NEWSLETTER
Ichiro is retiring. That might not be much of a surprise for your typical 37-year-old player or 40-year-old player or 43-year-old player, much less the 45-year-old player he is now. But, for a man who once said he thinks he would just die rather than retire, Ichiro has decided retirement is preferable.
With his Mariners playing in the opening series in Tokyo, Japan, Ichiro suited up for the first couple games, and then, today, announced he was retiring. His departure from the sport leaves a hole that few others could hope to fill down the road – the talent, the skill set, the cross-cultural connections – and his send off was fittingly emotional.
Things to enjoy and/or well up about, and I swear I’m trying to limit myself …
What a moment. #ThanksIchiro pic.twitter.com/cYnvLw44Gj
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 21, 2019
There's nothing like baseball. And no one like Ichiro. pic.twitter.com/MTtGlkgCOi
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 21, 2019
One final goodbye for a legend.
Ichiro tips his cap to the Tokyo crowd as he leaves his last MLB game. pic.twitter.com/2FgBfpmIV2
— ESPN (@espn) March 21, 2019
Words can't describe the scene at the Tokyo Dome over 30 minutes after tonight's game ended.
So here's 3.5 minutes of unedited footage from Ichiro's curtain call. #ThanksIchiro pic.twitter.com/Vsbvk5j5MR
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1108716757789958144/
Nothing but respect. #MLB開幕戦 pic.twitter.com/3U7Y4czCmG
— MLB (@MLB) March 21, 2019
Ichiro got 3,089 hits. So many hits. pic.twitter.com/oE5VW96cht
— David Adler (@_dadler) March 21, 2019
My craziest Ichiro #strangebuttrue of all time:
In 2004, he led the league in hits by 46, led the league in times reaching base by 46, led the league in singles by 73 and led the league in hitting by 32 points – and still didn’t finish in the top 10 in runs scored. Impossible!
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) March 21, 2019
#ThanksIchiro pic.twitter.com/syWoiHFVba
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 21, 2019
Carl Edwards Jr., when asked if he was defending his teammates (Contreras and Bryant both HBP on Tuesday) when he hit Seattle’s Austin Nola with a pitch in the 6th… pic.twitter.com/g6HCoWDzR4
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 20, 2019
Here's the significance of the MLB/Amazon deal – in this emerging cord-cutting/virtual MVPD universe, getting dedicated shelf space on these big platforms is key all programmers. And MLB gets that w one of the bigger ones for its out-of-market package & one w an a la carte focus.
— Eric Fisher (@EricFisherSBJ) March 20, 2019
