Yusei Kikuchi couldn't keep himself together.
When Ichiro Suzuki, the man he recently called "like a god in Japan" in an ESPN article, reached the 27-year-old Mariners rookie outside of the dugout at the Tokyo Dome, Kikuchi shook his hand, looked him in the eyes, and tears quickly came out. That lasting image is one that defines how so many from Japan to the United States and beyond feel about Ichiro hanging it up.
The 45-year-old played his final MLB game on Thursday, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the Mariners' 5-4 win over the A's.