Ichiro: ‘I just want to play baseball’
Ichiro Suzuki was not feted with a pregame ceremony Thursday night. That honor was reserved for teammate Michael Morse, who was presented his 2014 World Series ring by the San Francisco Giants in a veritable lovefest.
Suzuki wasn’t reuniting with members of his last team either, as was the case for Giants third baseman Casey McGehee, who resurrected his career last season with the Miami Marlins.
Still, the Marlins’ visit to AT&T Park held special significance for Suzuki, even when he had never played a regular-season game there. The Giants’ bayside ballpark was the site of one of Suzuki’s most unique feats, the field where he hit the only inside-thepark home run in All-Star Game history. It was at the 2007 Midsummer Classic, where he was named MVP after going 3-for-3 with two RBI in the American League’s 5-4 victory.
Suzuki’s deep drive to rightcenter took an odd bounce off the wall and eluded National League right fielder Ken Griffey Jr. — the player he had replaced in the heart of Seattle Mariners’ fans — and the Japanese icon motored around with a two-run homer.
“All I can remember is, when that ball didn’t go out, I was kind of shocked,” Suzuki told USA TODAY Sports, recalling a feeling shared by many a frustrated hitter in the pitcher-friendly park. “It turned out to be a memorable experience, but at the time I was shocked it didn’t go out.”
The trip around the bases was not the breeze it might have seemed for the speedy outfielder, who has 489 career steals. A game or two before heading to San Francisco, Suzuki had fouled a ball off his right foot, and it was still painful.
“I was kind of hurting,” he recalled through interpreter Allen Turner, “so when I hit that ball, I didn’t really want to run.”
An American Leaguer throughout his 14-year career before joining the Marlins in the offseason, Suzuki played his first official game in San Francisco on Thursday as the Marlins’ left fielder, a role he has ably filled since Christian Yelich went down with a back strain in late April.
Manager Mike Redmond said Yelich will return to the lineup soon, so Suzuki will again assume a backup role, which will slow his march toward 3,000 hits in the U.S. major leagues. After compiling 1,278 hits in Japan, Suzuki has added 2,868 stateside.
The magical 3,000 figure is probably out of reach this season, so Suzuki said he doesn’t ponder it much. “If you could get three hits in one at-bat, maybe I would start thinking about that number,” he said with a laugh.
At 41, Suzuki has achieved just about every individual honor: AL MVP and rookie of the year (2001 with Seattle), two batting titles, three Silver Slugger Awards, 10 Gold Glove Awards, 10 All-Star Game invites and the single-season record for hits (262 in 2004).
But he has never played in a World Series and reached the playoffs in just two of his previous 14 seasons. After 2½ years with the New York Yankees, Suzuki joined the Marlins, who haven’t had a winning season since 2009, knowing he would be a fourth outfielder behind a talented cast that includes Yelich, NL MVP runner-up Giancarlo Stanton and center fielder Marcell Ozuna.
“There are many, many more things that I want to do,” Suzuki said. “In the 15 years I’ve been here, if the World Series was the goal and you achieve it, then what? I just want to play baseball, and if we win the World Series, I want to get there again. That’s how I look at it.”