October Legends
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/2/2013
On April 15th 2009, Ichiro's debut for the season, Ichiro hit a Grand Slam Home Run to tie the all time Japanese "Hit King" record previously set by Mr. Isao Harimoto. The home run marked Ichiro's 3085th hit of his professional career combining his hits in both the MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan with the Orix Blue Wave. Due to the significance of the event in Japan, the 68 year old Harimoto was flown out by a television network to witness the event. "Thats pretty much Ichiro--the greatest of Ichiro," Mr. Harimoto said through an Interpreter. When asked about the former Hit Kings presence at the field that day, Ichiro said "For Mr. Harimoto to make the trip all the way from Japan for the game, its probably the first and last time. That has special meaning to me." The Japanese media was out in full force to cover Ichiro's pursuit of the hit record. Ichiro had 1,278 hits over nine seasons with Japans Pacific league Orix Blue Wave and had 1,807 hits over his first eight seasons with the Seattle Mariners. The grand slam marked the fourth of Ichiro's career and the first in over 6 years. Ichiro signed this size-44 MLB Authentic jersey #LH 187413 in crisp silver sharpie on the number 4 in Robinson’s 42. There is a slight dirt stain on the lower right front tail and Ichiro’s regular number 51 is stitched into a small tag applied to the lower right placket. A Property of “Seattle Mariners 2009” label is also affixed below the MLB Authentic/Majestic tag. A Seattle Mariners logo patch is attached to the left sleeve and small dirt smudge appears on the back right side of the collar. Also included in this package is a $32, section 14 row 2 seat 3, ticket-in-slab to the April 15, 2009 game with Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Seattle Mariners logos and a photo of Ichiro following through on a swing with an overlapping “Jackie Robinson Night” banner; comes with JSA full LOA certification #X73521 and Seattle Mariners LOA.