Seattle Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki moves to the front office

On Thursday, the Seattle Mariners announced that Ichiro Suzuki will transition into a front office role, effective immediately.

After an uncharacteristically slow start in 2018, Ichiro Suzuki will now join the Seattle Mariners‘ front office as a special assistant to the chairman. In 15 games, the 44-year-old legend slashed .205/.255/.205.

Although a move to the front office would presumably signal the end of Ichiro’s illustrious playing career, his agent, John Boggs, says that is not the case. There were rumors that Ichiro may retire after the Mariners’ current homestand, but those reports were slightly off.

The new role will prohibit Ichiro from playing again in 2018, but he is not retiring.

Prior to signing with the Mariners this offseason, there were reports that Ichiro was considering a return to Japan. This could still be a possibility for next year, or he could even remain in the majors.

The Mariners and A’s are set to begin the 2019 season in Japan, which would be an outstanding way for Ichiro to go out. He is already into his late-forties, which may make playing full seasons at a high level difficult, but he could sign with the Mariners for the series.

There are few better ways for the baseball legend to conclude his playing career.

If Ichiro returns in 2019, he will join Omar Vizquel, Carlton Fisk, and Pete Rose as position players to play at age-45. All three retired after their age-45 seasons, and Rose’s 72 games played were far and away the most. Of the three, Vizquel’s .235 average was the best, with Rose, the all-time leading hitter, hitting just .219.

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Even if Suzuki does not play another professional game, he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. His 3,089 hits rank 21st all-time, and that does not include his 1,278 hits in Japan.

The fact that Ichiro was able to accomplish what he did in the United States, despite not leaving Japan until he was 27, is unbelievable. His 4,367 total hits (including those in Japan) give him over 100 more than Rose.

In addition to outstanding performance, Ichiro has always been a stand-up guy off the field. He has been the face of the Mariners and a face of baseball for years, never slipping up.

Ichiro has been a model player, due to his performance and work ethic, as well as a model human. The baseball community will miss seeing him in action, but he will undoubtedly continue to make an impact as an executive.

Next: Ranking MLB's best bullpens

If we have seen the last of his playing days, we sure were in for a treat.