Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki ( EE-chirr-oh; Japanese: 鈴木 一朗, romanized: Suzuki Ichirō, IPA: [sɯzɯki itɕiɾoː]; born October 22, 1973), also known mononymously as Ichiro (イチロー, Ichirō), is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the next 12 years with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Suzuki then played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees and three with the Miami Marlins before returning to the Mariners for his final two seasons. He won two World Baseball Classic titles with the Japan national team. One of the greatest contact hitters, leadoff hitters, and defensive outfielders in baseball history, he is also considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In his combined playing time in the NPB and MLB, Suzuki received 17 consecutive selections as an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won nine league batting titles, and was named his league's most valuable player (MVP) four times. In NPB, he won seven consecutive batting titles and three consecutive Pacific League MVP Awards. In 2001, Suzuki became the first Japanese-born position player to be posted and signed to an MLB club. He led the American League (AL) in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP. Suzuki was the first MLB player to enter the Meikyukai (The Golden Players Club). He was a ten-time MLB All-Star and won the 2007 All-Star Game MVP Award for a three-hit performance that included the event's first-ever inside-the-park home run. Suzuki won a Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 years in the majors and had an AL-record seven hitting streaks of 20 or more games,...