Ichiro debuted in Major League Baseball in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners, the first Japanese position player to span the Pacific and an instant star. Left-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country’s confidence in a period of national malaise.

The Seattle Mariners minor league system has been one of the most successful ones in the league top-to-bottom over the last several seasons. The Mariners international scouting department pulled ...