Ichiro: The Face Of The Franchise For 11+ Years

Ichiro completed one of the most remarkable careers in Mariners history Monday, when he departed to join the New York Yankees. / Getty Images

Ichiro, swapped to the New York Yankees Monday in a stunning trade for two prospects and cash, had a bigger impact on the franchise than any Mariner except for Ken Griffey Jr. His Seattle career included 10 All-Star appearances, 10 Gold Gloves, two batting titles and a vast portfolio of statistical head0scratchers. What follows is a look at Ichiro’s glory years with the franchise:

Ichiro made his Seattle debut on April 2, 2001, becoming the first Japanese-born everyday player in major league history.

Playing against Oakland at Safeco Field, Ichiro grounded out in his first two at-bats against Tim Hudson and struck out in the fifth inning. In the seventh, Ichiro collected his first MLB hit, a single off of T.J. Mathews. Ichiro reached on an infield single in the eighth inning, finishing his debut 2-for-5 with a run scored.

That was the beginning of the one of the most remarkable decade-long batting sprees in major league history. Ichiro would become the kind of hitting machine not seen in the major leagues since the 1920s and 1930s. He would break records held by the likes of Wee Willie Keeler, Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler and Shoeless Joe Jackson, and place himself on all-time batting lists with such Hall of Famers as Ty Cobb, Al Simmons and Paul Waner.

Ichiro accomplished feats not seen since the eras of Jesse Burkett, Chuck Klein, Billy Terry and Jackie Robinson. He specialized in the single, owned the infield base hit, hit an occasional home run, and made an annual habit of collecting 200 or more base hits (in 2010 became the first player in history to post 10 consecutive seasons of 200 or more hits).

An All-Star in each of his first 10 seasons, a Gold Glove winner in each of those years, a Most Valuable Player (2001) and an All-Star MVP (2007), Ichiro was easily Seattles Athlete of the Decade (2000-09).

In 2009, The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists ranked Ichiro No. 7 on its list of the 100 Greatest Athletes in Washington state sports history.

AWARDS / HONORS

2001: American League MVP, Rookie of the Year, All-Star (starter), Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, Buck Leonard Legacy award, Cool Papa Bell Legacy award, Larry Doby Legend award, Mariners MVP
2002: All-Star (starter), Gold Glove
2003: All-Star (starter), Gold Glove
2004: All-Star (starter), Gold Glove, Players Choice AL MVP, Mariners MVP
2005: All-Star, Gold Glove
2006: All-Star (starter), Gold Glove
2007: All-Star (starter), All-Star Game MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, Mariners MVP
2008: All-Star (starter), Gold Glove
2009: All-Star (starter), Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, Mariners MVP
2010: All-Star (starter), Gold Glove, Mariners MVP
Miscellaneous: Leading All-Star vote getter in 2001, 2002 and 2003; AL Rookie of the Month for April, May, August and September, 2001; American League Player of the Week for Aug. 8, 2004, June 4, 2006 and Sept. 28, 2010; Sporting News All-Decade Team, 2000s

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Collected 200 or more hits in each of his first 10 seasons, extending Major League record (previous record was eight by Willie Keller from 1895-01).
Winner of two American League batting titles (2001, 2004).
Set a major league single-season record in 2004 by collecting 262 hits, breaking the previous record of 257 set by George Sisler in 1920.
Set a major league record by producing 225 singles in 2004, breaking his old mark of 195 set in 2001.
Had 242 hits as a rookie in 2001, breaking the previous rookie record of 233 by Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1911.
In 2001, became the first rookie to lead the major leagues in All-Star voting.
In 2001, became the first player to lead the major leagues in hits (242) and stolen bases (56) in the same season since Jackie Robinson in 1949.
Set a major league record for most hits (450) in his first two seasons.
Set a major league record for most hits (924) in any four-year span, breaking the previous record of 918 by Bill Terry from 1929-32.
Set a major league record for most hits in any five-year span (1,130), breaking the previous record of 1,118 by Chuck Klein from 1929-33.
Set a major league record for most hits in any six-year span (1,354), breaking the previous record of 1,274 by Wade Boggs from 1983-88.
Set a major league record for most hits in any seven-year span (1,592), breaking the previous record of 1,526 by Jesse Burkett from 1895-01.
Set a major league record for most hits in any eight-year span (1,805), breaking the previous record of 1,680 by Paul Waner from 1927-35.
Set a major league record for most hits in any nine-year span (2,030), breaking the previous record of 1,905 by Willie Keeler (1894-02).
Set a major league record for most hits in any 10-year span (2,244), breaking the previous record of 2,067 by Pete Rose (1968-77).
Led the majors in hits seven times (2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), joining Ty Cobb (7) and Pete Rose (7) as the only players to lead in hits seven times during a career.
Led the decade of the 2000s in base hits with 2,030 despite not playing the first year of the decade (2000; third-most during a decade since 1900), trailing Rogers Hornsby (2,085 in the 1920s) and Pete Rose (2,045 in the 1970s).
With 225 hits in 2009, became the first player in history with five seasons of at least 220 hits, breaking a tie with Rogers Hornsby.
Only player since 1900 with three seasons of at least 230 hits (2001, 2004, 2007), breaking a tie with Hornsby (1921-22) and Freddie Lindstrom (1928, 1930).
Only player in history to twice collect 200 hits on a 100-loss team (2008, 2010).
From Oct. 9-15, 2001, went 12-for-20 (.600 BA) in the Mariners five-game victory over Cleveland in the American League Division Series, establishing a record for a five-game ALDS series and a career ALDS mark for anyone with at least 20 at-bats. Went 3-for-4 in Game 1, 1-for-3 in Game 2, 2-for-4 in Game 3, 3-for-5 in Game 4 and 3-for-4 in Game 5. Seven of his 12 hits came off left-handed pitchers. He led off all five games by reaching base, three times on singles, once on a walk and once on an error.
Had 80 multi-hit games in 2004, the most by any player in a season in the expansion era (since 1969).
Hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star history in 2007 at San Francisco (named MVP).
Collected career hit #1,000 on June 14, 2005, becoming the third player since 1900 with 1,000 hits in less than 700 games (696). Also became the third player to collect 1,000 hits in his first five seasons.
Collected career hit #1,500 on July 29, 2007, in his 1,060th game. Only Al Simmons (1,40) and George Sisler (1,048) took fewer games to reach 1,500 hits.
Collected career hit #2,000 on Sept. 6, 2009, becoming the second fastest in major league history reach that plateau, in 1,402 games. Only Al Simmons (1924-44) reached quicker, in 1,390 games (George Sisler got there in 1,414 games).
From July 28-Aug. 5, 2004, produced 25 hits in nine games against Oakland, Anaheim, Baltimore and Tampa Bay.
On Sept. 21-22, 2004, had nine hits in two games at Anaheim.
On Sept. 21-23, 2004, had 11 hits in three games at Anaheim and Texas, going 11-for-15, batting .733.
Had a career-high five hits four times in 2004, becoming just the fifth player with five four-hit games in a season (Willie Keeler, 1897; Ty Cobb, 1922; Stan Musial, 1948; Tony Gwynn, 1993).
Had three 50-hit months in 2004 50 in May, 51 in July and 56 in August, becoming the first player since Joe Medwick in 1936 to post back-to-back months with 50 hits.
Had 56 hits in August, 2004, the most in a month by any player since Clevelands Jeff Heath had 58 hits in August, 1938.
Between 2001-09, produced seven hitting streaks of 20 games or longer, including a careerhigh 27-game streak from May 6-June 3, 2009 (47-for-122, .385).

SEASON-BY-SEASON

The following is a detailed look at Ichiro’s first 10 glory seasons with the Mariners, which included 10 All-Star campaigns, 10 Gold Gloves and 200 hits 10 consecutive times:

2010

Produced his 10th consecutive 200-hit season, named to the American League All-Star team for the 10th straight year, and won his 10th consecutive Gold Glove; also won the Fielding Bible award as the best defensive right fielder in the majors.
Led the majors in hits (214) for the fifth consecutive year and for the seventh time in his career, joining Ty Cobb and Pete Rose as the only player in history to lead the majors in hits seven times.
Tied Pete Rose for the most 200-hit seasons (10) in a career.
Topped the American League in hits (214), multi-hit games (69), infield hits (59), singles (175) and at-bats (680).
Named to the American League All-Star team for the 10th time in his career (tied Ken Griffey Jr. for the most All-Star selections in franchise history) and for the ninth time as a starter; received 2,544,564 All-Star votes, No. 2 in the AL to Josh Hamilton of Texas.
Named American League Player of the Week for Sept. 20-26, marking his third career AL weekly accolade.
Named the Mariners’ Player of the Year by the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Co-led the Mariners with 42 stolen bases; matched a career high with four thefts on Aug. 4 vs. Texas.
Hit two leadoff home runs, on June 14 at St. Louis and on Aug. 21 at New York.
Hit two home runs against the Yankees on Aug. 21: fifth career multi-homer game.
Matched his career high with seven consecutive multi-hit games, from May 8-17.
Matched a franchise record on July 29 with three doubles and scored three runs in a 9-5 loss to the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field; joined Edgar Martinez as the only players in club history to twice collect three doubles in a game (Ichiros first came on Sept. 20, 2003, in a game against the Athletics in Oakland).
Hit just .246 in July, breaking a streak of 10 consecutive months hitting .300 or above.

2009

Despite missing 16 games (eight in April with a bleeding ulcer and eight in August with a strained calf), produced his ninth consecutive 200-hit season (225) to break the major league record of eight he shared with Willie Keller (1894-01).
Selected to the American League All-Star team for the ninth consecutive year.
Won an American League Gold Glove for the ninth consecutive season.
Won an American League Silver Slugger award for the third time (also 2001 and 2007).
Hit .352, second in the American League, and led the league in hits (225), multi-hit games (73), infield hits (59) and intentional walks (15).
Had the longest hitting streak in the American league at 27 games, a career high.
Set the major league record with his fifth season of 220 or more hits.
Collected his 2,000th career hit on Sept. 6 with a double off Oaklands Gio Gonzalez, becoming the second-fastest player in major league history to reach that plateau in 1,402 games. Hall of Famer Al Simmons (1924-44) reached 2,000 in 1,390 games, and Hall of Famer George Sisler got there in 1,414 games.
Collected 200th hit of the season on Sept. 13 with an infield single at Texas in the second game of a doubleheader.
Led the major leagues in hits for the sixth time, joining Ty Cobb (8), Pete Rose (7), Tony Gwynn (7) and Stan Musial (6) as the only players to lead the majors in hits six or more times.
With 225 hits, exceeded 220 for the fifth time in his career, breaking a tie with Rogers Hornsby for most seasons with at least 220 hits.
Led the majors with 73 multi-hit games and finished the season with 622 career multi-hit games, most in any nine-year span in major league history
Made the American League All-Star team for a ninth consecutive year, and went 1-for-3, singling off San Franciscos Tim Lincecum.
Produced a career-high 27-game hitting streak from May 6-June 3.
Had the first walk-off hit of his career, a home run off Mariano Rivera of the Yankees on Sept. 18.
Belted sixth career grand slam on April 15 against the Angels immediately after being activated from the 15-day disabled list.
Had his first career ejection on Sept. 26 at Toronto for arguing a called third strike.
Matched a career high with seven consecutive multi-hit games from June 20-27, going 16-for-27 (.592).

2008

Produced a record-tying eighth consecutive 200-hit season, finishing with 213 (tied with Bostonís Dustrin Pedroia for the most in the majors) and a .310 batting average.
Joined Willie Keeler as the only players in history with 200 or more hits in eight consecutive seasons.
Led the American League in hits for the fifth time in his career, joining Ty Cobb (7), Pete Rose (7), Stan Musial (5) and Tony Gwynn (5) as the only players to lead a league in hits five or more times.
Became the first player since Beau Belle (St. Louis Browns) in 1937 to produce 200 or more hits for a team that lost 100 or more games (eighth in history to accomplish the feat, also joining Bill Sweeney, Boston Braves, 1912; Lance Richbough, Boston Braves, 1928; Pinkey Whitney, Philadelphia Phillies, 193o; Chuck Klein, Philadelphia Phillies, 1930; Lefty ODoul, Philadelphia Phillies, 1930; and Wally Moses, Philadelphia Athletics, 1936.
Named to the American League All-Star team for the eighth consecutive season (seventh time as a starter), receiving 2,012,912 votes, third most in the AL (went 1-for-3 in the All-Star Game and added an outfield assist).
Won a Gold Glove for the eighth consecutive year.
Joined Lou Gehrig as the only players in history to produce eight consecutive seasons of 200 or more hits and 100 or more runs scored.
Finished with 58 multi-hit games, third-highest total in the American League.
Stole his 291st base on May 18 vs. San Diego, breaking Julio Cruzs franchise record.
Collected the 1,800th hit of his major league career on Sept. 25 against the Angels. Reached the plateau in his 1,277th game, fastest by any player since Al Simmons reached 1,800 in 1,242 games.
Reached 3,000 professional hits (USA and Japan) on July 29 at Texas.
Matched a career high with five hits against San Diego on June 29 (seventh career five-hit game).
Produced a season-high 17-game hitting streak from July 26-Aug. 12; had a 16-game hitting streak from Sept. 7-23.
Hit two leadoff home runs, April 7 at Baltimore, Aug. 9 vs. Tampa Bay.
Played in all 162 games, including 69 in right field, 90 in center and two as the designated hitter.
Earned $17,102,149.

2007

With 238 hits, surpassed 200 for the seventh consecutive year, becoming the first player in major league history to produce 200 hits in each of his first seven seasons. Reached 200 hits in the third inning Sept. 3 at New York with a home run off Roger Clemens.
Finished the season with a career hit total of 1,592, the most in any seven-year span in major league history. Jesse Burkett had 1,526 from (1895-01).
Became the first player in modern major league history (since 1900) to record three seasons of 230 or more hits (had 242 in 2001 and 262 in 2004). Freddy Lindstrom (1928, 1930) and Rogers Hornsby (1921-22) were the only previous players to record a pair of 230+-hit seasons.
With 203, became the only player in modern major league history to post two seasons with 200 or more singles (225 in 2004).
Led the American League in hits (238) for the fourth time in career (also 2001, 2004 and 2006).
Became the third player in major league history with 200 or more hits in seven consecutive seasons, joining Willie Keeler (8) and Wade Boggs (7).
Led the American League in multi-hit games with 76, the second-highest-highest total of his career after the 80 he produced in 2004.
Led the Mariners in batting average (.351), on-base percentage (.396), games (161), at-bats (678), runs (111), triples (7), stolen bases (37), singles (203) and times on base (290).
Exceeded 100 runs scored for the seventh consecutive season, finishing with 111.
Led the majors with a club-record .998 fielding percentage, with one error in 433 chances.
Named to the American League All-Star team for the seventh time in his career, and for the fifth time as a starter.
Voted Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game after collecting two hits and two RBIs and hitting the first-ever inside-the-park home run in All-Star history.
Earned seventh consecutive Gold Glove, after winning seven in a row in Japan. Extended the Mariners streak of having at least one Gold Glove player to 21 years, the longest span in the majors.
Earned second Silver Slugger Award, and his first since 2001, after leading the American League in infield hits (53), multi-hit games (76), batting average against right-handers (.396), batting average in interleague play (.486) and finishing second in batting average with runners in scoring position (.397),
Established an American League record by stealing 45 consecutive bases (dating to 2006 season), breaking old mark of 32 by Willie Wilson of Kansas City in 1980. Finished with club-leading 37 stolen bases.
Produced a club-record 25-game hitting streak from May 7-June 2, going 46-for-112 (.411);
Had a 19-game hitting streak from June 4-24, going 37-for-79 (.468).
Had a 13-game hitting streak from Sept. 8-20, going 21-for-54 (.389).
Produced a 10-game hitting streak from Aug. 7-18, going 17-for-44 (.386), running career total of 10-game hitting streaks to 26.
Hit .427 (47-for-110) in June, the highest June batting average in club history.
Had 46 hits in May, 47 in June, 45 in August and 41 in September, pushing his career total of 40-hit months to 18.
Matched a career high with seven consecutive multi-hit games from May 13-20, going 17-for-32 (.531).
Reached 400 multi-hit games for his career, becoming the fastest in the era of divisional play (1969) to reach that plateau.
Played in a club-high 161 games, the same number as 2006 (played in all 162 in 2005).
Became the clubs all-time triples leader with 50, breaking old career mark of 48 by Harold Reynolds.
Became the first player in American League history with three seasons of 200-plus hits and fewer than 40 extra base hits; had 262 hits in 2004, 37 going for extra bases; had 224 in 2006, 39 going for extra bases; had 238 hits in 2007, 35 going for extra bases.
Hit .397 with runners in scoring position after hitting just .228 with RISP in 2006.
Had just one error (Sept. 12) and finished with a club-record field percentage of .998 (Ken Griffey Jr. .997 in 1992),
Signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension on July 13.
Played 161 games, including 155 in center and six as the designated hitter.
Earned $12,531,000.

2006

With 224 hits, surpassed 200 for the sixth consecutive year, becoming the first player in major league history to produce 200 hits in each of his first six seasons. Reached 200 hits in the third inning on Sept. 16 at Kansas City.
Finished the season with a career hit total of 1,354, the most in any six-year span in major league history.
Led the American League in hits for the third time in career (also 2001, 2004).
Led the American League in multi-hit games with 71, the third-highest total of his career after the 80 he produced in 2004 and the 75 he had in 2001.
Led the Mariners in batting average, on-base percentage (.370), games (161), at-bats (695), runs (110), triples (9), stolen bases (45), singles (1986) and times on base (278).
Exceeded 100 runs scored for the sixth consecutive season.
Named to the American League All-Star team for the sixth time in his career, and for the fifth time as a starter.
Earned sixth consecutive Gold Glove, after winning seven in a row in Japan. Extended the Mariners streak of having at least one Gold Glove player to 20 years, the longest in the majors.
Started the season in his usual spot in right field, but switched to center on a full-time basis on Aug. 19, the same day he surpassed 1,300 career hits.
Established an American League record by stealing 39 consecutive bases, breaking the old mark of 32 by Willie Wilson of Kansas City in 1980. Finished with a club-leading 45 stolen bases.
Produced a 20-game hitting streak that ended June 22 and also had an 18-game hitting streak that ended on May 5.
Had 46 hits in June, 44 in July and 42 in September, the second-highest total of his career high for the month (also September, 2004).
With 42 hits in September, pushed career total to 14 40-hit months.
Reached 400 multi-hit games for his career, becoming the fastest in the era of divisional play (1969) to reach that plateau.
Did not play on Sept. 26, snapping a franchise-record 396 consecutive games played.
Became the clubs all-time triples leader with 50, breaking old career mark of 48 by Harold Reynolds.
Became the first player in American League history with two seasons of 200-plus hits and fewer than 40 extra base hits; had 262 hits in 2004, 37 going for extra bases; had 224 in 2006, 39 going for extra bases.
Hit just .228 with runners in scoring position, the worst mark of his career.
Played 161 games, including 120 in right, 38 in center, and two as the designated hitter.
Earned $12,500,000.

2005

Hit .303 with 206 hits, 15 home runs and 68 RBIs while playing in a club-record tying 162 games.
Exceeded 200 hits for the fifth consecutive season, becoming the first player in major league history with 200-plus hits in each of his first five seasons.
Became the sixth player in major league history to record at least five consecutive 200-hit seasons, joining Willie Keeler (1894-00), Chuck Klein (1929-33), Al Simmons (1929-33) and Charlie Gehringer (1933-37).
Became the first player in history to record five consecutive 200-hit seasons to start a career.
Named to American League All-Star team for the fifth consecutive season; first time as a reserve.
Earned fifth consecutive Gold Glove after a season in which he had a .995 fielding percentage and just two errors.
Finished with 60-multi-hit games after collecting division-era record 80 in 2004.
Hit 12 triples to break the team single-season record of 11, set by Harold Reynolds in 1988.
Hit six home runs in August to establish a career monthly high.
Pushed his five-year hit total to 1,130, most in major league history in any five-year span.
Ranked first in AL in at-bats (679), second in hits (206) and eighth in runs (111).
Played all 162 games, including 158 in right, three as the designated hitter, one as a pinch hitter.
Earned $12,500,000.

2004

Broke George Sislers 84-year-old Major League record of 257 hits in a season, by amassing 262 in 704 at bats, and his .372 average led all major leaguers.
262 hits were 46 more than runnerup Michael Young of Texas, marking the largest differential in major league history between the No. 1 and No. 2 hitters in a league.
Had 80 multi-hit games, a Mariners record and the most in the majors in the era of divisional play (1969).
Won second American League batting title (also 2001) with the highest single-season average in Mariners history (.372) (also won batting title in 2001).
Exceeded 200 hits for the fourth consecutive season, becoming the first player to produce 200 or more hits in the first four years of his career.
Established a major league record with 225 singles, breaking his own record.
Had a career-high five hits on four occasions, becoming the fifth player with five four-hit games in a season (Willie Keeler, 1897; Ty Cobb, 1922; Stan Musial, 1948; Tony Gwynn, 1993).
Had three 50-hit months 50 in May, 51 in July and 56 in August, becoming the first player since Joe Medwick in 1936 to post back-to-back months with 50 hits.
56 hits in August established a club record for any month and were the most in a month by any player since Seattle native Jeff Heath had 58 hits for Cleveland in August, 1938.
Had 704 at-bats, becoming just the third player to top 700 (Willie Wilson in 1980, Juan Samuel in 1984).
Led the American League with 19 intentional walks.
Hit .321 before the All-Star break and .429 after the break. Had four months with a batting average above .400.
Led majors with 57 infield hits.
Elected an American League All-Star starter for the fourth consecutive season, collecting 2,743,784 (4th AL) All-Star votes.
Won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove.
Played 161 games, including 158 in right field, three as a designated hitter.
Earned $6,500,000.

2003

Finished his third season in the major leagues ranked among American League leaders in hits (212), batting average (.312), runs (111) and stolen bases (34).
Named to start in the All-Star Game for the third consecutive season, receiving 2,130,708 All-Star votes, a total that led the major leagues.
Earned his third consecutive American League Gold Glove award.
With 212 hits, became the third player in history with 200 or more hits in each of his first three seasons.
Had 66 multi-hit games to lead the major leagues.
Hit .359 against left-handed pitchers, third-best total in the American League.
Had 12 outfield assists, fourth-highest total in the American League.
Had 44 hits in May, batting .389 for the month.
Had 44 hits in June, batting .386 for the month.
Produced a 13-game hitting streak from May 8-22, batting .455 over that span.
Produced a season-high 19-game hitting streak from June 4-24, batting .488 over that span.
Matched a career high with seven consecutive multi-hit games from July 1-8, batting .452 over that span.
Hit two home runs against Anaheim on June 17.
Hit first career grand slam on July 18 at Kansas City, and hit second grand slam on Aug. 15 vs. Boston.
Produced career-high five RBIs on Sept. 20 at Oakland.
Hit .259 after the All-Star break, including a .242 mark in August and a .273 mark in September.
Played in 159 games, all in right field.
Earned $4,666,667.

2002

Ranked among American League leaders in hits (208), batting average (.321), stolen bases (31), runs (111) and on-base percentage (.388).
Named to his second All-Star team, collecting 2,516,016 All-Star votes, tops in the major leagues.
Earned his second American League Gold Glove award.
Became the first Seattle player with two, 200-hit seasons and the sixth player in major league history to post 200 or more hits in each of his first two seasons.
Set a major league record for most hits in his first two seasons with 450, breaking the old mark of 444 by Lloyd Waner in 1927-28.
Set a club record by hitting five lead-off home runs.
Established a club record by drawing 27 intentional walks, a total that led the American League.
Hit .356 off left-handers, fourth-highest total in the American League.
Caught stealing 15 times, a total that led the American League.
Had 54 infield hits, a total that led the majors, including nine bunt hits.
Played in 157 games, including 150 in right field, three in center field, four as a designated hitter.
Earned $3,696,000.

2001

Won the American League batting crown (.350) and earned American League Most Valuable Player and AL Rookie of the Year honors after helping lead the Mariners to an AL-record 116 victories. Became the first player since Fred Lynn (1975) to win both awards in the same season.
Voted to start in All-Star Game, collecting a major league-high 3,373,035 All-Star votes.
Won American League Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.
Became the first player to lead the majors in batting average (.350) and stolen bases (56) since Jackie Robinson in 1949.
Joined Tony Oliva (1964) as the only rookies to lead either league in batting.
Led the American League with 242 hits, the most in the majors since 1930 (Bill Terry, 254).
Set an American League record by collecting 192 singles, breaking the old mark of 167 by Harvey Kuenn in 1953.
Became the third rookie since 1964 to exceed 200 hits, joining Kevin Seitzer in 1987 and Nomar Garciaparra in 1997.
Tied the major league record by hitting safely in 135 games, joining Rogers Hornsby (1922), Chuck Klein (1930), Wade Boggs (1985) and Derek Jeter (1999).
Named American League Rookie of the Month for April, May, August and September.
Had 75 multi-hit games, a Mariners record and the fourth-highest total in the era of divisional play (1969).
Had 49 two-hit games, 20 three-hit games and six four-hit games.
Had a streak of seven consecutive multi-hit games, one shy of Desi Relafords club record, from May 11-18 batting 19-for-35 (.542).
Set an American League rookie record with 692 at-bats, breaking old mark of 684 by Nomar Garciaparra in 1997.
Put together a 23-game hitting streak from April 22-May 18, matching the longest in the major leagues and the second-longest streak in franchise history.
Matched the club record with seven consecutive multi-hit games from May 12-19.
Collected a franchise-record 134 hits before the All-Star break.
Became the sixth rookie and first since Sandy Alomar in 1990 to start an All-Star Game. Went 1-for-3 in All-Star debut, hitting a single off former Mariner Randy Johnson.
Put together a 21-game hitting streak from Aug. 3-24, batting .452 over that span.
Collected 51 of his 242 hits in August, the most in a month by a Mariner since Alex Rodriguez had 54 hits in August, 1996.
Established an ALDS record by going 12-for-20 (.600 BA) in Seattles five-game series victory over Cleveland.
Played 159 games, including 151 in right field, four as a designated hitter and four as a pinch hitter.
Earned $5,666,667.

PERSONAL / MISCELLANEOUS

Resides in Kobe, Japan.
Graduated from Aikoudai Meiden High School in 1992.
Joined the Mariners after leading the Orix Blue Wave of Japanese Central League in batting for seven consecutive seasons. The Mariners won the negotiating rights to Ichiro by paying the Blue Wave $13 million. Ichiro then signed a three-year, $14 million contract.
First Japanese position player to sign with a major league club.
Third Japanese player to sign with Seattle, following RHP Mac Suzuki (signed Sept. 5, 1993) and RHP Kazuhiro Sasaki (Dec. 18, 1999).
Agreed to a three-year, $14 million contract on Nov. 9, 2000.
Agreed to a four-year, $44 million contract on Dec. 19, 2003.
Signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension on July 13, 2007.