A Seattle Mariners legend appears to be returning to where his major-league career began.
Surefire Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki is finalizing a one-year deal to return to Seattle, according to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale.
Suzuki started his big-league career with the Mariners in 2001 following an immensely successful nine-year stint with the Orix BlueWave (now Buffaloes) of Nippon Professional Baseball’s (NPB) Pacific League.
He would go on to win AL rookie of the year and MVP in 2001, leading Seattle to a record 116-win season.
In total, Suzuki is a 10-time all-star, three-time silver slugger, two-time batting champ, holds the single-season hits record with 262 that he set in 2004, and boasts 3,080 total hits, good for 21st on the all-time major-league hits leaderboard. If you were to combine the 1,278 NPB hits Suzuki amassed, however, his 4,358 would eclipse Pete Rose’s all-time record of 4,256.
The 44-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Miami Marlins. Last season he hit a dismal .255/.318/.332 for just 50 hits and 17 walks in 215 plate appearances.
Despite the diminished numbers, Suzuki has gone on record saying he wants to play until he’s 50.
With the Mariners, a franchise that rightfully sees him as one of their icons, he just might get that chance.
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