Ichiro walks away in finish
A player who defined baseball at its very best on two continents for a generation took his final swing Thursday.
Ichiro Suzuki, 45, left the Tokyo Dome field in the eighth inning, waving goodbye to the packed crowd amid hugs from Mariners teammates in a three-minute walk that signaled to all his monumental run was over.
“I have ended my career and decided to retire,” Ichiro said, speaking in Japanese after a 5-4 win over the Athletics in 12 innings.
He said his contract was through the two games in Japan, and that he 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. He strolled in, turned and waved to the crowd with all of the usually reserved Japanese fans on their feet.
Yusei Kikuchi, the Japanese rookie pitcher who started in his bigleague debut, broke down crying when he embraced Ichiro. Kikuchi later took a full minute to compose himself before responding about Ichiro’s impact.
“Since spring training to this day, Ichiro told us it is a gift for him to play in Tokyo,” Kikuchi said, speaking through an interpreter. “But for me, he gave me the greatest gift that I can play with him.”
Yet when Mariners teammate Dee Gordon bowed, Ichiro broke into a laugh — like, “not necessary, bro.”
The fans got one more chance to salute when he came back on the field after the game and acknowledged their ovations.
“I really wanted to play until I was 50, but I couldn’t do it,” he said. “It was a way of motivating myself and, if I’d never said it, I don’t think I would have come this far.”
Ichiro praised his countrymen, who are famous for being reserved. 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.”
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