Ichiro made his first appearance in newspapers across the United States in mid-September 1994.
In his first full season in the Japanese major leagues, the 20-year-old outfielder for the Orix BlueWave was on the verge of becoming the first player in Japanese baseball history to reach 200 hits in a season and bat .400. He ended the 130-game season with 210 hits, a Pacific League record batting average of .385, a new Nippon Professional Baseball record for reaching base in 69 consecutive games (nice), and the MVP award. In the process he became a mononymous phenomenon.
Not bad for a rookie.