VIDEO: After Trade, Ichiro Says Sayonara To Seattle With Hit As A Yankee

Baseball fans love perfect moments.

-- Babe Ruth hitting his "called shot."

-- Ted Williams homering in his last at-bat (and not tipping his cap).

-- Willie Mays and "the catch."

What happened Monday night in Seattle won't measure up to those moments in baseball lore, but was indeed a perfect moment.

Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, one of the game's best hitters and the face of the Seattle Mariners' franchise since he came to the team from Japan in 2001, was traded Monday afternoon to the New York Yankees.

Ichiro didn't need to go far to join his new team — the Yankees were in Seattle to play the Mariners. So, when he came to bat for the first time as a Yankee, Ichiro had the chance to bow to the adoring Seattle crowd. And then he did what he had done 2,533 times as a Mariner. He got a hit. The Yankees won the game, 4-1.

MLB.com has the video.

As The Seattle Times adds, Ichiro has now moved from "the last-place Mariners to the first-place Yankees — and a chance for his first-ever World Series appearance."

So, perhaps, he'll add another perfect moment to his career in October.

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