April 2, 2001: Ichiro propels Mariners to Opening Day win in his major-league debut

Ichiro Suzuki − like Elvis or Madonna − was so famous in Japan that he was known simply by his first name. The 27-year-old outfielder had nothing left to prove in the Japan Pacific League after winning seven consecutive batting titles and seven straight Gold Glove Awards from 1994 through 2000.1 The Seattle Mariners, needing to improve their offense to offset the massive loss of free agent Álex Rodríguez,2 were happy to give Ichiro the opportunity to become the first Japanese position player in the major leagues.3

After paying the Orix Blue Wave a $13 million posting fee for the rights to negotiate with Ichiro, the Mariners inked him to a three-year, $14 million contract in November 2000.4 Many in the United States – including some of his new teammates − were skeptical that Ichiro would make good in the big leagues.5

He began to chip away at that misconception in the 2001 season opener against the Oakland Athletics. On a chilly April evening at Safeco Field, Ichiro recorded two key late-inning hits, sparking Seattle to a thrilling 5-4 come-from-behind victory.

In 2000, the Mariners had finished a half-game behind the division-winning Athletics with a 91-win season, earning the AL wild-card spot. After sweeping the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS, they came within two games of reaching the World Series.6 But without Álex Rodríguez (“A-Rod”), many experts had considerably lower expectations for Seattle in 2001. Sports Illustrated’s season preview ranked the Mariners as the 16th-best team in the major leagues.7 It also expressed doubts about the “slap-hitting batting champion from Japan” and wondered if the team had enough offense to compete in the AL West.8 “[Ichiro] can’t hit the inside pitch,” said an unnamed scout from an opposing team. “He can really run, but right now he’s a little overmatched.”9 (Ichiro hit .324 in spring training.10)

The season opener featured a pitching matchup between two of the league’s top young right-handers, Seattle’s Freddie García and Oakland’s Tim Hudson. García had been acquired from the Houston Astros along with shortstop Carlos Guillén in a July 1998 trade deadline deal for fireballer Randy Johnson. García paid immediate dividends, going 17-8 in 1999 and finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year Award voting. He posted a 9-5 record and 3.91 ERA in his sophomore season, which was marred by a broken right tibia that limited him to 20 starts.11

Hudson was also entering his third season in the big leagues, and he was coming off a stellar campaign that saw him go 20-6 with a 4.14 ERA. The performance earned him second place in AL Cy Young Award voting behind Pedro Martínez of the Boston Red Sox.

The game remained scoreless for the first two frames. García and Hudson each had a one-two-three inning and another in which they allowed a pair of baserunners with one out before escaping unscored on. Ichiro, batting leadoff and playing right field, grounded out to start the bottom of the first.

Oakland drew first blood on an RBI double by designated hitter Olmedo Sáenz in the third inning.

The Athletics knocked García out of the game in the fourth with a three-run outburst, highlighted by an RBI single by catcher Ramón Hernández and a two-run bloop single by second baseman José Ortiz. With two runners on and only one out, Seattle manager Lou Piniella brought in Brett Tomko to take over for García. After loading the bases on a walk to Jason Giambi, Tomko kept the score at 4-0 by retiring Sáenz and Eric Chávez.

The Mariners got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth when Al Martin walked, stole second, and scored on a two-out bloop single by Dan Wilson.

With one out in the fifth, Seattle loaded the bases on a walk to Mike Cameron, a line-drive single by Edgar Martinez, and a walk to John Olerud. That brought up veteran second baseman Bret Boone, who had been a seemingly minor addition to the Mariners roster when he signed as a free agent about a month after Ichiro had come on board.12

Boone drove in Cameron with a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to two runs and kicking off what would become one of the best offensive seasons ever by a second sacker. A beefed-up Boone ended the 2001 campaign with an astounding 141 RBIs to go along with 37 homers and a .331 batting average.13

Hudson had given up three singles and an uncharacteristic six walks through five innings, so T.J. Mathews came on in relief in the sixth and retired Seattle in order. Tomko, meanwhile, kept the Mariners within striking distance by setting down nine of the 10 batters he faced in the fifth inning through the seventh.

Ichiro was 0-for-3 when he led off the seventh.14 He stroked a groundball single up the middle off Mathews for the first of his eventual 3,089 career hits in the US major leagues.

After Cameron walked for the fourth consecutive time, Oakland manager Art Howe called for Jim Mecir to come in from the bullpen and face Martinez. The 38-year-old fan favorite, in his 15th season with the Mariners, lined the first pitch he saw into right field and Ichiro raced home from second with Seattle’s third run.15 The next batter, Olerud, lined a single into left-center field, scoring Cameron and tying the game, 4-4.

After Arthur Rhodes pitched a scoreless top of the eighth, Guillén led off the home half of the inning with a walk, bringing Ichiro to the plate. Oakland was expecting a bunt with Guillén representing the potential go-ahead run, so the third baseman Chávez was playing in on the grass. Third-base coach Dave Myers, coaching in his first big-league game, flashed the bunt sign. “I haven’t actually bunted in a game since 1994,” Ichiro explained after the game. “When I got the bunt sign, I was very worried.”16

Ichiro didn’t look worried – he laid down a perfect bunt as he bolted out of the batter’s box. Mecir picked up the ball near the first-base line and his rushed throw sailed past Ortiz covering first, allowing Ichiro and Guillén to advance to second and third, respectively. The play was scored a single and a throwing error by Mecir.

One out later, Martinez was intentionally walked to load the bases and southpaw Mark Guthrie came in to face the lefty-swinging Olerud. The Seattle native drove in Guillen with a sacrifice fly to deep left-center field, giving the Mariners a 5-4 lead and sending the 45,911 shivering fans into a frenzy.17

Seattle’s other Japanese import, Kazuhiro Sasaki, came on to pitch the ninth. Sasaki had won the AL Rookie of the Year Award the previous season after earning 37 saves in 40 opportunities, and he picked up right where he left off. Sasaki limited Oakland to a leadoff single by Ortiz, nailing down the first of what would turn out to be an AL-record 116 victories for the Mariners.18

Seattle’s bullpen, which was the best in the majors that season, made the comeback possible with 5⅔ innings of scoreless relief. Rhodes was credited with the win. Although the Mariners registered only seven hits – all singles − they also drew 10 walks, four of which later scored.

Ichiro was in a reflective mood after the game. “More than the hit, I now understand that I want to be here a very long time,” he said. “The feelings I had tonight I will never forget.”19

The Oakland Tribune was unmoved by Ichiro’s late-inning contributions, referring to him as a “slight little right fielder” who “doesn’t look like he hits many balls hard.”20 It was an assessment that did not age well.

Ichiro went on to post a stunning 2001 season, winning the AL batting title, Rookie of the Year, and MVP awards, and leading the majors in steals. He became the first player to lead the AL or NL in batting average (.350) and stolen bases (56) since another trailblazer, Jackie Robinson, turned the trick in 1949.21 His 242 hits smashed the major-league rookie record, held previously by Lloyd Waner of the 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates.22

Ichiro was an All-Star and a Gold Glove Award winner for the first of what were 10 consecutive seasons, and he earned his first of three Silver Slugger Awards.

The Japanese sensation was asked if being a 5-foot-9, 160-pound MVP might revolutionize the way baseball is played and taught in the United States. “I am thin and slender,” he said. “I don’t have power, but I’m an MVP. … I would hope that if kids feel I could do it, they could do it, too.”23

As it turned out, the preseason concerns about Seattle’s offense were completely unfounded and the acquisition of Ichiro and Boone more than made up for the loss of A-Rod. The Mariners led the big leagues with 927 runs scored, a .360 on-base percentage, and 174 steals.24 They were a pedestrian 18th in home runs.25 At the height of the steroid era, the 2001 Mariners went against the grain, proving that a juggernaut offense could be powered by speed and an elite ability to get on base.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com, and Retrosheet.org. Unless otherwise stated, play-by-play details were taken from the game video on YouTube.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA200104020.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B04020SEA2001.htm

Photo credit: Ichiro Suzuki, courtesy of the Seattle Mariners.

Notes

1 Ichiro also won three consecutive Japan Pacific League MVP Awards from 1994 to ’96.

2 Rodríguez became a free agent at the end of the 2000 season. The relatively frugal Mariners didn’t stand a chance of re-signing him, so they moved ahead with revamping their offense while he was pursued by other teams. Rodríguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers in January 2001.

3 Ten Japanese pitchers had appeared in the major leagues prior to 2001. The first was Masanori Murakami, who appeared in 54 games for the San Francisco Giants in 1964-65. The most successful Japanese pitcher prior to 2001 was Hideo Nomo. He had gone 69-61 with a 3.97 ERA from 1995 to 2000. He finished his big-league career in 2008 with a 123-109 record and a 4.24 ERA. Nomo pitched two no-hitters in his career, one in 1996 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and another in 2001 for the Boston Red Sox. His second no-hitter came two days after Ichiro’s major-league debut.

4 Douglas Jordon, “Ichiro Suzuki,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ichiro-suzuki/, accessed October 7, 2023.

5 Jordon, “Ichiro Suzuki.”

6 As of the end of the 2024 season, the Mariners were the only franchise to have never appeared in the World Series.

7 “How We Rank Them,” Sports Illustrated, March 26, 2001: 91.

8 Tom Verducci, “Seattle Mariners,” Sports Illustrated, March 26, 2001: 121.

9 “Enemy Lines, An Opposing Team’s Scout Sizes Up the Mariners,” Sports Illustrated, March 26, 2001: 121.

10 “Ichiro Timeline,” Tacoma News Tribune, November 21, 2001: C4.

11 Matthew Kauffman Smith, “Seattle Mariners’ García to Face Volcanoes Today,” Salem (Oregon) Statesman Journal, June 21, 2000: 3B.

12 In the two seasons prior to joining the Mariners, Boone had hit a combined .251 with 39 homers and 137 RBIs for Atlanta (1999) and San Diego (2000). “He’s a proven run-producer who will add a little pop to our lineup while providing solid defense for our pitching staff,” predicted Seattle general manager Pat Gillick at the time of Boone’s signing. ESPN.com news services, “Mariners Looking for Some Extra Pop in Lineup,” ESPN, December 22, 2000, http://a.espncdn.com/mlb/news/2000/1222/969885.html, accessed October 7, 2023.

13 Boone had bulked up significantly in the offseason and José Canseco noticed the transformation the first time he saw him in spring training. Canseco accused Boone of using steroids in his 2005 book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ’Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big. Boone denied that he used steroids. As of the end of 2024, the 141 runs knocked in still stood as the most RBIs in a season for an American League second baseman. John McGrath, “There’s Room at Top for Powerless Players,” Tacoma News Tribune, November 21, 2001: C1; Associated Press, “Boone Calls Canseco’s Steroid Allegations ‘Ridiculous,’” Bellingham (Washington) Herald, February 20, 2005: D5.

14 Ichiro grounded out twice and struck out against Hudson.

15 It was Martinez’s third single of the game.

16 Kirby Arnold, “The Mariners Redefine Winning Small on a Chilly Opening Night at Safeco Field,” Kitsap (Washington) Sun, April 3, 2001: C1.

17 When the game began the temperature was 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) and the Safeco Field roof was open. The mercury dropped steadily, so the roof was soon closed. Mark Saxon, “Mariners’ Comeback Beats A’s,” Oakland Tribune, April 3, 2001: 33.

18 The Mariners went 116-46 (.716) in 2001, breaking the AL record for most wins in the season, previously held by the 1998 New York Yankees (114-48). Seattle also tied the major-league record for wins, which was previously set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs (116-36). The Mariners had a bitterly disappointing postseason. They had to rally in the Division Series to squeak by Cleveland, a team with 25 fewer regular-season wins. In the ALCS, they were no match for the three-time defending World Series champion Yankees, who easily dispatched them in five games.

19 Laura Vecsey, “New Day Dawns for Hero Ichiro and Mariners,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 3, 2001: D1.

20 Saxon, “Mariners’ Comeback Beats A’s.”

21 Jordon, “Ichiro Suzuki.”

22 Ichiro beat Waner’s rookie record by 19 hits.

23 McGrath, “There’s Room at Top for Powerless Players.”

24 Seattle’s .288 team batting average led the AL and set a new team record that still stood as of 2025.

25 Safeco Field was a great pitchers’ park. According to the Seamheads Ballparks Database, it had a one-year park factor for home runs of 85 (100 is league average) in 2001. The only AL ballpark that was more difficult to hit a home run in that season was Detroit’s Comerica Park.