SEATTLE -- The player-intro ovation echoed at a level loud enough to sound like a regular-season game, if not more. Yet this was a mid-week, mid-afternoon, split-squad scrimmage with roughly 5,000 fans, far more akin to the atmosphere found at Spring Training.
Those elevated sound waves? That’s the Ichiro effect, people.
Indeed, the Mariners’ icon and 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee took part in Wednesday’s simulation that represented a tuneup for Seattle ahead of the American League Division Series, as Ichiro Suzuki suited up for the "home" team for the six-inning contest at T-Mobile Park. And yes, he played the entire game.
Ichiro -- on the 21st anniversary of the night he broke the single-season hit record -- donned the Mariners’ full white uniforms, to go with his specialized neon cleats that shined even brighter under sun-soaked fall skies after the roof opened midgame. He did not, however, take any at-bats, which was by design to allocate those reps to players who truly need them ahead of Saturday’s Game 1, against the winner of the Wild Card Series between the Guardians and Tigers.
And the fans who paid $10 per ticket to get in -- with proceeds benefiting Mariners Care Foundation -- got their money’s worth when Ichiro corralled a flyout from Mitch Garver in the third inning, after which he crossed his wrists to mimic Julio Rodríguez’s “No Fly Zone” gesture.
It’s the same one that was the centerpiece of a Mariners Commercial -- or digital short, as they’ve been branded -- filmed ahead of the 2024 season, which highlighted the bond between Seattle's face of yesteryear and that of the present and future.
The Mariners aligned their split-squad lineups on Wednesday to allow for Rodríguez and Ichiro to play on the same team -- directly beside each other in the outfield. Their bond has been well-chronicled dating back more than five years to when Rodríguez was a precocious prospect, and it remains as strong as ever.
That said, did Rodríguez intend to call Ichiro off for a close fly ball? And if push came to shove, would he respect his elder?
“I mean, he knows I'm the center fielder,” Rodríguez said, evoking a roar of laughter. “I don't think age really matters a lot between the lines. But I'm still going to let him catch one probably.”
Ichiro's defining moment in 2025 was obviously his call to the Hall of Fame back in January, then his enshrinement in Cooperstown in July. Yet, it was the speech he delivered during his celebration in Seattle in August, when his No. 51 was also retired, that still reverberates.
On that sun-soaked Saturday, in the midst of his address to a sold-out crowd, Ichiro signaled directly to the home dugout at one point and urged them to “seize the moment” of this playoff run -- a slogan that’s become central to the club’s postseason marketing. That moniker was plastered on the jumbotron throughout Wednesday’s scrimmage and will be a central part of the Mariners' playoff run.
“I feel like we all took it to heart because of who it came from,” Rodríguez said. “He's been here. He's done that. He was part of that legendary team that we had in 2001, and having that much experience accumulated, and he's passing that on to us. And kind of like saying, 'It's your time now, to go out there and take it,’ I feel like that's why me and a lot of the guys took it to heart -- because of who it came from.”
On a broader level, Ichiro's presence on Wednesday was the latest effort to give back to the current club -- by helping in any way he can.
“I'm still trying to hang in there with them,” Ichiro said earlier this summer, through longtime interpreter Allen Turner. “I play catch. I run. I hit. I shag. So I hope that I can show them that even at this age, you can still play this game.
Calling Ichiro a “coach” wouldn’t necessarily be accurate, because he offers a respectful distance to allow today’s players to operate on their own terms. And even if they don’t do things his way -- which at its essence featured a rigorous attention to detail and a strive for perfection -- he’s still there to offer the wisdom gleaned from 19 seasons in MLB and another nine in Nippon Professional Baseball.
“I'm not here because I wanted to tell them things or to share with them what I know,” Suzuki said. “I'm here so that anybody has an opportunity to ask me if I can be of any help to any other players. That's why I'm here. I'm not here to tell anybody you know what to do. I'm just here so that if there is any way that I can be of any help to these guys, that's why I'm here.”