Legendary Yankees Outfielder Makes MLB History

Ichiro Suzuki, often known mononymously as Ichiro, has become the first Asian baseball player inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. Ichiro spent most of his MLB career with the Seattle Mariners, but he played two and a half seasons for the New York Yankees after asking the Mariners to trade him halfway through 2012. In the 2012 postseason, Ichiro's first home run as a Yankee happened to be his 100th career homer.

The history-making induction was celebrated by Ichiro's many fans, and Asian MLB players shared their stories of being inspired by him in their own careers.

“He was a player who looked like me: Left-handed, played the outfield,” said Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, per Kimmy Yam of NBC News. “It kind of gave me hope at a really young age to see that someone who looks like me, plays like me, is able to succeed at the highest level and, not only that, gain the respect of everybody in the league too.”

His professional career began at age 18 in Japan, when Ichiro debuted with the Orix BlueWave in 1992. In 2001, he moved over to the Mariners, where he would play eleven and a half seasons. In his rookie year with the Mariners, he won American League MVP, Rookie of the Year and his first of ten consecutive All-Star selections (2001-2010).

Ichiro, among the greatest contact hitters of all time, still holds the record for most hits in a season with 262, set in 2004 with the Mariners. He has an MLB career .311 batting average with 3,089 hits and 117 home runs. For the NPB Pacific League, he batted .353 with 1,278 hits and 118 home runs.

The Baseball Writers Association of America elected Ichiro almost unanimously; similar to the election of Derek Jeter, only one writer did not vote for him, and their identity remains a mystery. He was inducted alongside Yankees ace CC Sabathia and pitcher Billy Wagner, as well as the late Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were inducted posthumously.

Ichiro was the second MLB player ever to use his given name on his jersey rather than his family name, after Vida Blue did so at points over his long career.

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