page_title: Ichiro Suzuki
section_title: Inaugural World Baseball Classic
hierarchical_section_title: Ichiro Suzuki / Career in MLB / Seattle Mariners (2001–2012) / Inaugural World Baseball Classic
caption_attribution_description: イチロー
context_page_description: Ichiro Suzuki, often referred to mononymously as Ichiro, is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played 28 seasons combined in top-level professional leagues. He spent the bulk of his career with two teams: nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, where he began his career, and 14 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball in the United States. After playing the first 12 years of his MLB career for the Mariners, Ichiro played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees before signing with the Miami Marlins. He played three seasons with the Marlins before returning to the Mariners in 2018.
  Ichiro established a number of batting records, including MLB's single-season record for hits with 262. He achieved 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player in history. Between his major league career in both Japan and the United States, Ichiro has the most hits by any player in top-tier professional leagues. He also has recorded the most hits of all Japanese-born players in MLB history.
context_section_description: Ichiro played for the Japan national baseball team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March 2006. During 15 March Japan-Korea game Ichiro was booed by a few spectators during every at-bat, reportedly in response to a previous statement that he wanted "to beat South Korea so badly, that the South Koreans won't want to play Japan for another 30 years." That, however, was an incorrect translation mostly spread to the public through ESPN. Ichiro was variously quoted as saying "I want to win in a way that the opponent would think, 'we cannot catch up with Japan for the coming 30 years'. We should not merely win the games." Japan would later beat Korea in the playoffs and win the tournament after defeating Cuba in the finals, 10–6. For the tournament, Ichiro had twelve hits including a home run, seven runs, and four stolen bases.
caption: Suzuki at the World Baseball Classic 2006
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