this man didn't make his MLB debut until he was 27 years old and he STILL RECORDED 3000 HITS. One of the more insane baseball stats imo

The fact that Ohtani would find Ichiro before games and bow to him says all you need to know. This man has earned every bit of respect he's gotten across baseball.

Even today, at 49, Ichiro could probably improve half the outfields in MLB.

I only have 2 regrets of Ichiro’s career:
- That he never got to play in a World Series
- That he never participated in the home run derby!

Easily one of the most respected baseballers in this generation

If Ichiro had played his entire career in MLB then he’d be widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, up there with Ruth, Cobb, Mays, Williams, Aaron, etc. And he would have gotten over 4,000 hits and likely would have made a run a Rose’s all time record for hits. I’m from the Seattle area, so I had watched him in person on many occasions, and boy was it a sight to see. I’ve never seen another player in person with the all around baseball talent of Ichiro, he was nothing short of incredible.

Ichiro is the reason I became a mariners fan from England

Ichiro is worthy of the greatest respect.  He approached baseball like a martial artist.  He was relentlessly dedicated to his craft.  He worked beyond tirelessly.  He was always humble.  He was a dedicated team player.

Ichiro was the truth, a technician with the bat and a wizard in the field. The fact that he did all of his MLB work in his late 20s and 30s means that American fans didnt see most of his early formative years. Could you imagine had he come up in the mid 90s with Seattle and played with Junior, A-Rod, Edgar and the Unit?

"Ground ball, base hit into right field, heading for third is Terrence Long, the throw by Ichiro A BEAUTIFUL PEG HE GOT HIM! Holy smokes a laser beam strike by Ichiro to third baseman David Bell and Terrence Long is gunned down at third base. What a throw!"

I grew up in the shadows of Yankee Stadium and had the good fortune of watching Mickey Mantle throughout his career, hitting the ball harder and further than any other player, thundering down the line like a Shelby Cobra, and elegantly patrolling a centerfield as big as Central Park.  I've seen plenty of great ballplayers since then, but it wasn't until Ichiro that I paused and realized that I was observing a brilliance I'd never seen.  Really?, I'd ask myself.  Really.  Props to Ichiro.

I’m a jays fan, whenever the jays are playing the mariners I always see this guy on base. It got real annoying when jays commentators would talk about him every time he’s on base or batting. Made me realize dude was already on legendary status (this was late 2000s). A true pest on opponent teams, nothing but admirations to this legend.

One of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Ichiro also hold a record of 522 straight victories in Street Fighter at the Club Sega in Shinjuku, only spending a single credit, and and played for 17 straight hours without even blinking once.

I'm from and still live in Seattle and was 5 in 2001, too young to understand why Ichiro was so special. I do remember that people couldn't stop talking about him. My teachers talked about him. I didn't care about baseball, but I liked Ichiro. He was more than special, he was a phenomena.

Good vid. I lived in Seattle during Ichiro's time and that 2001 season was mind-boggling. The M's had just lost Griffey, ARod, and Randy Johnson and yet they went historical. Even if Bret Boone was probably juicing. But I digress, if even ONE of those players had stuck around Seattle (and with the addition of Ichiro) I think the Mariners would've not only won the World Series but they would've changed baseball forever.

I can speak for everyone in saying that we all deserve more Ichiro content.

I'm a dodger fan but this guy was always my favorite player growing up. Fantastic on defense, arguably the best contact hitter ever, and would haul arse to first base on any kind of contact. My GOAT

Ichiro still throws BP for the M’s in full uniform. An absolute gem with a love for baseball that is unmatched.

He was awesome.
He threw out the first pitch at Seattle's home opener last year at 49 or 50 years old an it was clocked at 93mph. The dude is still incredible....
One of the best ever....
It's kind of blasphemous in Seattle to not pick Griffey Jr as Seattle's best player in history but for me Ichiro an Jr are neck an neck. Both are in the conversation of greatest ever players. I'm grateful to have saw both play live an saw both do incredible things at games I was at. Both had cannons for arms.