Oct. 22, 1973 — Ichiro born in Toyoyama, Aichi prefecture.

1991 — Finishes high school and is drafted by Orix BlueWave.

1992 — Makes debut for Orix, hitting .253 in 40 games, but spends most of season in minors.

1994 — Orix changes managers and Ichiro thrives. His .385 mark wins batting title, his first of seven consecutive. Ichiro is named MVP.

1996 — Wins third batting title (.356), third gold glove and third MVP.

April 16-June 25, 1997 — Goes record 216 consecutive at-bats without striking out.

2000 — Bats .387 for Orix, a record for a Japanese player.

November 2000 — Signs three-year, $14 million contract with Mariners.

April 2, 2001 — Makes major-league debut with Mariners, going 3 for 5.

July 2001 — Voted to All-Star Game with record 3,373,035 votes and is only sixth rookie to start. Goes 1 for 3 with a single off Randy Johnson.

Aug. 28, 2001 — Matches Darin Erstad (2000) as fastest players since 1935 to reach 200 hits in a season.

August 2001 — Has 51 hits in one month.

2001 season results — Wins AL batting title (.350), leads league in stolen bases (56) and is named MVP.

2004 — Sets major-league records for hits in a season with 262, surpassing George Sisler's 257 in 1920. Leads majors with .372 average.

2006 — Hits .322 and steals 45 bases (caught just twice). For sixth straight year, he has at least 200 hits, is named to All-Star Game and wins a gold glove.

July 2007 — Named All-Star Game MVP in San Francisco, going 3 for 3 with first inside-the-park home run in All-Star history. Signs five-year, $90 million contract extension with Mariners.

July 29, 2008 — Becomes youngest player with 3,000 top-level professional hits (1,278 in Japan, 1,722 in U.S.), passing Ty Cobb.

2009 — Goes 4 for 6 with winning hit in Japan's 5-3 win over Korea in World Baseball Classic title game.

April 2, 2011 — Breaks Edgar Martinez's franchise record for career hits as a Mariner with his 2,248th.

July 23, 2012 — Traded to Yankees for two 25-year-old pitchers. Singles in first at-bat for New York, then steals second base.