page_title: Ichiro Suzuki
section_title: 2002
hierarchical_section_title: Ichiro Suzuki / Career in MLB / Seattle Mariners (2001–2012) / 2002
caption_attribution_description: English: Ichiro Suzuki, 2002, by Rick Dikeman
context_page_description: Ichiro Suzuki, often referred to mononymously as Ichiro, is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played 28 seasons combined in top-level professional leagues. He spent the bulk of his career with two teams: nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, where he began his career, and 14 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball in the United States. After playing the first 12 years of his MLB career for the Mariners, Ichiro played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees before signing with the Miami Marlins. He played three seasons with the Marlins before returning to the Mariners in 2018.
  Ichiro established a number of batting records, including MLB's single-season record for hits with 262. He achieved 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player in history. Between his major league career in both Japan and the United States, Ichiro has the most hits by any player in top-tier professional leagues. He also has recorded the most hits of all Japanese-born players in MLB history.
context_section_description: Ichiro finished his second year in American baseball with 208 total hits, making him the first Mariners player ever with two consecutive seasons of 200+ hits. He got off to a hot start in 2002, but a late-season slump drove his batting average down to .321, 29 points below his batting average as a rookie. He was the fifth player in MLB history to start a career with two 200-hit seasons. Ichiro finished the season second in the AL in hits, fourth in batting average, and fourth in steals. Ichiro led the major league All-Star balloting for the second straight year. Although the Mariners had a 93–69 record, that was good for only a third-place finish in the competitive AL West.
caption: Ichiro in right field in 2002
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