Marlins' Ichiro Suzuki makes MLB pitching debut

Over his Hall of Fame-caliber 15-year major league career, Ichiro Suzuki was almost as good a showman as he was a player.

And if Sunday was, indeed, his final major league game, Suzuki went out with a bang, taking the mound as a pitcher for the first time in his career.

Certainly, the results were not as excellent as his work at the plate - Suzuki is a lifetime .314 hitter with 2,935 hits and 1,278 more in Japan. Suzuki pitched the eighth inning of the Miami Marlins' 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up a run and two hits, but hitting 87 mph on the radar gun.

This likely represents Suzuki's final season, as he batted .229 in 398 at-bats with the Miami Marlins. But Sunday's show ensured Suzuki did not go out as a .229 hitter. It meant he went out like he played most of his major league career - surprising and entertaining countless fans.

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