Bob Melvin was in his second year as manager of the Seattle Mariners when he realized the brilliance of Ichiro Suzuki was borne of a meticulous daily regimen.
Reporters from two continents were flocking to see the Japanese outfielder chase the all-time major league hits record of 257 set by George Sisler, a standard that had been set 84 years earlier.
“His routine and preparation before the game never changes,” Melvin told reporters. “His disposition during games is the same whether he has one hit or five. After every at-bat, he’ll duck into the video room to watch how the pitcher pitched him, how the catcher set up. He wants to know if the pitch was where the catcher called for it. That gives him an idea how they’re trying to pitch him.”
Pitchers never did figure it out. Ichiro — he’s been on a first-name basis with Major League Baseball since signing in November of 2000 and becoming the first Japanese-born position player in the league — is expected to be announced as an inductee Tuesday night into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
It’s possible Ichiro could become just the second unanimous selection ever, joining the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera.
Ichiro broke Sisler’s single-season hit record in 2004 with 262, his third season after signing a three-year contract with the Mariners worth $14 million at age 27. By then, Ichiro had already amassed 1,278 hits and hit .353 in nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of the Japan Pacific League, winning seven consecutive batting titles in the process.
In his first season in 2001, Ichiro earned the American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards, hitting .350 with 242 hits as the Mariners won 116 regular-season games. He won the A.L. batting title and fielded his position flawlessly with precision and a powerful throwing arm.
By the time Ichiro retired in 2019 at age 45, he played 19 seasons for the Mariners, New York Yankees (2013-15), Miami Marlins (2016-17) and then Seattle again for the first two games of 2019 — against the A’s in Tokyo.
Ichiro finished with 3,089 hits, a .311 batting average, 117 home runs and several highlight moments in the Bay Area. In particular, Ichiro feasted on A’s pitching at the Coliseum. In 113 games in Oakland, Ichiro hit .354 (168-for-475) with two homers and 39 RBIs. The hit total is his most in any stadium except then-Safeco Field in Seattle. His overall batting average against the A’s was .324 with 320 hits in 987 at-bats.
Melvin, now manager of the Giants, was one of four A’s managers Ichiro would face, with the others being Ken Macha, Bob Geren and Art Howe.
Against the Giants, Ichiro hit .207 in 33 games (18-for-87) overall and just .067 (1-for-15) in San Francisco, although one of his signature moments came at then-AT&T Park in the 2007 All-Star Game.
Some key moments from Ichiro’s career that had Bay Area ties:
The first hit: April 2, 2001
Ichiro’s first MLB at-bat was in Seattle against the A’s. He grounded out to second baseman Jose Ortiz against Tim Hudson. In the seventh, against reliever T.J. Mathews, Ichiro grounded a single to center. He finished 2-for-5 and had a bunt single against Jim Mecir, who threw the ball away with Ichiro going to second. Seattle beat the A’s 5-4.
First hit in Oakland: April 10, 2001
Facing A’s pitcher Mark Guthrie, Ichiro lined a single to center on a 2-0 count with two outs to drive in a run as Seattle beat the A’s 5-1 before 14,480 fans.
The throw: April 11, 2001
Before a crowd of 16,652, Ichiro showed off his throwing arm. Leading the A’s 3-0 in the eighth, pinch hitter Ramon Hernandez singled to right with Terrence Long on first base. By the time Long reached third base, Ichiro had unleashed a strike to David Bell to get Long. “It was going to take a perfect throw to get me. And it was a perfect throw,” Long said. Said the A’s Eric Chavez: “Terrence was a pretty fast runner, but Ichiro came up with a hose. It was his ‘Here I am’ moment as an outfielder.” Ichiro finished his career with 123 outfield assists, 100 of them as a right fielder.
First homer in Oakland: June 6, 2002
With a crowd of 27,344 barely settled into their seats, Ichiro hit the first pitch he saw into the right field seats to lead off the game against Barry Zito. The Athletics would go on to win 10-4. Ichiro would hit three of his 117 career home runs against Zito, the most he had against any A’s pitcher.
First hit against the Giants: June 16, 2006
Leading off the game at Safeco Field against Giants’ left-hander Noah Lowery, Ichiro hit an 0-1 pitch for a home run to right field. He finished 2-for-4 and the Mariners won 5-4. Barry Bonds homered for the Giants.
All-Star Game history: July 6, 2007
AT&T Park played host to the 78th All-Star Game. Ichiro, starting in center field and leading off, singled off Jake Peavy to open the game. He added a single to left against Ben Sheets in the third inning. In the top of the fifth against Chris Young, Ichiro hit a drive to right that caromed off the fence and rolled away from Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey Jr., a former teammate in Seattle. Ichiro scored standing up for the first and only inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history. The American League won 5-4 and Ichiro was named MVP.
The 2,000th hit: Sept. 6, 2009
Ichiro opened the game with a double against left-hander Gio Gonzalez for the 2,000th hit of his career in a 5-2 loss in Oakland. He hit .500 (15-for-30) in seven games at the Coliseum in 2009, a season in which he lost time due to an ulcer.
Passing Edgar Martinez: April 2, 2011
Ichiro broke the Seattle franchise hit record of Edgar Martinez with 2,248 in a 5-2 win over the A’s at the Coliseum. Ten years to the day after his first big league hit against the A’s, Ichiro hit an infield single that drove in the lead run in the ninth against Brian Fuentes. He had an estimated 694 infield hits in his career.
Yankee in Oakland: June 13, 2013
Traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for a pair of minor league pitchers, Ichiro played his first series in Oakland in another uniform. He went 2-for-4 in the second of a three-game series as the A’s won 5-2.
Finale in Tokyo: March 21-22, 2019
Finishing his career in Seattle, Ichiro plays the final two games of his career as the Mariners open the season against the A’s in the Tokyo Dome before a crowd of sold-out crowds exceeding 45,000 for each game. Ichiro was 0-for-5 in the two games. His final at-bat is a ground out to second against Lou Trivino in a 5-4 win. Ichiro is removed in the bottom of the eighth inning to a standing ovation at age 45.