STATEMENT FROM YANKEES SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER BRIAN CASHMAN:

"Ichiro Suzuki is one of the greatest baseball players the world has ever seen. He has been married to this game for virtually his entire life -- refining and perfecting his craft -- and the relationship has been a beautiful one. As an organization we are fortunate to call Ichiro one of our own, and we congratulate him on a truly astonishing career."