Ichiro Suzuki officially signed a one-year deal on Wednesday to rejoin the Seattle Mariners. In all likelihood, it will be the 44-year-old’s last season. He came over from Japan in 2001 to join the Mariners and led the American League in batting average (.350), hits (242), and stolen bases (56) on his way to winning both the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP.
Suzuki stayed with the team until July of 2012 when he was traded to the New York Yankees. His time with the Mariners saw him make 10 All-Star teams, win 10 Gold Gloves, and hit .322 with 2,533 hits and 438 stolen bases.
He also set a major league record with 262 hits in 2004.
Now he will be back where he established what will easily be a Hall of Fame career. Here are five other legendary athletes who went back and ended their careers with the team they started out with and made a name for themselves.
(Note: While Dwyane Wade is not retired, he has gone on record saying that he will not play with another team in his career. LeBron James is back with Cleveland, but there is a chance he doesn’t end his career there so he is not on the list.)
Dwyane Wade - Miami Heat
Wade went back to the team he spent his first 13 seasons with when he was traded to the Heat from the Cleveland Cavaliers last month. Wade's list of accolades with Miami includes three NBA Championships, 12 All-Star appearances, and a scoring title in the 2008-09 season.
Prior to his return, Wade had 20,221 points, 4,126 rebounds, 4,944 assists, 1,414 steals, and 759 blocks in a Heat uniform. The 36-year-old has played 10 games with Miami so far this season and is averaging 14.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.
Ken Griffey Jr. - Seattle Mariners
Griffey's first 11 seasons in the majors with Seattle from 1989-99 saw him make 10 All-Star Games, win an MVP award, 10 Gold Gloves, and seven Silver Sluggers, and lead the American League in home runs four times.
Altogether, his first Mariners stint consisted of a .299 average, 398 homers, 1,152 RBIs, 1,063 runs, and 167 stolen bases. A decade later in 2009, he returned to Seattle and played the following season before retiring in June. He was nearly 41 when he retired and wasn't very productive in his last two years, but the fans loved seeing their franchise icon for one last run.
Allen Iverson - Philadelphia 76ers
The first overall pick by the 76ers in 1996, Iverson won Rookie of the Year to start off his career. He spent 10+ seasons with Philadelphia before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in December of 2006. All he did before the trade was be named to seven All-Star teams, win four scoring titles and an MVP trophy, and guide the 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001. After he was released by the Memphis Grizzlies, Iverson was brought back by Philadelphia in December of 2009. In his last bit of NBA action, he played in 25 games with the 76ers that season and averaged 13.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.
Luc Robitaille - Los Angeles Kings
The 2009 Pro Hockey Hall of Fame inductee actually had three stints with the Kings.
He spent his first eight seasons with Los Angeles, left for three seasons, came back for four seasons, left for another two, and played his final two seasons with the Kings. During his first stint, Robitaille won the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year), had four seasons with 100+ points, and made the All-Star Game in each of his first seven seasons. His final year came in 2005-06 with the Kings when he scored 15 goals in 64 games in a season that saw him turn 40.
Willie McCovey - San Francisco Giants
McCovey was a member of the Giants from 1959-73. Over that time, he won Rookie of the Year and a National League MVP award, made six All-Star teams, hit 413 homers, and had 1,165 RBIs. After leaving San Francisco for three years, he played his final four seasons with them from 1977-80. He wasn’t quite the same hitter as his last game came at the age of 42, but he had another 56 home runs in those final four years.
