Multiple sources have reported that long-time great Ichiro Suzuki is returning to Seattle. He apparently will return on a one-year major league deal as reported by Bob Nightengale. The 44-year old veteran spent his first twelve years in the majors with the Mariners, where he became a baseball icon. His last six seasons have been spent with the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins. While many thought he was done, he is ready for another year in baseball.
With a one-year deal in place and returning to his original MLB team, it could be safely assumed that this will be it for him and he will retire a Mariner.
Of course, until he says it is his last year, we will not 100% know for sure.
Ichiro Suzuki is getting close to finalizing one year major league deal with #Mariners
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 5, 2018
Continuing a Hall of Fame career
Ichiro is currently sitting at 3,080 hits in him MLB career going back to 2001. His current slash in 2,636 games is .312/.355/.403. His first ten seasons in the majors saw him go to ten All Star games, record over 200 hits per season, win ten gold gloves, three silver sluggers, and he was the 2001 AL MVP. One cannot forget his record-breaking 258 hit season in 2004. All of this started when he was already 27 years old. Imagine his MLB career numbers if he did not spend much time playing overseas.
Ichiro recorded his 3000th hit on August 7, 2016 in Colorado as a member of the Miami Marlins.
No doubt Ichiro will be used more sparingly this time around. He averaged roughly 700+ at bats in in his first tenure in Seattle, but his age has slowed him down a bit. Last year in Miami he took 196 at bats and was not a regular starter.
2013 was the last time Ichiro had over 500 at bats in one season. He may however get some more time to start because the Mariners have some injuries in the outfield. Regardless, he still likely won't get the at bats he used to in Seattle.
Will this be it?
Again, it is safe to assume it will be it for him here. At 44 years old and nothing left to prove, it seems perfect to end it all where he started in the majors.
The Mariners did a similar thing with Ken Griffey Jr. He may be more than just a nostalgic thing, however, as he can still be useful even though he will be used more sparingly. While he is not as fast as he once was, he can still book it down the line decently, and his experience can be a good thing to have on that Mariners team.
The Mariners faithful have had it rough, no playoffs since 2001. They had many years to cheer Ichiro on, which made the team's lack of success a bit more bearable. His return can at least give Mariners fans something positive to look at, even if he is not quite the same anymore.
