Mariners: Human Highlight Reel, Ichiro, to Start in Opener in Japan

In what looks like his final curtain call, the “Wizard,” Ichiro Suzuki, is set to start in the Seattle Mariners home opener in his native Japan.

Even before his rookie season with the Seattle Mariners in 2001, Ichiro Suzuki was putting on a master class in hitting. All told, in 27 seasons – in Japan and in the US – the “Wizard” has 4367 hits.

In comparison, baseball’s “Hit King,” Pete Rose only has 4256. What’s more, for his career, Rose only had NINE seasons in which he had 200 or more hits. Ichiro did it in his first 10 MLB seasons. In all, however, he has done it 11 times.

Ichiro made history the moment he stepped onto a big league field. He’s only the 2nd player in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year award and the MVP award in the same season. That season, he also helped the Mariners put together the best regular season by a team in baseball history, winning 116 games.

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Three years later, in 2004, he broke the single-season hits record, setting the new mark at 262. That season, he hit for a .372 BA, the 5th best BA in 50 years.

Ichiro was also no slouch on the field. Known for his tremendous range and arm, he won a Gold Glove award in each of his first 10 MLB seasons. In that same span, he also made 10 consecutive All-Star appearances.

Now, as he nears the end of his playing career, Ichiro seems to be having the time of his life. Despite only hitting .080 in Spring Training, Ichiro traveled with the Seattle Mariners to Japan for their series against the Oakland A’s

While there, he’s put on a highlight reel circus catches in the outfield…

… he’s showed that he’s still got a gun for an arm…

… and now, he’s officially going to be in the starting lineup for the Mariners come opening day, according to manager Scott Servais.

The Mariners are set to take on the A’s from Japan this coming Wednesday and Thursday at 2:35 PDT (5:35 EST).