Marlins' Ichiro: 'Every day has been a battle' this season

At 43 years old, Ichiro Suzuki is not expected to play at the same level he showcased through much of his career. He's a role player, a bench piece for the Miami Marlins instead of the linchpin of the team's offense like he was in his days with the Seattle Mariners.

For his part, he feels it. Ichiro started Sunday's game, an eventual 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, in place of Giancarlo Stanton, who was nursing a bruised hand. He hit a home run, his second of the season, and jokingly said he needed to with Stanton out, according to the Sun Sentinel's Tim Healy.

"I had to replace Stanton today, so maybe, I should hit one," Ichiro said through a translator.

The concern isn't his power, it's never been a part of his game (his career high for home runs in a season came in 2005 when he hit 15), but his inability to get hits. He's batting only .198 this year after hitting .291 in 2016. He's recorded multiple hits only once.

"Every day has been a battle for me," Ichiro said. "There's things that you just can't cover, practicing. You can practice as long as you want, but there's just some things that you just have to experience in the game, in game situations."

He added that he's never encountered an extended slump like this through his career.

Ichiro said earlier this year that he feels he can play into his 50s. If that's to happen, he'll need to make more out of the limited opportunities he's receiving. Still, Ichiro has had a remarkable career and it's important to remember that his cumulative batting average over parts of 17 seasons remains .312.