“Why would he run when I was going to throw him out?” is one of the coldest quotes of all time

“What’ll you do when you retire?” “I’ll think I’ll just die” What a freaking legend

Another story I read about Ichiro: Upon being assigned #51 (Which had been Randy Johnson's number), he apparently contacted Johnson himself to say that he would "not bring shame" to his jersey number.

"I don't have my dog's permission..." is both the funniest and most deadpan asshole response to such an innocuous question. LOVE IT.

Nobody: Ichiros dog: don’t tell anyone my name

Ichiro not knowing who Tom Brady is has got to be the most savage move ever.

My Little Ichiro Story: I remember in 2017 when Ichiro was in Miami and close to retiring. I was at a game in Philadelphia with my friend. The game got rained out before it even started. As we were walking out through the concourse I noticed someone working out on the field in the rain. It was Ichiro. We walked down to the field and for the next 30 minutes we watched Ichiro workout on a soaked field, in pouring rain, 2 hours before a game that now was not evening going to be played. This was nothing left to prove, 3,000 hit, first ballot Hall of Famer, Ichiro, busting his ass in the rain for a team that was on their way to winning only 77 games He then signed an autograph for a little girl who had waited all this time with her parents as well standing near us. Such an unbelievable player with an absurd work ethic. Best pure hitter of all time.

"Why should I stretch? Does a cheetah stretch before it catches its prey?" - Ken Griffey Jr. (Gets injured for all the second half of his career Ichiro - stretches constantly - plays and stays healthy till 45. Remember to stretch kids.

Imagine if the 73-9 Warriors lost to 5 against the Thunder then randomly dipped. Those are the 2001 Seattle Mariners.

This is a nice reminder that the only reason Pete Rose is still referred to as the Hit King is because Ichiro played his first nine seasons in Japan.

I grew up in Washington, my whole family did. My aunt knew a guy who did garage work for Ichiro. He noticed Ichiro’s bat collection and starting swinging them, what he didn’t know was that Ichiro had a camera system in his garage and saw him do it. Ichiro responded by sending the guy an autographed bat and a 100 dollar gift certificate to the Cheesecake Factory. That was the type of dude he was!

“How did you throw out Terrence Long at 3rd?” “It was hit right to me. Why did he run when I was going to throw him out” ABSOLUTE. BADASS.

Ichiro is like a Japanese warlord who accidentally time-traveled into the future and decided to take up baseball because he was bored.

This is not a documentary, it's a spiritual and mental experience.

That five second pause before the 01’ season hit different when you knew exactly where it was going

Can we just take a moment here to point out how brilliant this line is: "Unless you let those limits go, you're an astronaut who brought your wallet." Damn.

Only Jon Bois could get me scared of a green upwards line

Ichiro: “If I’m in a slump, I ask myself for advice” LOL what a legend

I've been Mariners fan my entire life. I legit started sobbing at the 23 minute mark. Those who haven't been with this team for decades don't understand. The Cubs and Red Sox have both been redeemed, and frankly, those teams have other things to celebrate besides winning or losing. Mariners fandom is the nihilist realization that if nothing matters or will ever work out, you can find beauty in the pain.

I"m not gonna lie the intro to 2001 with just going up the graph of wins is really well made and entertaining

After breaking Sisler's record, Ichiro visited his grave that offseason

“The mariners are not competitors. They are protagonists” is the most mariners way to describe the mariners and I’m here for it

It's hard to overstate how amazing Ichiro was. There will never be a more pure hitter or defensive outfielder in my lifetime. He had zero (0) games with 4 strikeouts. He had more games with 4 hits than he had games with 3 strikeouts. After that throw so soon after joining the MLB, no one tested his arm ever again. That's why his outfield assists were so low for his career. I am so glad I had grown into loving the game by the time Ichiro joined it.

The real championship is the friends we made along the way

"Like an astronaut who brought his wallet" wtf how do you come up with that

Don’t lie. You’ve been waiting for Jon Bois to narrate Ichiro’s career.

I'm glad Dave Neihaus got to see Ichiro play for several years before he passed

This series has been genuinely amazing. I'm Australian, have absolutely no interest in MLB and barely knew the Mariners existed before this. But now, for better or worse, I am a life-long M's fan. Thank you, Mr Bois.

The more I learn about the Mariners, the more they start to feel like some sort of ancient myth that can't possibly be real.

And we haven't even heard the name "Felix Hernandez" yet ...

I'm a European who has never seen an MLB game in my entire life. This series was truly thrilling. Even emotional. Thank you.

I get tears in my eyes every time I see Ichiro’s record-breaking hit (258). As a Vietnamese, watching baseball when I was young was uninteresting, because I had no role models (no baseball players were Viet), but seeing another Asian dominate a sport with not only talent but respect made me so happy, and finally gave me an idol that I could look up to and support. Still my favorite player of any sport after so many years. Baseball misses you, Ichiro!

Imagine if that agreement between Japan and MLB never existed: The Mariners could have had Ichiro, Griffey Jr, A-Rod, Edgar Martinez and Randy Johnson on the SAME TEAM!!!

Welcome to the Mariners. Here you can see our team slogan: "Success is irrelevant"

"They were among the best in MLB at everything, scoring more runs than everyone and allowing fewer runs than everyone." Goodthing that there were no Special Teams in Baseball

Ichiro "gets a double off a bunt' Suzuki

When he revealed Jr. in 2009 a huge smile broke out on my face

Can’t believe it’s almost over already 😔I want it to be a 60 part documentary

I got to meet Ichiro on the field once before a game.. He was so humble, happy to hang around for a few minutes with some middle school kids and take pictures. I shook his hand and just involuntarily bowed my head too, and he smiled at me and gave a super sharp, deep bow. He was so, so on it during his warm ups.. all of us were walking around school imitating that warmup motion he does for weeks, lol. All time Seattle legend 💙

I love Ichiro so much, I don't even hold being a Yankee against him.

The fact this is 47+ minutes long makes the wait even more worth it...

I don't know what awards KZfaq series are even eligible for, but this should win them all.

Ichiro made it bearable to be a Mariners fan all these years

Jon's f-bomb at 5:10 reminds me of how they used f-bombs on Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Bojack Horseman. They get one per season and it's always awesome.

As an Angels fan, I hated Ichiro. As a baseball fan, I miss him.

ichiro

I lived in Seattle for 15 years. I don't anymore, but I look back on my days there with fondness. The whole "they needed to go home thing" has a simple answer. It's the rain. I love rain, but not everybody does.

Thanks for the content guys. Having been born in Seattle in 68 and spending all but a half dozen in the PNW, I have never wavered in my love for all sports Seattle. As my battle with terminal cancer winds down, a piece like this, especially the fan philosophy is a real treat. Your team sorta feels like your kids as you get older and at the end of the day you just want them to have an opportunity to succeed and enjoy what they do. I think Seattle's organizations over these decades has done reasonably well at providing these conditions and I think old Seattle fans can take pride in the fact that they have proven tireless and unconditional in their love for these teams. Great series, thanks again.

I smiled so big when niehaus was screaming about blowers prediction

26:04 "The Seattle Mariners are not competitors they're protagonists" ---(chills down my spine) And from now on!!! I will take this sentence to my grave and use it everytime some asks me "why are you a Mariners fan? they haven't won anything" HMB....let me tell you something

I saw Ichiro play live once, moved like angel, swung like a champ, played with great vigor. A star!

3:22 “...but he was on his own road now.” In the unique hellscape that has been 2020, this series has meant so much to me. That line meant the most of all, because it encapsulates what I’m going through. I’m on my own road now too, we all are, navigating uncharted waters and dealing with unforeseen circumstances. Best of luck to all of us on our own roads.

Jon Bois is literally the goat when it comes to these documentaries

"Out of nowhere, a suddenly Jacked Boone" I see what you did there

41:15 "I already had 3 kids, I don't want anymore" LMAO

Beejays is the greatest name for a sports team in the history of ever.

The line 'unless you let those limits go, you're an astronaut who brought your wallet' is such great writing. I know Jon loves working with multimedia formats, but if he wrote a book I'd be all over it.

Seattle's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Ichiro

I like how Alex casually says, "Todd Helton of Mile High Colorado" to throw shade at the fact it's easier to hit homeruns there

Lifelong Ms fan here (since that first game in 1977). I was in the park when he broke Sisler's record. Watching Ichiro play baseball (both in person, and on the regular through local TV) was truly a privilege that I will always treasure. Love this series -- thanks to the guys who produced it.

I never realize how true the joke was that the Mariners are the farm team for the rest of MLB until this video.

Jon: "We've entered another realm here." Me: "THE FUMBLE DIMENSION?!?!"

From the perspective of a Met fan who saw him only infrequently, Ichiro seems like the ideal of a baseball player. Dude just shines. The numbers certainly speak loudly, but there's more to it than that. He doesn't just check all the boxes; he checks them all *perfectly*. It's pure class, is what it is -- hard to pin down, but you know it when you see it.

Watching for a second time. That Mike Blowers commentary story is amazing. How many times does a commentator make such a four factor prediction?

ichiro and griffeys friendship is the wholesome content i needed at this time

18:10 "since hes a cyborg" is probably the realest thing ive heard about ichiro suzuki

i grew up with this era of the mariners... i remember when we were little playing wiffle ball in the street we’d all try to mimic ichiro’s at bat routine - we all idolized him, even the ones like me who only followed baseball casually

"Why did he run when I was going to throw him out" *BALLER*

Ichiro's dog: Keep my name out your mouth

As a big film nerd I'd never have thought I could be impressed by the cinematography of what essentially is, well, a calendar full of charts, yet here we are.

It's not even a year since I became a baseball fan, but the part when Ichiro and Junior being happy together in their late 30's brought tears to my eye.. So awesome..

This is already great and has made me appreciate this team but you guys need to make some sort of deal this ESPN and turn this into a 30 for 30 with all their available footage and ability to bring players in for interviews

Imagine prime Ken Griffey Jr, A Rod, Randy Johnson, Ichiro all on the team at once

A team so stacked they didnt even mention John Olerud.

As a life long Mariners fan I've been watching and rewatching this series with tears in my eyes, not for the staggering lack of success, but for the truly bright and happy moments that have happened, even in the bleakest of years. The Mariners are not a team that wins. That's the Yankees. The Mariners are a team that has fun playing the game. They make their fans love the game not because they love winning the game, but because they love playing and watching the game. I went to my first Mariners game when I was 6 in April 2001, and I've loved the Mariners, but more importantly, I've loved the game, ever since. For most of their history the Mariners have embodied MLB's slogan "Let the Kids Play", long before so many other teams did, and long before the MLB tried to outgrow it's stuffy, crotchety BBWAA leanings. Thank you for this series. Thank you for the research and the time you've taken to truly capture the essence of a team that so many overlook, dismiss and dislike. And I look forward to the conclusion of this series.

Today in 2022 the Mariners have finally made it back to the playoffs. Happy to say I happened to be watching around the 23:00 mark when the news came through

Ichiro, a-rod, randy, Edgar, Griffey, Hernandez, Beltran, Ortiz. Jesus Christ

I don’t want this series to be over

30:19 - As of the writing of this comment, the 2021 Mariners are on pace for 88 wins... and currently sit with a run differential of -56 (2007 Mariners: -19)

Best Record in the Nba:Warriors 73-9 (Lost the finals) Best nfl record:Pstriots 16-0 (lost in the Superbowl) Best mlb record: Mariners 116 wins (lost alcs)

Does everyone here think that Ichiro Suzuki will be inducted to the Hall of Fame unanimously the moment he's eligible? ... The best quote from Ichiro is "The ball was hit right to me. Why did he run when I was going to throw him out?" Now that's a man with confidence in his ability. It also blows my mind at what could have been if A-Rod, Jr, Randy & Ichiro would have played at the same time, could they have been a dynasty in the making?

Nothing more mariners than having multiple generational talents at multiple positions in your organization and either wasting their career or watching them win rings on other teams.

When Ichiro arrived in the league in 2001, he quickly became my favorite player! I even played and batted like him in little league and pickup games. It helped that I had really good speed and a great arm as well. As a Yankee fan, this made for an interesting time when they played Seattle. I always wanted Ichiro to go 5-5 and for the Yanks to win. When Ichiro came to the Yankees in 2012, it was amazing! I was finally able to see him play much more often. There will never be another Ichiro, he was special and unique in so many ways. Thank you for the memories, Wizard!

The slow bleed of John Carpenter-esqe music into Ichiro starting around the 7:00 minute mark is absolutely chilling.

“The Mariners aren’t competitors, they’re protagonists.” John, Alex, thank you for giving the world yourselves.

Jon Bois: The party was over Me: Ok Seattle: **wins 116 games** Me and Jon: Seattle wtf Seattle: **Gets crushed by the yankees again** Me: SEATTLE WTF😭😭😭

I grew up about an hour and half away from Seattle and the fever the city had with him still remains untouched. My birthday present for 5 or 6 years was going to a Mariners game so I could watch Ichiro! Great memories!

Okay, you've convinced me. I'm a Mariners fan now.

This Ichiro/Griffey moment almost bring tears to my eyes...

I love how different the Seattle crowd reaction was between Griffey and A-Rod after they stopped being on the team. Always felt like for A-Rod Seattle was a stepping stone where as for Griffey Seattle was a second home and the crowd felt it.

I’d just like to point out how perfectly the Mike Blowers prediction is used: for the first time, this wonderful, crazy story has become genuinely sad. And this bit of complete stupidity just turns it around so brilliantly, gets us laughing and smiling again and brings us some happiness to end this episode. Goddammit Jon how do you do this to my emotions

This is a secret advertisement for the Mariners to get more fans And its working DAMN well

As a fan of a long snakebitten team myself, I just cannot express how revolutionary this episode was for the way I think about sports.

I sent this playlist to my dad before I watched the whole thing. Jon just dropped the f bomb. I’m dead

2008 might be the single most miserable sports year in Seattle's history. The Mariners tanked, the Seahawks went from being a regular playoff team to a 4-12 disaster, the Huskies lost every game that year, and the Sonics ceased to exist.

That Blowers moment was definitely magical

I came into this not knowing who Ichiro is, I don't know nothing about no sports, and I'm not about to start. Fifteen minutes in, and this man is my absolute hero. What a legend in every sense.

I used to love watching Ichiro in Japan back in the 90s. The pitchers would actually let him do his long, samurai-style box routine. It was awesome.

Been in this city my entire life. The Mariners are dear to my heart and we’ve become somewhat pessimistic as a fan base. This whole episode had me sobbing like a baby. Thanks for bringing back the memories. I know Dave would be proud. Go Dawgs.

I remember once at an Applebees in Japan on a military base watching a Mariners game when the Japanese bartender ask when Ichiro was up to bat she'd stop working to watch him bat. I of course didn't know much about the Mariners or Ichiro watch and was impressed. (Midwest kid watching Milwaukee baseball)