Why is Ichiro on his jersey instead of Suzuki?

Answer 1

When Ichiro played for the Orix BlueWave in Japan in 1994, the manager assigned him a uniform with his first name on the back. It was a move designed to promote more interest in the team. As it happened, Ichiro made a huge name for himself by becoming the first player in Japanese Baseball to accumulate more than 200 hits. When Ichiro joined the Seattle Mariners in 2001, he continued the practice of wearing his first name on the back of his uniform.