Ichiro to receive Franchise Achievement Award
SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki will be honored by the Mariners with their Franchise Achievement Award on Saturday, Sept. 14, as part of a three-game weekend celebration of the retired icon.
The award will be presented to Ichiro during a pregame ceremony before the Mariners meet the White Sox in a 6:10 p.m. PT game at T-Mobile Park on Sept. 14, with the first 20,000 fans receiving an Ichiro bobblehead.
There will also be a postgame fireworks show on Friday, Sept. 13, that will feature highlights of Ichiro's career playing on the big screen at T-Mobile Park, as well as an Ichiro replica jersey T-shirt giveaway for the first 15,000 fans at the Sunday, Sept. 15, afternoon series finale against the White Sox.
It will be the first public celebration of Ichiro’s career since he announced his retirement in Tokyo after the Mariners’ second game against the A’s to open the season in Japan.
“Ichiro was a trailblazer when he arrived in 2001 and ushered in a new era for international players,” said Mariners chairman John Stanton. “Over his long playing career, he demonstrated daily the skill, passion and preparation that only the truly great have. We appreciate all that he has done for the Mariners, and for Major League Baseball.”
Ichiro will be just the third person to receive the Franchise Achievement Award, which was created in 2016 and has been given to former team chairmen John Ellis and Howard Lincoln for their 24 years of service with the club and role in keeping Major League Baseball in Seattle.
Worth noting
• An MRI on outfielder Domingo Santana revealed a strained right elbow and manager Scott Servais said he’ll be shut down for several days, though there’s hope he could return to a designated hitter role by the weekend.
Servais said it’s still possible that Santana will need to go on the 10-day injured list, but for now they’ll see if he can at least hit to keep his potent bat in the lineup.
• Mitch Haniger played some light catch in the outfield on Thursday, but has yet to be cleared for any running or agility work as he continues being brought back slowly from the ruptured testicle that has sidelined him since June 6.
• Reliever Brandon Brennan gave up one run on one hit with two strikeouts in his fourth rehab outing with Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday. Servais said the right-hander threw much better than in prior appearances since straining his right shoulder in mid-June and could potentially rejoin the Mariners after another rehab outing or two.