Ichiro Suzuki (known as Ichiro) played right field for the Seattle Mariners from 2001 to 2012, and again from 2018 to 2019, with the intervening years spent playing for the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins. He was the first Japanese-born player in Major League Baseball to play a position other than pitcher, and started after playing nine years for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. He was the first Japanese player to receive the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Rookie of the Year awards, and his accomplishments include 10 Gold Glove Awards and more than 3,000 career hits. A fan favorite, Ichiro was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in August 2022. In 2025, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in a near-unanimous vote, becoming the first Asian player in the Hall.
In this photograph, Ichiro is waving to the fans from first base after hitting his 257th hit in the season, off of Texas Ranger pitcher Ryan Drese, tying the 1920 record held by George Sisler. Ichiro would end the 2004 season with 262 hits, which still stands as the record as of 2022.
Caption information source: "Ichiro Suzuki on Trailblazing Path and Past Racism Ahead of Historic Hall of Fame Induction," by Kimmy Yam, NBC News, August 23, 2022, retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/ichiro-suzuki-trailblazing-path-racism-ahead-historic-hall-fame-induct-rcna43535. Caption information source: "Ichiro Breaks 84-Year-Old Record for Hits in a Season," by David Andriesen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 2, 2004.
