Another odd goodbye for the Mariners

When the Seattle Mariners opted to sign Ichiro Suzuki to add depth to a then-injury plagued outfield, it was only a matter of time before a move had to be made.

Eventually, they did, albeit a little odd.

Then again, when a team hasn’t advanced to the postseason since 2001, you kind of try anything at this point.

IN CASE you missed it, Seattle opted to move Ichiro from the active roster to a front office role last Thursday, ending — for now — what could be his final year in major league baseball.

The new deal allows Ichiro to take batting practice and do everything an ordinary player does to get ready for a game. The only difference is that Ichiro won’t see the field again this year.

Seattle’s outfield was already a little crowded with Ben Gamel, Dee Gordon, Mitch Haniger and Guillermo Heredia sharing time in the outfield. Ichiro was brought back when Gamel was injured late in spring training.

His knowledge of the game alone is enough to benefit the other players in the Mariner clubhouse. With the exception of Gordon, most are still in their first few years in the majors. Gordon played with Ichiro the past few years in Miami before Gordon was traded to Seattle earlier in the spring.

Last Saturday, when the Mariners had to rally a few different times, and finally beat the Los Angeles Angels, Ichiro was on the field in full uniform to congratulate his teammates, in full uniform. Just like he had in countless games since 2001.

Sure, it was odd to see him on the field with them.

In his time since his retirement, Ken Griffey, Jr., never walked on the field in full uniform to greet the team.

Sure, Ichiro wasn’t quite the player he was in 2001.

He’s now 44 years old, so what else did you expect?

Defensively, he proved with a few early season plays in the outfield that his glove is still as sharp as it has been for his entire career.

Hitting, he wasn’t going to beat out those infield ground balls and bunts that defined his career in his earlier days.

If nothing else, just having him around could make the team a lot better with him giving guys tips on how to get better.

WHEN IT comes to retirements with some of the Mariner greats, it has been a little odd in the past.

You’ve got Griffey, who left the team in the midst of his second year into his second stint with the team, quietly and without a ton of fanfare.

Yeah, that was a little odd.

Ichiro started in left field the night before he was moved off the active roster, striking out swinging in his final at-bat with the team.

No fanfare, nothing.

Seattle does the whole jersey retirement and their Hall of Fame celebrations pretty well, making it a weekend for those that are able to get to town.

As far as when the players leave, that’s a whole other story.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.