Ichiro Suzuki inked to two year deal – MLB News York Yankees News
New York Yankees have signed outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to a two year $13 million deal, reports a leading sports website. The 39 year old produced magical performances for the Yankees last season, hitting .322 with 14 stolen bases and five monster home runs
in 67 games.
After signing Ichiro to a two year contract, it seems the Yankees are ready to go to battle in 2013 with the same outfield Manager Joe Girardi.
Girardi and his men displayed some top quality baseball skills to claim the American league East Division title. However, the Detroit Tigers overwhelmed them 4-0 in the best of seven match American League Championship Series.
With Yankees back in New York Yankees, the Yankees are expected to start Ichiro in right, Curtis Granderson in centre and Brett Gardner in left, the same trio of left handed hitter that was used by the skipper in Game 3 of ALCS against the Tigers.
“The feeling was mutual, as the veteran outfielder immediately became a leader in the clubhouse, and a model for consistency and day-to-day preparation”, said Jeff Bradley of nj.com in his post.
“The Yankees are the kind of team that I always envisioned being a part of,” Suzuki said in a statement. “Everyone has a strong desire to win, but the Yankees also have an atmosphere where losing is not an option. These two observations may sound similar,
but I believe it is a rarity to find both coexisting in the same organization.”
Suzuki also wanted to return to New York. As soon as the season ended, he expressed his desire to be re-signed by the Yankees but General Manager Brian Cashman was more interested in fixing the pitching problems at that time and Ichiro had to wait.
After signing Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda and Mariano Rivera, the Yankees have finally shifted their focus towards hitters and awarded Ichiro a two year contract on Wednesday. Cashman was very impressed with what he saw from Ichiro in 67 games last season.
It will be interesting to see if the Japanese born hitter can continue the good work in 2013.
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