Ichiro Stories: A showman even through a serious injury

In Seattle Mariners insider Shannon Drayer's final story about Ichiro Suzuki, she details how his incredible 2009 included a serious health scare.

BY SEATTLESPORTS.COM STAFF

Aug 10, 2025, 9:46 AM

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Watch: Ichiro Suzuki - The Great Showman | 1 min

With the Seattle Mariners retiring the No. 51 in honor of new Baseball Hall of Fame member Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Sports’ Shannon Drayer filmed five different stories at various spots in the ballpark from her time covering Ichiro as a Mariners insider. Here’s a look at the final story.

Ichiro Suzuki is baseball’s hit king, one of the greatest defensive right fielders of all-time, and one of the most important figures in the sport’s history as a true trailblazer.

But perhaps above all, he is a showman. And that’s something he was committed during his superstar playing career, knowing how important it was to the fans who idolized him.

That was almost to his own peril, as Mariners insider Shannon Drayer details.

Seattle Mariners to unveil Ichiro statue in 2026

In March 2009, Ichiro helped his native Japan win the second-ever World Baseball Classic, even delivering the game-winning two-RBI single in the championship game in extra innings. But something wasn’t right as he was gearing up for the Mariners’ season that was to soon follow.

It turned out that he had a serious ailment, one that could be potentially fatal if not treated. And at first, because of his commitment to living up to the expectations that come with being one of the faces of baseball, Ichiro didn’t want to get it treated.

What happened next? Drayer tells the story, including exactly what was wrong with Ichiro, in the video in this post.

Ichiro Suzuki's commitment to the game was never in question—but he faced a major hurdle in 2009.

Go inside the unique legacy of Ichiro's Hall of Fame #Mariners career ALL WEEK w/ Shannon Drayer leading up to his number retirement ceremony this Saturday night. #IchiroHOF pic.twitter.com/JirEnOl2M1

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) August 9, 2025

Oh, and by the way, Ichiro still had over 200 hits that season – 225 to be exact.

The show must go on.

Click here for the full video of all five installments of Shannon Drayer’s Ichiro Stories on the Seattle Sports YouTube channel.