How We Should Remember Ichiro

Ichiro is timeless. And it'll be all the good times that we remember.

On September 18, 2009, Ichiro hit a walk-off home run off of Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in baseball history.

That game was brutally tense. Prime Felix Hernandez fought his way through a complete game even though he only had three strikeouts, but AJ Burnett matched him…and the Mariners’ lineup at the time featured the likes of Bill Hall, Jack Hannahan and Rob “6-4-3” Johnson.

Even so, a Mike Sweeney pinch-hit double brought Ichiro to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, and he put the first pitch he saw into the right field seats. The stadium came unglued, the players rushed onto the field, and Ichiro, just moments before jumping onto home plate and into his teammates’ celebration (below), crotch-chopped like a Japanese Triple H to no one in particular.

That incredible and impossibly quirky moment is how I’ll remember one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game of baseball. That, along with the thousands of slap-hits he had, his vicious arm in right field, and his occasional breaks into English, which revealed a hilarious and intelligent human being. Less so I’ll remember his difficult final few years as a Mariner, where he essentially didn’t speak to the media and wouldn’t accept any other batting position but leadoff as his abilities waned.

What I don’t think I’ll remember much about when he goes into the Hall of Fame in five-to- seven years – or even when I tell my (hypothetical) grandchildren about him – is this past month. From the moment the Mariners signed Ichiro in the midst of a firestorm of injuries in Spring Training, tension existed among fans. The general anti-Ichiro take would go something along the lines of “how can a team that claims it cares about winning devote meaningful at-bats to a nostalgia act with deeply diminished abilities?”

That opinion is both valid and reductive at once. Ichiro does not appear to be able to hit at the major league level anymore. His trademark combination of speed, a rocket arm and brilliant, creative bat work has deteriorated into something unrecognizable aside from his trademark mannerisms and style.

But to completely pan the Ichiro signing as a joke move from a joke organization is to misunderstand just how important Ichiro is to Seattle and the Mariners. As many have noted, Ichiro is one of the few universally beloved athletes of the 2000s, and I’m not sure the concept “universally-beloved athlete” is one that can exist in today’s fractured, regional sports society. Simply put, people love to hate players; nobody hated Ichiro.

Plus (and yes, it sounds like corporate bullshit), Ichiro’s leadership and example in the clubhouse is valuable. It’s part of why they’re keeping him with the team even though he’s not playing anymore.

But most of all, it was just downright cool and a little emotional to see Ichiro playing for the Mariners again. He didn’t have many highlights, but the 44-year-old man did legitimately rob a home run, which was amazing to watch.

Still though, the tension and anger only grew as he struggled. The real low point came when the team kept Ichiro on the roster and demoted Guillermo Heredia, who was hitting over .300 in limited action. The anger on our Twitter timeline was difficult to reconcile, as part of me still wanted Ichiro to succeed and recapture some of his magic but it became increasingly clear he would be unable to do so.

Fortunately, it appears that in an un-characteristically Mariners fashion, the Dipoto front office actually had a plan to deal with the definite possibility that Ichiro was done. The solution arrived at is not one with much precedent, if any at all, and suggests a creative idea crafted over several discussions between Mariners officials and Ichiro’s camp. It’s honestly refreshing to see a Ners front office come into a potentially dangerous situation that could have legitimately alienated fans on both sides of the Ichiro spectrum, and instead handle it in a coordinated, mature and effective manner.

The best part about all of it is the discussion around the team can now stay focused on “can the team possibly chase down the Angels or the Astros?” as opposed to “when are they going to DFA the club legend who now sucks?” The theories about them keeping him around to retire during next year’s opening series in Japan definitely have legs but at least for now, Dipoto and co have put the conversation to bed. And rightfully so.

Ultimately, what I hope Mariners fans begin to realize in the months and years to come is that this short episode, where some fans chose to look at one of the best players in franchise history as a waste of space, won’t last. As time goes on, these brief, angry memories will fade, and Ichiro’s legacy will be as the hit king, a trailblazer for Japanese baseball players, and an amazing ambassador for the game.

And of course, we’ll always have that night in September, 2009, when he made the greatest closer ever look like just another guy who couldn’t get Ichiro out.

#NerNostalgia