Detroit — Ichiro Suzuki has no idea whether he will be back in The Bronx next season, but even after his first postseason in 11 years ended with an ugly sweep in the ALCS at the hands of the Tigers, he’s still glad he ended up with the Yankees.
“I’m very disappointed the season ended,” Ichiro said through a translator following the Yankees’ 8-1, season-ending loss at Comerica Park. “But this time the Yankees gave me, I’m so grateful for.”
He went 6-for-17 (.353) in the series, one of the only Yankees who contributed offensively.
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“The feelings you have, the satisfaction and hurt, is something I hadn’t experienced in a while,” said Ichiro, who hadn’t appeared in the postseason since the Yankees knocked out Seattle in the 2001 ALCS. “So to even experience this pain right now, I’m so grateful for.”
Ichiro seemed rejuvenated after coming to the Yankees in a trade with Seattle and said last night he hadn’t even begun to consider what he’s going to do as a free agent.
His success with the Yankees may wind up getting him a job somewhere else.
“I just want to be that player that is needed and wanted,” Ichiro said. “To be honest, I’m not thinking about that right now.”