Ichiro Suzuki: Where does he rate among Seattle Mariners greats?

With Ichiro Suzuki announcing his retirement, effective immediately, we look at where he ranks among the Mariners all-time greats.

Fans of the Seattle Mariners heard the sad news on Thursday that Ichiro Suzuki has announced his retirement, effective immediately. Rather than play one last time during the team’s current homestand, Ichiro will transition to a front office role. In the interest of full disclosure, I just purchased tickets for Sunday’s game, hoping to see Ichiro get one last at-bat, so I am among the many disappointed fans.

That being said, Ichiro’s exit is that of a proud man who likely didn’t want the fanfare that would surely accompany his final games on the active roster. He didn’t want a farewell tour, like we’ve seen with other great players recently, including David Ortiz and Derek Jeter.

The final at-bat for Ichiro in the big leagues will be a swinging strikeout in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics on May 2.

Even though he wasn’t the Ichiro of old this year, he did have a few great moments this season. In the team’s second game of the season on March 31, Ichiro was 2-for-4 with a run scored. He also turned back the clock by robbing Jose Ramirez of a home run when he leaped up against the left-field wall and made a terrific catch.

Ichiro also had two-hit games on April 7 and April 22. It was games like these that fans were hoping for when the Seattle Mariners signed him in the spring. Despite being 44 years old, Ichiro still occasionally resembled the 27-year-old rookie we all loved to watch. Unfortunately, time caught up to him, like it always does.

Now that his career is over, we can gauge where Ichiro ranks among the best players in Seattle Mariners history. According to Fangraphs WAR, He is comfortably in the top five, but not at the top of the pyramid. Here is a look at the five best players in Seattle Mariners history.