Ichiro’s 5 Greatest Mariners Moments

Number 3. Ichiro Walks Off the GOAT

2009 was a magical season for the Mariners. After a disastrous 2008 campaign that saw the team go 61-101, nobody expected much from the 2009 squad. The Mariners had brought back Ken Griffey Jr., which was cool, and signed household name Mike Sweeney.

Despite these moves, nobody thought much of the Mariners chances to be anything relevant in 2009. But instead, the Mariners won 85 games, and Ichiro had arguably his best offensive season. He slashed .352/.386/.465 and finished 9th in the MVP voting that season.

The Mariners hung tough for most of the season, and on September 19th, the Mariners needed a win in the worst possible way. They were in luck, as Felix Hernandez the runner-up in that season’s Cy Young race was on the mound. Felix was as brilliant as ever, spinning 8 innings of 2 run ball. Unfortunately, as we have seen way too many times, the offense sputtered.

They had managed just 1 run all night, and the greatest closer of all time was on the mound. With 2 0uts and Michael Saunders on second, Ichiro stepped to the plate. Like most hitters, Ichiro hadn’t found much success against Rivera. Ichiro had just a 2-10 mark against Rivera.

But on the first pitch he saw, Ichiro barrelled up a cutter and sent a shot deep into the night air and 15 rows up into the right-field stands to win the game.

It was a magical moment in Seattle and the most memorable home run of Ichiro’s Mariners career.