The magnitude of the moment – of sharing the field with the towering Ichiro Suzuki in his farewell – left Seattle Mariners teammate Yusei Kikuchi in reverential silence.
Asked what that experience meant, the Japanese rookie pitcher paused for a full minute.
“Since spring training until now, Ichiro told us that it is a gift for him to play in Tokyo,” Kikuchi finally said through a translator Thursday night. “But for me, he gave me the greatest gift that I can play with him.”
Ichiro was showered with cheers and chants while taking his final bow , and the Mariners sent him out with a win by beating the Oakland Athletics 5-4 in 12 innings.