Big Ichiro fan here too. Saw him a number of times when visiting Seattle. Really one of my all time favorites. My favorite Ichiro story is that the Mariners used to put the player's favorite food along with their stats on the scoreboard. Ichiro's favorite food was listed as "rice".
The first MLB game I ever attended was at Yankee Stadium in 1978. Ed Figueroa became the first Puerto Rican player to win 20 games in a season on that day, with a complete game shutout. Reggie hit a home run, the Yankees cllnched a tie for the pennant (later beating my Red Sox by one game), and my "friend" flicked my Red Sox hat off my head and nearly got punched.
You can legally park up in the hood near the highway on a Sunday (about a mile away), avoiding parking fees, and by the time you walk back to your car the traffic has thinned out...