Ichiro Suzuki is returning to the Seattle Mariners, the team where his MLB career began since 2001. There is no doubt that this signing sounds great on paper given all his history to the game of baseball. Ichiro is 44 years old and he has a desire to play until he's 50.
Recently, the Mariners outfield took a hit with injuries as Ben Gamel will be out 4-6 weeks and Guillermo Heredia recovering from a shoulder problem. With how slow the MLB free agency has been with several still unsigned as spring training is ongoing, Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto likely wants some cheap depth with Ichiro.
While Ichiro returning to Seattle for the first time since 2012 seems fine and dandy, it will not help them win games in 2018.
It's easy to say that an aging veteran will help the team with leadership and passing on what he knows to another generation, but Ichiro is not like that. He wants to play and continue being on the field until he physically can't.
Take the tweets from Mariners beat writer @RyanDivish:
I covered them all. Ichiro didn’t always have a positive impact on the clubhouse. In fact it was very negative at times— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 5, 2018
Not really cause he didn’t have that much of an impact. He was very singular in his daily purpose and wasn’t a vocal leader.— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 5, 2018
From a media standpoint, enjoy the crowd of Japanese reporters taking over the press box once again. That shall be a zoo with the large quantity cramming many spaces.
With Ichiro, it's all about business and he wants to do what is best for him in order to continue his career. While he won't demand starts, deep down he'd love to continue padding his hit total beyond the 3,000+ he already has in MLB. It always shows when he'd not swing at a ball four in order to get a hit.
On the field, Ichiro is at the twilight of his career where he is a fourth outfielder at best. He had a solid 2016 season, but fell off slightly in 2017.
Could he be a depth option for the Mariners? Sure. However, he's also taking playing time away from a player that has a better long term future like Gamel, Mitch Hainger and Heredia. They recently traded for Dee Gordon, picking him up from the Miami Marlins, which was fittingly Ichiro's last team. While none of them have upside like a prospect, it's more likely they'll be Mariners in 2020, where Ichiro is only getting a one year deal.
Taking away playing time from someone else wouldn't be healthy for a team that has dealt with plenty of mediocrity, and nothing positive to cheer about besides individual accomplishments since 2002.
Ichiro fans can cling to his accomplishments and what he's done in the past (such as his combined NPB and MLB hits being more than Pete Rose), but Mariners fans should suffer the same way by mentioning thy have the longest baseball playoff drought when combining all 42 teams from MLB and NPB, with their last being in 2001 and Ichiro's first year in North America. The Yokohama DeNA Baystars were initially stuck on 1998 as their last postseason year, but broke their drought in 2016 and made the Japan Series in 2017.
For all the things Felix Hernandez has accomplished in his career (including a perfect game), he has yet to play a meaningful postseason game. The Mariners have had six winning seasons since their last playoff appearance and came down to the last game in 2014 for a spot, but have come up short each time. It's been nothing but a tease in those years, where they've followed it up with a losing record minus the 2002-2003 seasons.
Can Ichiro be the one to save this and prevent the drought from continuing? No. Seattle is in the pit of mediocrity and has been forced to overpay for players (Kyle Seager, Robinson Cano) so they can have offense.
Sure, magic beans can come about and the Mariners could have everything go right for a 116 season again like 2001, but the current roster has mediocrity all over it. Pitching could be decent, but there are more questions than answers with their hitting.
The only winning Seattle is guaranteed with Ichiro is selling more tickets and merchandise using his brand, because he's Ichiro. If that's a path which satisfies them and makes fans happy with nostalgia, then so be it. However, tell any Mariners fans the last time they've made the postseason in the era of social media.
Ichiro is a Hall of Famer on both continents and a legend to the game of baseball, but his past accomplishments will not help this 2018 Mariners team. As much as he's well-respected and loved around the world, this is still 2018, not 2001.
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