Seattle Mariners paid $13.1 million to obtain
Ichiro from the Orix. Ichiro is the first position player to
have moved to the American's Major League from Japan.
Ichiro is the first Japanese import to come along
to the MLB. He enjoyed a fabulous start to his Major League career in
2001, getting at least one hit in 40 of his first 43 games with the
Mariners.
Playing for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's
Pacific League, Ichiro hit a career-best .387 in 2000 and led the league
in on-base percentage for the fifth time with a .460 mark. He was also
named to the Pacific League's "Best Nine" end-of-season All-Star
team for the seventh consecutive year and won his seventh straight Gold
Glove for fielding excellence. Ichiro is the subject of tremendous media
scrutiny in his homeland. He and outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the New
York Mets are the first position players from Japan to play in the Major
Leagues.