Ichiro Suzuki, who is married to Yumiko Fukushima, is a well-known Japanese professional baseball player with an estimated net worth of around $180 million even after retirement. The MBL player is one of the respected figures in Japanese Baseball, who also has played for MBL in the States.
Ichiro Suzuki was born on October 22, 1973, in Japan. He was born in the small town of Toyoyama. He is the son of father Nobuyuki Suzuki with whom he trained until he attributed with any sports team.
He attended and graduated from Aikodai Meiden High School in Nagoya which had an excellent baseball program. He played early in life from his junior years at the school. When he was 12 years old, he decided that he wanted to play baseball professionally.
Ichiro debuted at NPB at the age of 18 in 1992 for Orix Blue Wave's farm system. After two seasons in the farm system, he was moved to the leadoff spot for Orix Bluewave.
In 1994 he began using his first name Ichiro instead of his family name Suzuki at the back of his uniform. Within a year, he was flooded with endorsement deals. In 1995 he led his team to win Pacific League first in 12 years.
In November 1998, Ichiro participated in a seven-game exhibition series with American all-stars. During the game, he collected many praises from opposing teammates like Sammy Sosa and Jamie Moyer.
In 2000, though he was still a year lost to be a free agency, Orix Blue Wave could no longer afford to keep such a high talent, thus they decided to trade him through the posting system. Seattle Mariners won the bid to negotiate terms with the player at approximately $13 million.
The baseball player later signed a three-year deal of $14 million with the MLB club in November of 2000. By the time he had won 7 Golden Glove awards in Japan. Having such an inspiring Baseball career, he has inspired many Japanese youths to play at an international level including 23 years ole MLB star Shohei Ohtani.
Also Read: 23 Years Japanese Baseball Pitcher Shohei Ohtani's Professional Endeavors, His Salary, and Net Worth
Ichiro Suzuki came to the USA to play baseball. He was first signed by Seattle Marines and he has come around and playing again for it now. He was signed by the Seattle Mariners in 2001. He debuted with the team in Major League Baseball on April 2, 2001.
He stayed in the club until mid-season of 2012 before joining the team of New York Yankees. He was traded to the New York Yankees for two minor league pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar on July 23, 2012 (mid-season). The trade was an arrangement agreed upon by the baseball player because he felt guilty about having a big share in the club when the club was in a rebuilding phase.
He played for the New York Yankees for two more seasons before heading to the Miami Marlins. He played there for three years from 2015 to 2017. He had a $2 million-a-year deal with the club and after three seasons, in 2018 the club gave him a $500,000 buyout. He returned to the Seattle Mariners at the beginning of the year 2018 and currently plays for it.
On June 25, 2017, he became the oldest player to start a game in center field and on June 29 he became the oldest active MLB player. He has been honored by being included in the ALL-Star team from 2001 to 2010, ten years consecutively.
Ichiro Suzuki is married to Yumiko Fukushima. The couple married at the end of 1999 in California, USA. Despite being together for over two decades, the couple does not have any children yet. They are happy and content showering love to their pet dog which they named Ikkyu.
The couple not only showers love to their pet dog but has also helped people in need. In 2011 they made a huge donation of $1.25 million to help people suffering from tsunamis and earthquakes.
The former MLB star has his exhibition room named 'I-fain' in his hometown Toyoyama Run and is looked after by his father.
Ichiro is also an honored chairman of the Ichiro Cup, a six-month-long baseball championship among 200 teams in Japan. The game is held in his hometown since 1996. Ichiro always watches the final match and awards ceremony.
He believes that his lean figure in Baseball would be a source of inspiration for youngsters who want to make it big in the world in athletics. He is also a role model for some of the young players including Yu Darvish.
The international baseball player has an estimated net worth of $180 million. He makes a lot of money from advertisement and endorsement deals. He is very famous and celebrated in Japan. Only in the year 2016, he made $4 million from advertisement deals only in his home country Japan.
According to Forbes, it is assumed that Ichiro once earned $7 million a year for his endorsement deals that came mostly from Japan.
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