Few Americans knew what to expect of Ichiro Suzuki when he first came to the United States in 2001. He had been an otherworldly hitter in Japan, tearing up the NPB with a .353/.421/.522 triple slash across nine seasons, winning seven consecutive batting titles and three Pacific League MVPs. He was a downright Ruthian celebrity in his home country. But while the likes of Hideo Nomo (and, much earlier, Masanori Murakami) had paved the way for Japanese pitchers to play in Major League Baseball, no everyday player had yet crossed over.
So even with that impressive résumé, the Mariners weren’t entirely sold on Ichiro as late as the very
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