Yankees. Seattle split the opening games of its Division Series with Cleveland, then got torched in Game 3 by a score of 17-2. One loss away from elimination, the team pulled together and tied the series on a clutch, bases-loaded single by Ichiro in the seventh inning of Game 4. The Mariners pulled out Game 5, 3-1, to move on to the American League Championship Series. Ichiro, who banged out 12 hits, got his name in the books again with a record .600 average.
Seattle’s struggles continued, however, against pitching-rich New York in the ALCS. The Mariners dropped the first two games at home, then went to Yankee Stadium needing at least two wins to stay alive. They nearly evened the series, but the more experienced Yankees were just too tough, and Seattle went down in five games.
After the season came a cascade of honors and awards for Ichiro. He won a Gold Glove (he made just one error all year), took Rookie of the Year honors, and edged his old Hawaiian League foe, Jason Giambi, for the American League’s Most Valuable Player award.
On paper, Ichiro’s rookie year ranked among the greatest ever. The reality of it was arguably far more impressive. Ichiro wasn’t just learning a new league. He had to acclimate himself to an entirely new game, new culture, and new language. As always, he had confidence that his way was the right way, even when most baseball people (including for a time his own manager!) thought he would be a mere shadow of what he had been in Japan.
As expected, the fanfare and media crush surrounding Ichiro died down somewhat in 2002. This seemed to be just fine with the Japanese star, who picked up right where he left off. At the All-Star break, Ichiro was leading the AL in hitting with a .358 average. With a winter of video under their belts, opposing pitchers had adjusted their approach to Ichiro, but he in turn had adjusted to them. He was far more selective in 2002, drawing as many walks by late July as he had during his rookie campaign, and his on-base percentage was up significantly. His average continued to climb, at one point approaching the .400 mark.
Meanwhile, the first-place Mariners seemed ready for a big stretch run. The team looked similar to the squad that ran away with the AL West in 2001. Garcia and Moyer remained the aces of the starting staff, Sasaki anchored the bullpen, and Olerud, Boone, and Cameron comprised the heart of the batting order. Of the new faces in Seattle, Jeff Cirillo, Ruben Sierra, and Desi Relaford were the most prominent additions.
The final two months of 2002 did not play out as planned, however. Once again, Ichiro seemed to tire in August, but unlike the year before, he was unable to snap back into form and endured his first prolonged slump in the majors. Enemy hurlers began running fastballs in on his hands, taking away his ability to serve the ball to leftfield. There were a lot of lazy flies to right in August and September, and not enough grounders in the hole between short and third.
With fewer opportunities to run the bases, Ichiro’s production sagged. So too did the Mariners’ fortunes. The team lost its lead in the AL West, and Seattle fans watched in dismay as the A’s and Angels knocked them out of the playoff hunt.
Ichiro’s late-season woes were not immediately evident in his numbers. Even when he was dragging, he was still a terrific player, ending the year with a .321 batting average, 208 hits, 111 runs scored, and 31 steals. All, however, were below his rookie numbers. The silver lining was that Ichiro’s 68 walks more than doubled his 2001 total. He also played in 157 games—proving his durability over a long season.
The 2003 campaign was pretty much a mirror image for Ichiro and the Mariners. He started the year in a slump, but picked up the pace come May. Over the next three months Ichiro batted better than .370, scored 62 runs and stole 21 bases.