Ichiro Suzuki hinted to John Hickey of Sportspress Northwest that he wants to re-sign with the Mariners after his current contract expires. Ichiro, whose contract expires after the 2012 season, is now 37, but he says age is more of a distraction than a limitation.
“Take the talk of age. It’s something that I will have to battle," Ichiro said. “When you have to think about something like that, it’s not a positive for you. I mean, it’s something you don’t have to think about, but when you have people around you talking about it, you don’t want the negatives to get in.”
There were lots of positives for Ichiro in 2010. He led the league in hits, reached the 200 hit plateau for the tenth consecutive season and stole 42 bases, hitting .315/.359/.394. As Ichiro points out he can still play though, “there are players who are 25 who play already like they’re 40.”
He has 2,244 hits as a Major Leaguer, so the 3,000 hit plateau is within reach, even though he didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 27. Ichiro admits that his goals were once personal, but says they have become more team-oriented as he has become a fixture in the game and, especially, in Seattle.
“For me, it’s about going to the playoffs with the Mariners,” Ichiro said. “It’s all the time you’ve spent getting there."
If there is anyone who can keep up his abilities it is Ichiro. He keeps himself in amazing shape and his speed and superior baserunning will not leave him for a while. I hope he plays till he wants to stop.
pfffttt robots don’t age
Seriously if there is one guy I had to choose in the MLB that would be capable of playing at a high level well into his twilight years it’s Ichiro. He’s still a tremendous athlete and plays like he’s in his 20s. I don’t think he’s even been injured (by anything really notable) in the last decade, has he? – he takes amazing care of himself.
I really think he will keep playing until he decides he’s finished, rather than being restricted by his body. He’ll get 3,000 and more before its all said and done and even though I’m not an M’s fan I want Ichiro to get a ring more than any individual guy in baseball, I think.
Ichiro is flat out money.
Ichiro is Gwynn without the beer belly.
Ichiro is James Bond who plays baseball.
Ichiro is a sparkly vampire? That may expain it all.
good try….
ichiro is 21 years old you shut your mouths
There’s so much to like about Ichiro, but I don’t see anyone breaking his consecutive 200 hit seasons streak.
With a little bit “Just for men”, Ichiro looked exactly the same as 10 years ago.
Ichiro is a machine. In a good way of course!
Sad that the best outfielder in the game today wants to continue playing in complete obscurity.
Your concept of ‘complete obscurity’ is a strange one.
Same for ‘best’.
Sad that playing in Seattle is considered “Complete obscurity” and only the teams cities ESPN likes to talk about ie: Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies are the teams that people think players “Want” to play for for the spotlight. NOT TRUE! I am sure Ichiro enjoys his time in Seattle, as frankly it is a beautiful city, and many a great things have come out it I think to unclassify it as “Obscure”.
Nothing Seattle does will take it out of the pacific timezone – his “obscurity” has little to do with bias; half the country is in bed when Ichiro plays.
I thought his plans were to play till early 40’s, then start pitching? Wasn’t he “supposed” to pitch in the World Baseball Classic a few years ago?
Yes, 3K hits then he goes for 300 saves. He can also DH. You won’t have to worry about him as a DH when he comes into pitch because he can hit for himself.
He’s aging about as well as another x-Mariner… Omar Visquel. Omar will be the first pro baseball player to be eligible for medicare while still in the league.
What about Jamie Moyer? Oldest guy to ever throw a complete game shutout. I really hope his surgery goes well so he can pitch in 2012. When he’s 49. If anything, he would make a great middle reliever. And Ichiro, there’s not a lot you can say. He is Ichiro, he doesn’t get hurt (knock on wood), he gets 200 hits, bats over .300, and steals 30+ bases. He will forever be known as one of the most consistent players in MLB history. I am glad he is and wants to stay a Mariner.
If the guy wants a ring, he’s gonna have to move somewhere else…
Blatantly stupid comment…look at the mariners farm system before ruling out anything please. The rays turned it around, why not the mariners. We don’t have Bavasi anymore you know…
Mariners have a bottom 15 ranked farm system.. I don’t get the comparison to the Rays farm system.
I didnt compare their farm systems silly! I simply stated that a team can turn it around in a short period of time such as the rays, and that the mariners have some good young players. i personally think rankings don’t mean squat, as it does not take into affect players such as Justin Smoak.
you’re the one who said look to the mariners farm system…
At the end of this contract, Ichiro will go back to college to obtain his Masters is biochemistry and then re enter the Amateur draft and be selected in the first round.
I would like to see Ichiro play for a real team, he’s never making it to the playoffs in Seattle.
He already did when the Mariners won the most games ever in a single season. How quickly we forget.
what happened at the end of that magical season?
oh right.
playoffs = crapshoot
What a shame. I wish nothing but the best for Ichiro, but as others have alluded too, he will likely not see a post season game ever again while playing for the Mariners. The team is that bad. I’ve been looking over the roster all winter and I’m forecasting perhaps one of the worst seasons ever for a baseball team, ever in the record books. I suppose it would be pretty hard to surpass last years debacle, but there is absolutely nothing that illustrates a plus .500 team for this year and most likely next year. They have a handful of good prospects who apparently are not ready yet and Felix. I guess it’s a wait and see. I predict they finish 30 out of 30. Jack has his work cut out for himself…
Wow.
“One of the worst seasons ever for a baseball team, ever in the record books.”
38 wins from the Boston Braves (modern era). 43 wins from the 2003 Tigers. The list goes on and on. There are 20+ teams who have posted under 50 wins. The Mariners were at 61 wins last year.
This is the problem with just looking at the surface stats. Everyone thought that the all-D, not hit team in 2010 was going to be the best in class in the AL West. They saw 85 wins in 2009 and the addition of Cliff Lee, and Chone Figgins in the off-season had people dreaming of a 90+ win season. Unfortunately, the Mariners were an incredibly lucky 85 win team in 2009. Figgins bombed, Guiterrez came back down to earth, Lee wasn’t any better than Washburn, etc, etc. Some of the collapse was predictable, some just plain old bad luck.
Now the opposite effect is true. There is no way that the M’s are a 61 win team. They are much better than that. While people overvalued the 2010 M’s, the 2011 version is being underappreciated. This isn’t a good team, but certainly 70-75 wins is completely within reach. They are a far cry from having a historically bad team.
Signed – M’s hater
“Lee wasn’t any better than Washburn”
Washburn ’09 with Mariners – 133 IP, 79 K, 32 BB, 11 HR
Lee ’10 with Mariners – 103 1/3 IP, 89 K, 6 BB, 5 HR
i basically agree with most of what you said but i had to point out how wrong that statement was
Whenever people make these types of predictions they never happen. Remember that this roster is essentially the same (minus Cliff Lee of course) that ESPN picked to win 100 games. I’d say they go around 70-92 but that’s nowhere near one of the worst season in history. They will not eclipse the Tigers 2003 campaign of 43-119. And even so, look how quickly they turned it around. No reason to assume Ichiro will never see the playoffs again.
This has been some of the most positive postings regarding one player, I have seen in a long time. Maybe this suggests something about how it is just hard not to like and root for the guy. I hope he plays to at least 45.
If anybody can play into his middle 40s, it’s Ichiro.
“Ichiro admits that his goals were once personal, but says they have become more team-oriented as he has become a fixture in the game and, especially, in Seattle.”
This to me is the biggest surprise in the posting. We all know that he isn’t going anywhere. The Mariners are his team for many reasons. But this comment is what we in Seattle have suspected for a while, at least since the whole 2008 clubhouse debacle. I would love to see an Ichiro on the field that plays for his team and not his stats. The M’s desperately need a leader, and he needs to be one.
With that being said, I have seen some decline in his outfield range and speed to first. The cynic in me thought that maybe it was him not giving 100% on the A-Gon double that cost us a game, and the double off Cliff Lee (where Cliff gave Ichiro the biggest stink eye I have ever seen). Although I think at both points the season was lost, no reason for him to risk injury at that point. I’ve been a big Ichiro skeptic, but I can’t help but come around a little more since 2008. If he becomes the team leader the M’s need … big respect.
I misclicked, I do not like this comment at all.
any mariners fan who is an “ichiro skeptic” or down on ichiro in ANY way is an embarrassment honestly. he’s done more than enough for this team, people crying that he needs to be a “team leader” or whatever need to realise that he already is one. he leads by example, and i’d take that over mike sweeney veteran leadership 100 times out of 100
@Keenan exactly my point, except you to misread the farm system as being compared to the rays, as I was simply stating that a team can turn things around quickly. not talking about the farm system they had, which was certainly top notch. Either way, I like the oppurtunity we have with the talent we currently got, and whoever we get for this next years draft pick. I completely agree with what you said.
Long live Ichiro.