Miami Marlins at Seattle Mariners: Three Stories To Watch

How Much Ichiro Love Can We Expect?  

Miami Marlins backup outfielder and Seattle Mariners super icon Ichiro Suzuki makes his first return to Seattle since joining up with the Fish. And as that move also included joining up with the Senior Circuit National League, this marks the first time he has even faced Seattle since 2014. So just how much love and attention can we expect to see from the hometown fans?

To put it mildly? Oodles.

Remember, we’re talking ten straight All-Star nods, with ten straight seasons of 200-plus hits. Fans remember that. His “rookie” year was with that Seattle team that set the current MLB single-season wins mark. The vast majority of any positive memories from one of teams in baseball yet to even play in the World Series involve No. 51.

Or to keep it short and simple, Wednesday is his bobblehead day.

So, considering what a student of the game Ichiro is, we can expect some added playing time. This would be the case anyway, because DH, but this series might see a spike even beyond that.

It should, in any case. Don Mattingly could also go strict game flow here, and it certainly doesn’t help that Ich is hitting below .100 heading into Monday night.

How this plays out could be fascinating, especially considering a wild-card factor that is great news for the Marlins, but not so good news for Ichiro lovers wanting to see him pull down some extra bats in front of his original fans.