Ichiro Suzuki: A Man of Baseball Quiz

Answer: Orix BlueWave

Ichiro was a sensational baseball player in Japan, for 9 years, from 1992 to 2000. He was only 18 when he was signed on by Orix BlueWave to play for Nippon Professional Baseball! Ichiro also won seven straight gold gloves in Japan.

Answer: November 18, 2000

Ichiro donned the white Mariner Jersey for the first time on November 18, 2000. He spent a total of 14 years with the Mariners, first from 2000 to 2012, and then for the last 2 years of his career, from 2018 to 2019. In between playing for the Mariners, he also spent stints with the New York Yankees and the Miami Merlins.

Answer: True

Robinson did it in 1949, while Ichiro did it in 2002. In that year, Ichiro had a batting average of .350 and 56 stolen bases. The 2002 season was a big year for Ichiro: he became a major attraction for Japanese fans, who would often fly to the United States simply to watch him play. A new type of tuna sushi was also named for him: the Ichiroll.

Answer: Yumiko

Her full name was Yumiko Fukushima; they had a church wedding in Santa Monica, California. Ichiro and his wife lived in Kobe, Japan, during the off-season. Ichiro claimed that his favorite restaurant is his kitchen, because he loved his wife's cooking. Nobuyuki was Ichiro's father.

Answer: 127

In 2001, Ichiro was second in the American League in runs, behind only Alex Rodriguez. Although Ichiro signed to the Seattle Mariners in 2000, he was not allowed to play in the USA until 2001. And what a year it was! In August alone, he also scored an impressive 51 hits.

Answer: 56

Although 2001 was only Ichiro's first year playing in the USA, he made his mark almost immediately. He won the Rookie of the Year and the American League Most Valuable Player awards for that year. With Ichiro, the Seattle Mariners managed 116 wins in the season.

Answer: Fred Lynn

Fred Lynn won it in 1975 with the Red Sox, and Ichiro was the first player to do it since. When he joined the Seattle Mariners, Ichiro was issued the number 51, the number he had used in Japan. This number had also been used by Randy Johnson whe he was at the Mariners (1989-1998) when he had played for the Mariners, however, and Ichiro was hesitant to wear the star's number until he had written to Johnson saying that he would not "bring shame" to Johnson's old number.

He most certainly didn't!

Answer: No

There were many others, including Ichiro's teammate Kazuhiro Sasaki. The first Japanese player in the American Leauge was Masanori "Mashi" Murakami, who began playing with the San Francisco Giants at the age of 20 in 1964. Originally playing for the Nankai Hawks, Mashi returned to Japan to play shortly after his American debut.

Answer: Right field

In his first 2 seasons with the Mariners, 2001 and 2002, he won 2 Gold Gloves in right field. A throw that Ichiro made in only his eighth game with the Mariners was termed "The Throw", and the term stuck with him. Ichiro was made a pitcher early on in his life; even while in school, he was known for his strong arm.

Answer: Bats left, throws right

Ichiro bats left handed, and he throws right handed. He was also more successful in hitting off left-handed pitchers than right-handed ones, a rare thing in baseball. This is known as a "reverse platoon split".