Seattle Mariners Shortstop Breaks Record Held by Ichiro
When you're in the record books alongside Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki, you're in royal company. When you surpass Ichiro, it's special.
J.P. Crawford is in rarified air after besting the freshly-minted Hall of Famer over the weekend in Texas.
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Crawford, like Ichiro once did, bats leadoff for the Mariners. That's the spot where Crawford made his mark in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers.
On the first pitch of the game against Rangers starter Patrick Corbin, Crawford sent a towering shot to right field. The 369-foot blast off an 88-mph sinker gave the M's a quick 1-0 lead before most fans had even settled into their seats.
That proved to be Crawford's third career home run on the first pitch of the game, setting a new franchise record in that category. Crawford had been tied with Ichiro, who did it twice in his illustrious 14-year career with the Mariners.
This is Crawford's seventh season with Seattle. The 30-year-old shortstop also has 12 career leadoff home runs in Seattle, which is second to Ichiro in club annals.
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The chances of catching Ichiro on this list don't look quite as promising. Crawford is 25 leadoff homers behind Ichiro, who had 37 such solo shots with Seattle.
One of the perks of being with the M's for Crawford is being around Ichiro on an everyday basis. Ichiro, who is a special assistant to the chairman, still does a daily workout with the team.
'When I first got over here, seeing Ichiro, I was kind of starstruck,' Crawford said on YouTube last year. 'That guy, 'til this day, probably does more than our whole team combined.'
Ichiro was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, falling one vote shy of being an unanimous selection. His jersey is being retired by the Mariners on Aug. 9.
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'It meant so much to have felt that,' Ichiro said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. 'As I've gone through my career and interacted with many people, I felt like those peoples' kindness and their feelings really helped me perform and also be the person that I am.
'Obviously the feelings I have toward the Seattle fans are very special.'
The Mariners (20-13) lead the American League West and open a series at the Athletics on Monday night.
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