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That Ichiro led the league in IBB's in '02 and '04 is really something.  Guy weighs a buck seventy, or some such thing.  Barry Bonds had a forehead that weighed a buck seventy! Those IBB's speak loudly to his value and respect as a clutch guy.
We have been blessed (and will continue to be) to watch.
Doc,  the '69 Mets still being a smile to my face.  Perhaps the one single team that I could call my "favorite" in all of sports.  the TrailBlazers of '76-'77 would be the only team that I could mention in the same breath! 
The '69 Cubs were, arguably, the better NL team that year (Billy Williams, Banks, Santo, Fergie Jenkins, et al.  Young guys should check out he careers of B. Williams and F. Jenkins.  Funny how two HoF guys can kind of disappear, "greatness wise", a few generations down the line.) But the Met's (Amazing!) reeled them in in September (or the Cubs had one of the historically large chokes of all time---take your pick).
The '69 Orioles won something like 110 games that year, had three future HoFers and a huge rotation of Jim Palmer, D. McNally, and Mike Cuellar.  Met's lost the opener and then whacked them 4 straight in a Series highlighted by great defensive plays. Ron Swoboda absolutely saved one game with a late inning flat out diving catch in RF.  I'm sure you've seen the reels of it.
Mets played in spacious Shea and were built around Tom Seaver's right arm and the left of Jerry Koosman. Both were wokhorses who went the distance about 1/2 the time, if memory serves me.
Offensively, they were mostly a platoon squad. 
Besides Tommy Agee in CF (kind of an early Guti at that time.  I think Agee washed out pretty early...because I don't remember much of him during those Big Red Machine years) and Cleon Jones in LF (who had a huge '69, but kind of faded relatively early, too), and maybe Buddy Harrelson at SS (Jack Wilson type) they platooned at every other position. Harrelson sat quite a bit, too, I think.  Manager Gil Hodges had a slap type hitter (or bat, he wasn't much of a hitter) on the bench named Al Weis who he like to play. It payed off becasue Weis turned into a bit of a slugger during the World Series.
  Ed Kranepool (1B) and Art Shamsky (COF) were very potent LH bats.  And Tug McGraw was a great late inning pitcher.  Most teams had no designated "closer" in the '60's and it was often manned by a couple of guys or by committee, as you know.
But the dominant force on that team was Tom Seaver.  He was truly great.  Young guys don't remember him, I imagine, but he was something.  Kind of an early Roger Clemens, without the ped's and underage country-western singers. Same kind of build in their primes with tremendously strong lower bodies. 
Let me check something on Seaver..I'll be back.
OK..I'm back..just did a baseball-reference check on him. 
Greatness over a career? Two things (besides the 300+ wins) can point to that.  He entered the HoF by being included on 425 of 430 ballots!  Yikes!  (The 5 guys who voted No had to be Cubby beat writers!) and Betwen 1967 and 1981 he NEVER had what could be called a bad year.  NEVER.  Check it out. He had a lousy '82, as a 37 year old, but then came back to throw 230+ innings in each of the next three years as a 38, 39 and 40 year old guy!  ERA's between 3.5 and 4.0 in the 1st two and below 3.2 in the last.
Tom Terrific was my favorite all-time pitcher until Greg Maddux came along.  Still remains #2. That ain't bad.
Ahhhh...the Mets of '69.  Truly MY "Boys of Summer!"
moe