Ichiro wins Seattle P-I Sports Star of the Year Award

The final award associated with the Mariners' record-breaking 2001 season was presented Monday night and it went to Ichiro Suzuki --with an assist from Jay Buhner.

"It was only fitting," Buhner said. "He took my job, so I'm here to accept his award."

Ichiro was unable to attend the 67th Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sports Star of the Year Award Banquet because of prior commitments in Japan, but was the overwhelming winner. He outdistanced four other nominees and the 334-point gap between first and second places was one of the largest margins since 1974 when the audience began voting.

Ichiro becomes the seventh Mariner in the past 10 years to win the award. Previous winners include Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000), David Segui ('98), Alex Rodriguez ('96), Lou Piniella ('95), Randy Johnson ('93), Edgar Martinez ('92) and Ken Griffey Jr. ('89).

After winning the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards, Ichiro figured to easily capture the P-I award.

"He is the most exciting leadoff hitter in the game," said Buhner of Ichiro. "He had just an unimaginable season, and on top of that helped us win 116 games.

"There are a lot of deserving people here and I think this shows that Mariner baseball is pretty catchy right now, especially when you put a good product on the field. It wasn't too long ago we were fighting for the existence of the organization."

Ichiro wasn't at the banquet in person, but he sent a "thank you" via a video, speaking mostly in Japanese (with English subtitles) but spoke English when wishing Buhner good luck in his retirement. Buhner was the Mariners' mainstay in right field for most of the 1990s, retiring at the end of last season.

Ichiro ended the video by saying in English: "I'm looking forward to seeing you at SAFECO Field."