When Yusei Kikuchi throws his first pitch for the Seattle Mariners in a major league game, he will make history.
Major League Baseball has done an impressive job of trying to expand its global outreach. Regular season games have been played in other countries, helping the popularity of the sport worldwide. Over the years, the Opening Series has been played overseas seven times, with the eighth time happening this year as the Seattle Mariners will take on the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo.
When that two game series takes place, history will be made. When Yusei Kikuchi throws his first major league pitch, he will become the first Japanese player to make his major league debut in his home country.
Yusei Kikuchi will be the first Japanese born player to make his Major League Baseball debut in Japan.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 9, 2019
It is not that much of a surprise that a Japanese born player has yet to make their MLB debut in Japan. After all, there have been a total of 66 major league players from Japan, and the Opening Series has been in the country five times prior to this year. The timing would need to be just right for that to happen.
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And the series was not set up with Kikuchi’s debut in mind. Instead, it was known that Ichiro Suzuki would be attempting to make a comeback with the Mariners this season. By having Seattle as part of that Opening Series, Ichiro would have the chance to say farewell in his home country.
Instead, the series could mark a farewell, and a beginning. With Ichiro says that he plans on continuing to play after the two games in Japan, it is a definite that Kikuchi is just getting started on his major league journey. As the Mariners have begun to overhaul their roster Kikuchi will be an important part of their future success.
Likewise, the Japanese fans will be excited to see that debut take place. Kikuchi had been a star in Nippon Professional Baseball, posting a 73-46 record, along with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.169 WHiP, striking out 903 batters against 371 walks over 1010.2 innings. And now, in just a couple of weeks, his first major league innings will come in Japan as well.
Yusei Kikuchi will make history when he throws his first pitch, as the Seattle Mariners rookie will become the first Japanese player to make his MLB debut in his home country.