Ichiro Suzuki announcing on Thursday that he will no longer play for the Seattle Mariners comes as a disappointment to Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani’s Los Angeles Angels finished up their series with the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday and head to Seattle for three games against the Mariners. Initially, the series was shaping up to feature two of the most popular players to leave Japan for the United States. That, however, will no longer be the case.
The Mariners announced Ichiro will transition to a new role within the organization and not return to the playing roster. In the wake of the development, Ohtani spoke about his respect for Ichiro.
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for him,” Ohtani said in a statement. “What he has done for this game, our country and the fans. I wish we could have played against him, but it wasn’t meant to be. Wish nothing but the best for him moving forward.”
Ichiro will go down as one of greatest hitters in major league history. He compiled over 3,000 hits despite making his MLB debut at 27 years old. Ohtani was originally scheduled to start this past Tuesday’s game against Baltimore, but an ankle injury forced him to miss that game. There’s optimism Ohtani would be able to take the mound on Sunday for the series finale.
The #Angels announced Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs are pitching Friday and Saturday in Seattle, as expected. Sunday is TBD. Presumably that’s the spot they are hoping for Ohtani to take.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) May 3, 2018
What could have been a fun and festive scene in Seattle will unfortunately not materialize. Ohtani has captured the attention of baseball fans across the country during his first season, just as Ichiro did in 2001. Ichiro won the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards that season. Ohtani may not reach those heights, but he has more than lived up to the hype so far.
