Ichiro why 31

Unfortunately, he is not participating as a member of the Seattle Mariners. Did he have to join the New York Yankees? When Ichiro was traded, I was hardly surprised. The Mariners were not in a position to offer their longtime outfielder a legacy contract, particularly with his age and decline in productivity. Therefore, a trade in the final year of his contract made a certain amount of sense for both Ichiro and the Mariners.

I think it is fair to say that Ichiro was a very popular star in Seattle, but he never had the charismatic personality of Ken Griffey, Jr. Therefore, when he was traded, there were mixed feelings about his departure. Since Ichiro requested the trade, I am sure that some fans had even more mixed feelings. I do not blame Ichiro for wanting to move on, as I imagine he was sick of losing. He had to know that the team was not necessarily going to bring him back.

His departure did avoid a potentially awkward situation in the offseason: As the regular season wound down, Ichiro and the club would have been peppered with inquiries about a contract extension if he had not been traded to New York. There are plenty of longtime Mariner fans that cannot root for the Yankees.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why did Ichiro choose number 31 with the Yankees? Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 3 months ago.

Active 9 years, 3 months ago. Viewed 5k times. Improve this question. Ben Dyer Ben Dyer 3 3 silver badges 8 8 bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer.

Dor Cohen Dor Cohen 7, 7 7 gold badges 41 41 silver badges 72 72 bronze badges. My guess is that we will not get a reason. Ichiro is a pretty private dude. Regarding the players comment: it's a fantastic perspective and insightful comment, very respectful of the team and the fans. I wonder if it's a Japanese expression. As an aside, 18 for the Denver Broncos was retired in honor of Frank Tripucka.

However, Tripucka let Peyton Manning wear his retired number.