PEORIA, Ariz. -- The first steps were clean. The exchanges crisp. And the throws, even at the ripe age of 52, carried the trademark finish to elevate the few eyebrows that weren't already raised behind the backfields at the Peoria Sports Complex.
Indeed, Ichiro Suzuki is back in uniform at Mariners Spring Training -- and he’s toying with a new position, because of course he is.
The 2025 near-unanimous Hall of Fame inductee has been regularly seen taking grounders at shortstop during standard early-morning drills before Cactus League games.
That the longtime right fielder is dabbling with new digs underscores his love for the craft and curiosity to try new things. Because even though Spring Training thrives on routine, it also lends itself to escaping your comfort zone.
For Ichiro, there’s no spectacle to his presence -- other than the nostalgia it induces for those watching. It’s just repetition, focus and an unmistakable standard.
And for the Mariners, who’ve leaned heavily into their history while building toward the future, Ichiro’s annual reappearance serves as a bridge. No relationship has encapsulated that more than that between the icon and Julio Rodríguez, which began on these very backfields nearly a decade ago and continues with everyday catch play in 2026.
Ichiro remains part of the Mariners family as a special assistant to the chairman, a title that might sound understated for someone whose imprint on the franchise is anything but.
He essentially serves as a conduit between eras, offering insight to players throughout the organization -- but only if they ask for it. He’s typically in uniform any time he’s at the ballpark, and that’s especially true in Spring Training, as he’s usually here in Arizona wire to wire until Opening Day.
After all, this is right where his ties to the Mariners all began -- and well before he debuted in MLB in 2001. His first foray to Peoria was in 1999, when he was still playing for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, and that was merely a trial run to explore baseball stateside. But it played an instrumental part in the Mariners eventually luring him in once he became available via the Japanese posting system.
Back then, all eyes were on Ichiro on the Peoria backfields. As this week has shown, some things never change.