SEATTLE — Ichiro Suzuki switched teams in Seattle after a momentous trade and singled his first time up with the New York Yankees during their 4-1 victory over the Mariners on Monday night.
In a surprising deal about 3 1/2 hours before the game, Seattle sent Suzuki to the Yankees for a pair of young pitching prospects. After leaving the only major league team he’d ever played for, the 10-time All-Star held an emotional news conference and then joined his new teammates in the other clubhouse at Safeco Field.
Just like that, Suzuki went from last place in the AL West to first in the AL East. And he helped New York beat his former club by going 1 for 4 with his 16th stolen base.