentage. He was
league MVP for the third consecutive year and Orix defeated the Yomiuri Giants
in the Japan Series. Suzuki went on to win seven straight batting titles,
hitting .345 in 1997, .358 in 1998, .343 in 1999, and .387 in 2000. Orix was
financially strapped by 2000 and encouraged American major league teams to bid
for Suzuki’s services. The Japanese-owned Mariners signed Suzuki to a
three-year, $14 million contract in 2001, and he moved directly into Seattle’s
lineup in right field.
2001 Season Summary
Appeared in 157
games
RF – 152, DH – 4,
PH – 4
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 738 [1]
At Bats – 692 [1]
Runs – 127 [2]
Hits – 242 [1]
Doubles – 34 [19,
tied with seven others]
Triples – 8 [7,
tied with Omar Vizquel]
Home Runs – 8
RBI – 69
Bases on Balls
– 30
Int. BB – 10
[8, tied with Jorge Posada & Tony Clark]
Strikeouts – 53
Stolen Bases – 56
[1]
Caught Stealing
– 14 [2, tied with Alfonso Soriano]
Average - .350
[1]
OBP - .381 [14,
tied with Rafael Palmeiro]
Slugging Pct. -
.457
Total Bases – 316
[9, tied with Magglio Ordonez]
GDP – 3
Hit by Pitches
– 8
Sac Hits – 4
Sac Flies – 4
League-leading
plate appearances were +6 ahead of runner-up Alex Rodriguez
League-leading
at bats were +20 ahead of runner-up Garret Anderson
League-leading
hits were +36 ahead of runner-up Bret Boone
League-leading
stolen bases were +1 ahead of runner-up Roger Cedeno
League-leading
batting average was +.008 ahead of runner-up Jason Giambi
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 20, 3B – 7, HR –5, RBI – 41, SB – 28, AVG - .345, OBP – .377
---
Most hits, game
– 4 on six occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 23 games
HR at home – 5
HR on road – 3
Most home runs,
game – 1 on eight occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 3 at Cleveland 8/5
Pinch-hitting –
1 for 4 (.250) with 1 R
Fielding
Chances – 344
Put Outs – 335
Assists – 8
Errors – 1
DP – 2
Pct. - .997
Postseason
Batting: 10 G (ALDS vs. Cleveland – 5 G; ALCS vs. NY Yankees – 5 G)
PA – 43, AB – 38,
R – 7, H – 16, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 5, IBB – 2, SO – 4, SB – 3,
CS – 2, AVG - .421, OBP - .488, SLG - .474, TB – 18, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF
– 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
All-Star (started
for AL in CF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Ichiro Suzuki,
Sea.: 289 points - 11 of 28 first place votes, 74% share
Jason Giambi,
Oak.: 281 points – 8 first place votes, 72% share
Bret Boone, Sea.:
259 points – 7 first place votes, 66% share
Roberto Alomar,
Clev.: 165 points – 2 first place votes, 42% share
Juan Gonzalez,
Clev.: 156 points – 40% share
AL ROY Voting:
Ichiro Suzuki,
Sea.: 138 points – 27 of 28 first place votes, 99% share
C.C. Sabathia,
Clev.: 73 points. – 1 first place vote, 52% share
Alfonso
Soriano, NYY: 35 points – 25% share
David Eckstein,
Ana.: 6 points – 4% share
---
Mariners went 116-46 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 14 games over the Oakland Athletics while leading the league in runs scored (927), hits (1637), stolen bases (174), batting (.288), and OBP (.360). The Mariners got off to a 19-4 start (all against AL West teams), holding leads of 20 games by the end of June and 17 games at the end of August) and stayed on top of the AL West the rest of the way as they tied the major league record (and set an AL record) for wins in a season. Suzuki quickly overcame any doubts as to his ability to succeed in the US major leagues. Won ALDS over the Cleveland Indians, 3 games to 2. Lost ALCS to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 1.
Aftermath of 2001:
While the Mariners were less successful in 2002 (although they still won 93 games), Suzuki batted .321 with 208 hits, 27 doubles, 8 triples, 8 home runs, 51 RBIs, 31 stolen bases (although he was caught stealing a league-leading 15 times), and a .388 OBP while scoring 111 runs. He received another Gold Glove and placed seventeenth in league MVP voting. His average dropped to .312 in 2003, although he hit 13 home runs with 62 RBIs, 34 stolen bases, and a .352 OBP. Starting off slowly in 2004, Suzuki had 107 hits in July and August and went on to break George Sisler’s record of 257 hits in a season with 262. He was also the league batting champion at .372 to go along with a .414 OBP. He placed seventh in AL MVP balloting. Suzuki’s average dropped to .303 in 2005, although his 206 hits still put him over 200 for the fifth straight year with Seattle. He also hit 12 triples, a career-high 15 home runs, and 68 RBIs with 33 stolen bases and a .350 OBP. In 2006 Suzuki shifted to center field in August, where his speed and skill proved beneficial as he remained a Gold Glove recipient. As a batter he hit .322 with a league-leading 224 hits. Playing center field full time in 2007 he had 8 assists and committed only one error. He batted .351 with a league-high 238 hits and also produced 68 RBIs, a .396 OBP, and 37 stolen bases. He was also the MVP of the All-Star Game, where he hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star history as part of a 3-for-3 batting performance. The Mariners finished a surprising second in the AL West and Suzuki placed eighth in league MVP voting. The team dropped into the division cellar in 2008 but the steady Suzuki once again topped the AL with 213 hits while batting .310 with a .361 OBP. His 2009 season was highlighted by a 27-game hitting streak as he once more topped the league with 225 hits while batting .352 with 31 doubles, 11 home runs, and a .386 OBP. Very reserved when talking to the media, always using a translator even though he spoke English fluently, Suzuki was known for being funny and exuberant off camera with his teammates. In 2010 he led the league in hits for the last time with 214 while batting .315 with a .359 OBP. Regularly playing right field again in 2009 and ’10, he remained a Gold Glove performer with his outstanding throwing arm. In 2011 his hits dropped under 200 for the first time (to 184) and his average fell to .272 with a .310 OBP. At age 38 in 2012, and hitting only .261 at the All-Star break, the Mariners dealt him to the New York Yankees, where he excelled in September by compiling 38 hits in 31 games as New York narroly won the AL East title. For the year he hit a combined .283 with 9 home runs and 55 RBIs. In Game 5 of the ALDS vs. Baltimore, Suzuki drove in a key run as the Yankees won the series. Although be hit .353 in the ALCS vs. Detroit, the club was swept by the Tigers. Suzuki was less productive for the Yankees in 2013, batting .262 with 7 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a .297 OBP. Following a 2014 season in which he hit .284 with a .324 OBP in 143 games, Suzuki departed from the Yankees as a free agent and signed with the Miami Marlins. Seeing more action in right field for the Marlins in 2015 due to an injury to slugger Giancarlo Stanton, Suzuki batted just .229 but remained a capable defensive performer in the outfield. Re-signed by the Marlins for 2016, he achieved a career milestone by tripling at Denver’s Coors Field for his 3000th hit in the American major leagues. As a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter, Suzuki appeared in 143 games and hit .291 with a .354 OBP. He spent one more season with the Marlins in 2017 as a pinch-hitter and occasional outfielder before returning to Seattle in 2018 where he appeared in 15 games and stayed on with the organization to mentor younger players. He finished his career in 2019 as the Mariners opened the season in Tokyo, where he received a huge ovation from the crowd. For his career in Japan, Suzuki batted .353 with 1278 hits that included 211 doubles, 23 triples, and 118 home runs. He scored 658 runs and compiled 529 RBIs, 199 stolen bases, 384 walks, a .421 OBP, and a .522 slugging percentage. In the American major leagues he batted .311 with 3089 hits that included 362 doubles, 96 triples, and 117 home runs. He scored 1420 runs and compiled 780 RBIs, 509 stolen bases, a .355 OBP, and a .402 slugging percentage. With the Mariners he batted .321 with 2542 hits, 1181 runs scored, 295 doubles, 79 triples, 99 home runs, 633 RBIs, 438 stolen bases, a .365 OBP, and a .416 slugging percentage. Appearing in 19 postseason games he hit .346 with a home run, 8 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. A 10-time All-Star, Suzuki also received 10 Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. He was honored with the Franchise Achievement Award by the Mariners and was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2022. Following his retirement as a player at age 45, he has served the Mariners organization in a variety of roles. In 2016 he made the largest donation by an active player to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. In addition to English, he also learned Spanish to be better able to communicate with Latin American players with who he felt a bond as foreigners trying to succeed in the USA.
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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
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