“Lou Piniella was very skeptical,” said Larry Stone, a Seattle Times baseball writer who has covered Ichiro’s career extensively. “That spring training, Ichiro started off not pulling the ball, not driving the ball. And Lou was like, ‘Who is this guy? When is he going to show me something?’”

Christian Yelich brings a different perspective than Carroll or Kwan. Yelich played three seasons as Ichiro’s teammate in Miami. He remembered playing catch with Ichiro the day after he collected his 3,000th hit in the majors, one of those pinch-me kind of moments.

Ichiro remains an enigma to some, as a career of translated interviews obscures a personality teammates say is as robust as his Hall of Fame skill set.

The family of legendary Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus — the voice of Seattle baseball for more than three decades — shared a quiet exchange they had with Ichiro.

Ichiro Suzuki’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025 marks a historic milestone. The post What Makes Ichiro Suzuki a Hall of Famer? - Career Stats, Records, and Legacy Explained appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki shares why sitting out much of 2018 with the Seattle Mariners was one of his biggest accomplishments.

And on Thursday night, that's where Julio Rodriguez found himself. The history was made when Rodriguez stole third base in the first inning. It was his 20th steal of the season. Rodriguez has now stolen 20 bases in each of his first four MLB season. The only other player in Seattle franchise history to do that was Ichiro.