Ichiro’s road to 3,000 paved in Emerald City

In the aftermath of the 2000 season, the Mariners were in need of a pick-me-up.

Yes, they were coming off three postseason appearances in six years and had put together a five-year run that produced what were the five best attendance totals in franchise history.

However, All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez followed free agency to the Rangers, which came on the heels of the trade of Ken Griffey Jr. to the Reds the previous offseason and dealing away Randy Johnson to the Astros in July 1998 in advance of his becoming a free agent.

Along came Ichiro Suzuki, the first position player to make the move from the Japanese professional leagues to Major League Baseball, who became a fixture in the Mariners’ lineup for 11 1/2 seasons. It was driven by the fact Suzuki was a favorite of then-majority owner Hiroshi Yamauchi, the head of Nintendo, who made it clear he didn’t care what it cost to sign Suzuki.

And on Sunday, Ichiro tripled off Rockies left-hander Chris Rusin to become the 30th player in Major League history to amass 3,000 hits, the first 2,533 of which came during his tenure with the Mariners.

“There was a mystery about him,” said Randy Adamack, Mariners senior vice president of communications. “He had been a star in Japan, but now he was coming over here. He had his first name, ‘Ichiro,’ on the back of his uniform.”

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Ichiro provided a quick answer to all questions, joining Fred Lynn of the 1975 Red Sox as the only players to win regular-season MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season. He also became the first player to win those awards, claim the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, as well as start in an All-Star Game in his inaugural campaign.

That first All-Star Game, it should be noted, was one in which he received more votes from the fans than any other player. …

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