Four more years

Mariners lock up Ichiro through 2007 with $44 million extension

Ichiro Suzuki led the majors last season with 66 multi-hit games and also ranked among the AL leaders in hits, batting average, runs, triples and stolen bases. AP

SEATTLE (AP) -- Ichiro Suzuki is happy. So are the Seattle Mariners.

Suzuki avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a four-year, $44 million contract, keeping the All-Star right fielder and one-time AL MVP at the top of manager Bob Melvin's lineup.

"He clearly was very happy, and he doesn't show emotion much," said Suzuki's agent, Tony Attanasio. "His attitude was one of satisfaction and elation. The club clearly demonstrated to him that they do like him, they appreciate him and they really wanted to keep him around."

The Mariners never intended to let him go.

General manager Bill Bavasi said the difficulty in crafting a contract was finding a way to measure the 30-year-old Suzuki against other players because he does so many things differently -- and much better, in many cases -- than his peers.

Suzuki was the AL's MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2001. He has won Gold Gloves in each of his three major league seasons.

"He misses nothing," Melvin said. "He's constantly working to make himself a better player. He does everything very, very well."

The Mariners avoided Saturday night's deadline to formally offer a 2004 contract to Suzuki, which would have made him eligible for salary arbitration. To do otherwise would have appeared unfavorable in Japanese culture, sending a message that club officials were unable to determine his value.

"In the culture of Ichiro and others like him, it's something disconcerting for someone other than the club to determine his worth," Attanasio said.

Suzuki earned a base salary of just under $4.7 million last season. The new contract, which includes a $6 million signing bonus, involved every member of Seattle's upper management team, up to and including majority owner Hiroshi Yamauchi of Japan.

Bavasi said the loss-of-face issue didn't drive or even impact talks. The front office simply focused on Suzuki's considerable baseball talents and his status as "a premier player."

"We aren't going to deny he is special to us. We treated it that way," Bavasi said. "But what he has earned, in a real nice contract, was earned through terrific play on the field."

Bavasi was vacationing in New Orleans after the winter meetings but returned for what Attanasio said was a "make-or-break day" in negotiations. The agent characterized it that way because Suzuki plans to return to Japan this weekend.

"He's really happy going back to Japan and only having one press conference to answer that question" about his contract status, Attanasio said.

By any measure, Suzuki is an extraordinary player. He's got outstanding speed on the bases. He carefully selects pitches and slaps infield hits. He brings a powerful arm and Gold Glove defense to right field.

Suzuki is coming off a .312 season, his lowest batting average in his three years. He hit .321 in 2002 and .350 in his MVP season.

His most visible weakness is his late-season hitting over the past two seasons. He hit .273 in September this fall and .248 in 2002.

"It's a long season and you're battling at the end," Melvin said. "Last year was a lot like the year before, but this guy's given everything he's got every day. We all, as a group, tried to swing the bats a little more.