[Sore Feet]

Kind of curious why they didn't wait until after the weekend series to do this, or at least give him one more game to get a proper send off instead of announcing it after last night. Sounds like he's not going to just outright retire so he can potentially play in the series the M's and A's play in Tokyo next spring.

[gb]

Ichiro was a magical player in his prime and still very good for many seasons. His accomplishments in baseball have been pretty amazing. His hitting style was nearly unique in baseball. I, too, think he has earned the right to represent the M's after his playing days.

[DIYSteve]

Keeping Ichiro around is also good for business because it will sustain continuation of the trend of Japanese tourists visiting Seattle to attend Mariners games.

[evergreenhiker]

I just had a feeling when he came up to the plate Wednesday, that this was his last at-bat. As we know he ended up striking out. I'm glad he's going to stay in the organization. Agree with Sore Feet taht it is weird they abruptly had him going to the front office. I really was hoping he would get to face Shohei Ohtani.. Yet, I read that he says he's not retiring. I wonder if he's sort of hoping to get back to playing again? High fastball is an easy pitch for a younger guy to miss let alone a 44-yr old player. I really wanted him to play just a little longer. Glad I got to see him play on Opening Night with my uncles. I remember many years ago in 2005, when I was working at Starbucks corporate, I decided to walk up to Safeco after work to see if I could get a ticket for that nights game. It was rookie Felix Hernandez vs Randy Johnson! johnson was with the Yanks that year. I managed to get a seat three rows up from the right field fence and got to see Ichiro up and close that day.

[Layback]

I don’t get why Ms fans hold ichiro in such high regard. He doesn’t land on me as a team player. On more than one occasion I’ve seen him go for a base hit when the situation called for a sac fly. Seems to me he was more interested in individual records than he was in winning championships. But I didn’t follow the Ms that closely so maybe I’m missing something.

[GaliWalker]

I not a believer in terms like 'team player' and 'clutch' and 'momentum' and "wow look at that catch and how he ran into that wall, sacrificing his body", especially in a game like baseball, which is more skill based than effort. To me, and I'm sure I'm in the minority, even amongst Mariners fans, Ichiro's style of play and approach was almost perfect*. He had figured out a long time before he came to the Mariners that the spectacular, albeit risky diving play was just not worth it, if it had the possibility of putting him on the shelf for a few games. If you saw him play live you could see the jump he would get on balls and how fast he was. It might not have looked much on TV because you only saw the tail end of the play, but it was something else in the flesh. Regarding the sacrifice fly, he said many times that if he went for home runs his strikeouts would rise to an unacceptable, to him, level. You can argue against it, and call him selfish, but I was perfectly fine with it. You need all sorts to make a team; he was just one piece, and a unique one at that. I wish the Mariners had had the hitters they have right now for more of his early Mariners career outside those first two years. The balance of that 2001 team was perfect. * For the regular season. It might have needed some adjustment for the postseason, but since the Mariners never made that outside that first season of his, who knows if he wouldn't have done so.

[DIYSteve]

[trestle]

Excepting A. Beltre, the players that eventually turned on Ichiro and started all of the ill-will directed against him were some of the worst players in Mariners history and are continuing to languish themselves in meaningless careers.

[DIYSteve]

Yeah, pretty much. If I correctly recall, all or most of the stories about disgruntled teammates came out when Ichiro had a 2-month slump in 2008. Ichiro was always described as aloof. He kept to himself and stretched away from the other players. Of course, lots of athletes get into their own world before a game, yet never get ridiculed for it. The language barrier likely had something to do with it. And maybe some of players of lesser talent envied his popularity.

[trestle]

I'm guessing the Hall of Fame for each sport includes players that were never liked by some of their teammates. MJ is the perfect example.

[Layback]

Great game Saturday night. I was one of the few people cheering when the Angels tied it up in the bottom of the 9th. It was a good battle. There’s a perseverance present in the team that I haven’t seen before. Ms need some relief pitching.

[DIYSteve]

[GaliWalker]

Paxton throws a no-hitter! His fastest pitch was 100mph...in the 9th. What a way to top his previous 16-strikeout start.

[coldrain108]

Wow! Big Maple indeed! Seager was a hero.

[gb]

Paxton has proved himself one of the very best pitchers in the American League the past couple of seasons. Hopefully, this year he can avoid being injured.