Earlier this week, Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki earned election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Getting 99.7 percent of the vote, Ichiro is one of the highest vote-getters in baseball history. He’ll be enshrined this July, and I’ll be there, among many of you, I’m sure.
On the field, Ichiro was a savant. He peppered balls through every hole on the field, ran with grace, had an electric throwing arm, and he put up some of the best numbers in baseball history. You know that: The 10 Gold Gloves, the 10 All-Star Game appearances, the highlight catches, the batting titles, the throw to get Terrance Long at third base in 2001, they all come flooding back any time we think about Ichiro.
But the one thing that I don’t think gets talked about enough with Ichiro is the following: He helped do the almost unthinkable: He healed wounds. Serious wounds for a seriously wounded fanbase.
See, I grew up in the sweet spot of Mariners fandom. I am old enough (35) to have grown up with, and appreciated, Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. I vaguely remember 1995 but I certainly remember running the commemorative VHS “My, Oh My” into the ground. Those guys were idols to me, and they are true pillars of Mariners history.
But they all left, one by one, in successive years, and Ichiro was there to pick up the pieces. Randy Johnson was the first to go, getting traded in 1998. Ken Griffey Jr. bolted after the 1999 season and A-Rod left after the 2000 season, when the team hast just gotten to the ALCS. The Mariners had been so close to finally getting to the World Series and losing their best player was devastating. Add that it was over money, and it was downright cruel.
I remember, as a kid, the narrative was that the Mariners couldn’t hold onto great players and they didn’t want to stay. And it hurt to see one favorite player after another exit.
Enter, Ichiro. While Edgar Martinez being there still obviously helped, Ichiro bridged the gap of superstars. And he ushered in a new generation of Mariners fans that was a little bit younger than me. As the previous big three exited, he came in, and gave the M’s a star almost as glorious as the ones who had left. Ichiro was excellent on the field, but more than anything, he was ours, and for a fan base that had constantly lost their star, that mattered.
So, thank you to Ichiro.
Thank you for what you did on the field. Thank you for the memories and the highlights, but thank you even more for helping alleviate the pain that was left by the previous stars walking away.