Ichiro Suzuki is officially a Marlin. (John Munson/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports)
The Miami Marlins officially signed free agent outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to a one-year contract, the team announced Tuesday night.
The deal is for two million and Suzuki is expected to be the team’s fourth outfielder behind right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, center fielder Marcell Ozuna and left fielder Christian Yelich. He will be introduced at a news conference in Tokyo at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
“We are thrilled to have Ichiro Suzuki in a Marlins uniform,” said Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in a statement released by the team. “He is the ultimate professional on and off the field, and will make an excellent addition to our ball club.”
Suzuki enters this season 156 hits shy of 3,000 career hits in the majors and has 4,122 combined hits in Japan and in the majors.
The first Japanese-born position player to appear in the majors, Suzuki followed a successful nine-year career with the Orix Blue Wave that saw him record 1,278 hits by having even more success with the Seattle Mariners.
Suzuki was the 2001 American League MVP and Rookie of the Year. He also made 10 appearance in the All-Star game, won the Gold Glove Award 10 times and the Silver Slugger Award three times.
Suzuki had 10 straight seasons with 200 hits through 2010 and, in 2004, he broke George Sisler’s 1920 record for hits in a single season with 262. He also matched Ty Cobb and Pete Rose by leading or tying for the major league lead in hits seven times and was the only player in history to do it five straight seasons (2006-2010).
In 2 1/2 seasons with the Yankees, Suzuki batted .281 in 360 regular-season games. On Aug. 21, 2013, he recorded his 4,000th combined professional hit with a first-inning single off Toronto Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey at Yankee Stadium.
