Many pundits have deemed the Marlins as fielding the best young outfield in baseball. Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich — and Ichiro Suzuki?
Asked about the three 25-and-under outfielders he’ll be backing up in 2015, Ichiro said before the club’s first full squad workout Tuesday not to leave him out of the mix.
“I’m 41,” Ichiro said, through interpreter Allen Turner. “I obviously don’t know what my role is right now. I’ll go through camp and find that out. Hopefully it won’t look like I’m using a bat as a cane … Everybody is treating me like I’m really old, but please, put me in that group of young guys. I feel young and want to be included in that group.”
The Marlins wouldn’t have signed Ichiro if they didn’t think he could contribute. The question is how much will Ichiro, a future Hall of Famer, see the field if the Stanton-Ozuna-Yelich triumvirate remains healthy. All three will get their maintenance days off, but no reason why they shouldn’t each play 150-plus games and combine for well over 1,900 plate appearances.
Yet Ichiro, who begins the season 156 hits shy of 3,000 for his major league career, at no point during his 10-minute news conference acknowledged himself as a fourth outfielder. That’s fine with manager Mike Redmond.
“I was a backup catcher, but it’s not like I just said, ‘Hey, you know what, I’m just going to sit on the bench and be happy about it,’ ” Redmond said. “You always want to play, right? Everybody wants to play. You have to be ready to play because when you get that opportunity you’ve got to go in there and contribute. He gives us depth at a position where we have a lot of strength, but it’s nice to have that depth.”
When a sprained ankle left Ozuna sidelined along with Stanton the final seven games of 2014, the Marlins were left scurrying for outfielders. Over those final seven, Yelich moved from left to center twice. Five other players — Ed Lucas, Garrett Jones, Jordany Valdespin, Kike Hernandez and Reed Johnson — made outfield starts that last week.
From his 2001 American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player award-winning season with the Mariners through 2012, Ichiro averaged 729 plate appearances per season. If things go right for the Marlins he won’t approach that figure.
The AL, where Ichiro had spent his entire career and could continue to serve as a designated hitter, on the surface would seem like the better fit. Yet neither Ichiro nor the Marlins see this marriage as a square-block/round-hole situation.
“The number 3,000, that is a pretty big goal and that is a goal of mine, but that is not the reason I play the game of baseball,” Ichiro said. “Obviously I have other goals and motivations that have kept me here wanting to play. I don’t think you can play the game if that’s your only goal.
“What I wanted most was just the warm feelings the Marlins gave me … There was nothing that came my way I didn’t like or would say no to. That’s a big reason I’m here.”
The Marlins scored big points with Ichiro letting him take his physical in Japan rather than travel to the States. In addition, several members of the front office flew to Tokyo for the announcement, a gesture Ichiro lauded.
While Ichiro will likely need at least one more season beyond 2015 to reach the 3,000-hit plateau, getting to the postseason again would make it worth the wait. Ichiro was a rookie with the 116-win Mariners club that lost the American League Championship Series to the Yankees in five games. Over the next 11 seasons his Mariners clubs on average finished 19.7 games out of first place.
Ichiro did make the playoffs again in 2012 as a recently acquired member of the Yankees. The Tigers swept them in four games in spite of Ichiro hitting .353 (6-for-17) in that abbreviated ALCS.
“I grew up watching him when he came over from Japan and was absolutely dominating major league baseball,” Yelich said. “To be able to play on the same team as him and pick his brain and watch how he prepares for a season or for a game is going to be cool.”
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