The Retirement of a Legend: Ichiro Suzuki

Photo of Ichiro Suzuki by Daniel Millhouse

A legend retired today.

To some, Ichiro Suzuki was a good hitter but not scary. They would be wrong. Yes, he only won the MVP Award once (2001), but he was perhaps the best overall hitter for several years during his peak.

He had 3,089 hits in his Major League Baseball career and that's after he had 1,287 hits in Japan. During his rookie year, he hit .350 with 242 hits, 56 stolen bases, and won the Rookie of the Year, the MVP, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger Award.

By 2004, Ichiro broke the single season hits record in the MLB by tallying up 262 of them. He only hit .372 that season.

Some would dispute that Ichiro wasn't "great" because he didn't hit with massive power. Ichiro held back though. Like Rickey Henderson before him, Ichiro had the ability to hit with more power than he showed, but he refused to sacrifice his batting average and on base percentage to do so.

Not only was he a great hitter, but he was a great fielder. Few had an arm in the outfield like he did and even fewer covered as much ground. This is why he won 10 Gold Gloves and could have easily won a few more.

Perhaps the only thing missing in Ichiro's otherwise complete career was a winning the World Series. He had made it twice to the American League Championship Series, once with the Mariners in 2001 but falling to the Yankees, and again in 2012, this time with the Yankees as they lost to the Tigers. It wasn't for the lack of trying. He hit .346 in his postseason career.

Ichiro should be a sure bet for Cooperstown when his time comes. His career in America came to a close with over 3,000 hits, 500 stolen bases, a career average over .300, nine batting titles, and 1,420 runs scored. He's already a member of The Golden Players Club (the Japanese baseball hall of fame) and five years from now, he will be ready to be a first-ballot pick for the Major League Baseball one.