Ichiro

To think that there was a time when people weren't sure if Ichiro Suzuki, coming over from Japan, could compete at the same level as Major Leaguers.

The sold-out Tokyo Dome crowd cheered wildly for Ichiro Suzuki to take one last curtain call following his final game in Major League Baseball

Who was the masked man?! Looks kind of familiar. Hmmm...could it be Ichiro back in the dugout? Ichiro Suzuki channeled Bobby Valentine put on the fake mustache.

The Seattle Mariners today announced that Ichiro Suzuki will be taken off of the club's active 25-man roster and will transition to a position in the front office created for him.

Amazingly, it has been 17 years ago, on this very date, that the baseball world was formally introduced to Ichiro Suzuki.

Not quite at 100 percent, The condition of Ichiro Suzuki's strained right calf will determine if he'll be on the opening day roster or the disabled list.

The man simply known by his first name to baseball fans and non-fans alike - Ichiro - capped off three days of an affectionate return to his first ballclub by swatting a home run in what may have been his final plate appearance in SafeCo Field yesterday.

Prior to last night's series opener at SafeCo Field, the Seattle Mariners not only welcomed the visiting Miami Marlins to town for a three-game series, they also welcomed back one of their adopted sons, Ichiro Suzuki.

As a rabid Seattle Mariners fan, I have - and still do! - avidly collected memorabilia over the last 30-plus years. Some of my more prized possessions include auto graphed baseballs from Ken Griffey, Jr., Felix Hernandez and Ichiro Suzuki...

For Seattle Mariners fans, this weekend, while highly scripted, could not have possibly ended any better if it were entirely orchestrated.