FANS GRATEFUL AS ICHIRO SAYS SAYONARA BACK IN HIS HOMELAND
Surefire hall of famer retires after Toyko, series, write Stephen Wade and Tim Booth.
TOKYO At times, it seemed as if he’d go on hitting forever.
But Thursday, a player who defined baseball at its very best on two continents for a generation took his final swing.
The great Ichiro Suzuki said sayonara.
Now 45, Ichiro left the Tokyo Dome field in the eighth inning, waving goodbye to the packed crowd amid hugs from Seattle Mariners teammates in a three-minute walk that signalled to all his monumental run was over.
“I have ended my career and decided to retire,” Ichiro said, speaking in Japanese at a news conference after a 5-4 win over Oakland in 12 innings.
He said his contract was through the two games in Japan and decided before arriving last week to step away.
“After the reception I got today, how could I possibly have any regrets?” he said.
Ichiro went 0-for-4 in his farewell. In his last at-bat, he came up with two outs, a runner on second and a tie score in the eighth. He hit a slow grounder to shortstop and, still hustling the whole way, was barely thrown out at first.
He took his spot in right field in the eighth, then was pulled by manager Scott Servais and the walk into history began in front of a sellout crowd of 45,000.
To chants of “Ichiro, Ichiro, Ichiro,” he was greeted at the dugout by emotional embraces from teammates. Yusei Kikuchi, the Japanese rookie pitcher who started the game in his MLB debut, broke down in tears when he embraced Ichiro.
“Since spring training to this day, Ichiro told us it is a gift for him to play in Tokyo,” Kikuchi said, speaking through a translator. “But for me, he gave me the greatest gift that I can play with him.”
All over the stadium signs read: “Ichiro we love you” and “Ichiro is life.”
Fans wore his famous No. 51 in all shades and colours and from all eras.
The fans got one more chance to salute him when he came back on the field after the game and acknowledged their ovations.
Ichiro was 0-for-5 in the two regular-season games against the A’s in Tokyo, leaving him with 3,089 hits over 19 MLB seasons, surely a Hall of Fame resume. He had 1,278 hits before that over nine years in the Japanese league, making him professional baseball’s all-time hits leader.
Ichiro struggled in spring training with only two hits in 25 at-bats. And he was 0-for-6 in two exhibition games in Tokyo against the Tokyo Giants.
“I really wanted to play until I was 50, but I couldn’t do it,” he said.
Ichiro praised his countrymen, who are famous for being reserved. Not tonight. Not on this night.
“Japanese people, I have always thought, don’t in general express themselves,” he said. “But today’s experience blew that away. They were incredibly passionate tonight.
“When I look back on my career, I know I will remember today as the most memorable day, without a doubt.”
For years, Ichiro’s at-bats were must-see TV in his homeland with fans tuning in during breakfast and their morning commute.
He said he’d probably train on Friday, keeping up his workout routine, but wasn’t sure what comes next. He joked he lacked the “charisma” to be a manager.
“I’ll be known as the man formerly known as Ichiro,’” he cracked.
Ichiro’s retirement had been anticipated for a while.
The outfielder returned to the Mariners before the start of the 2018 season, then transitioned last May into a role as the special assistant to the chairman that allowed him to still be with the team and take part in pre-game workouts, but meant he could not play in any games.
Ichiro was a 10-time all-star, an AL MVP and rookie of the year and won 10 Gold Gloves. He set the record with 262 hits in a season and wound up with a .311 career batting average.
Ichiro admitted he badly wanted to get a hit in Tokyo. And his fans always wanted to see him play in the World Series. His teams made it to the playoffs just twice, never advancing to the Fall Classic.
He expressed no regrets, however. Well, maybe one.
“I had 3,089 hits in America,” he said. “But I think my wife — who always makes me rice balls before games — said she made 2,800 rice balls. So I wish I could have played long enough so she could have hit 3,000 as well.”