Ichiro Suzuki has officially decided to retire from Major League Baseball. The 45-year-old went 0-for-4 on Thursday morning for the Mariners vs the Athletics in Tokyo, Japan.
Ichiro came out in the bottom of the eighth inning to a roaring ovation at the Tokyo Dome.
https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1108724506992898049
The future Hall of Famer will end his MLB career with 3,089 hits (23rd All-Time), 509 stolen bases (35th All-Time), 10-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glover, three-time Silver Slugger, and was the MVP ad Rookie of the Year in 2001. He also had 1278 hits and three MVP awards in Japan for the Orix Blue Wave.
Ichiro began his career with 10 straight 200-hit seasons, the longest streak in MLB history. In 2004, he set the major league record for hits in a season with 262, besting the previous record of 257 by George Sisler in 1920.
Here’s Ichiro on his retirement from baseball, “I have achieved so many of my dreams in baseball, both in my career in Japan and, since 2001, in Major League Baseball. I am honored to end my big league career where it started, with Seattle, and think it is fitting that my last games as a professional were played in my home country of Japan. I want to thank not only the Mariners, but the Yankees and Marlins, for the opportunity to play in MLB, and I want to thank the fans in both the U.S. and Japan for all the support they have always given me.”
