| As I was listening to some sports talk show the | | | | the first base line in a nifty 3.2 seconds, putting him |
| other day, they were giving highlights of the previous | | | | there with the fastest players ever. If he hits a |
| evening's MLB All-Star Game. I heard the voice of | | | | chopper into the ground, forget it. If he sends one |
| Ichiro Suzuki, the game's MVP, come over my radio, | | | | into the gap, he will likely be standing on third in less |
| speaking perfect English during the post-game | | | | than ten seconds. |
| interview. I was shocked to hear the progress he has | | | | His throwing arm is a cannon, especially for someone |
| made with our language. Of course, then I realized | | | | who is so slight-of-build. Players and fans everywhere |
| that Ichiro was speaking through an interpreter. | | | | know that you can't run on Ichiro, so rarely does |
| While Vladimir "The Impaler" Guerrero was bashing | | | | anyone try. His move from right field to center has |
| the baseball 500 feet on his way to winning the | | | | allowed the Mariners to bring in Jose Guillen this year, |
| Home Run Derby, Ichiro demonstrated his skills when | | | | a big improvement over Jeremy Reed or Willie |
| it counted. He went 3-for-3 in the Big Game, showing | | | | Bloomquist. Ichiro is one of the best center fielders in |
| NL pitchers and fans what they've been missing over | | | | the game, although we don't often see him on |
| the last seven years. In the first inning, he drilled a | | | | ESPN's Web Gems. Who needs to make a leaping or |
| patented Ichiro single off of Jake Peavy. Later in the | | | | diving catch if you can beat the ball to the spot? |
| game, he hit a long fly ball off the wall in right field. | | | | Two players which I saw play as I was growing up |
| When the ball took a funny bounce off the wall right | | | | remind me of Ichiro at the plate. Wade Boggs and |
| by the venerable Ken Griffey Jr, everybody in the | | | | Tony Gwynn defined pure hitting in the 80's, |
| park knew Ichiro had a chance to score. And he did. | | | | forsaking power for the ability to consistently hit line |
| The mystical Mariner outfielder has been a fixture in | | | | drives to all fields. If you look up Ichiro's comparables |
| Seattle since 2001, when he was imported from | | | | based on stats, though, you get guys like Bake |
| Japan. He has not (or will not) speak fluent English, | | | | McBride and Ron LeFlore...good players, but not nearly |
| although some sources claim that he does this | | | | of his caliber. In fact, it is difficult to find a player like |
| intentionally in order to avoid reporters. He reportedly | | | | Ichiro anywhere in the history of baseball. |
| keeps his bats in a humidor, listens to rap music, and | | | | Ironically, the player Ichiro is least like is his own |
| loves "Star Wars". Ichiro's limited American vocabulary | | | | teammate, Richie Sexson, who hits one ball out of |
| consists of phrases such as 'What Up Dog' and 'Yo | | | | the park every five games and somehow makes |
| Mama'. | | | | millions of dollars doing it. Today's baseball is |
| As I write this post, The Seattle Mariners have just | | | | committed to the long ball, building behemoths who |
| agreed to a five-year contract with Mr. Suzuki in the | | | | can drive towering shots over drawn-in fences. |
| neighborhood of one hundred million smackers. | | | | Sabermetrics preaches the value of the walk and the |
| Although the Mariners have their Moose, Ichiro is the | | | | home run. Ichiro's greatness transcends modern-day |
| true Mariner mascot. He is solely responsible for | | | | wisdom. |
| drawing thousands of fans to the stadium every | | | | I've come to a profound realization: Baseball is not (or |
| night. What other player has their name chanted in | | | | should not be) about winning. The game I love is |
| unison by an entire ballpark when he gets ready to | | | | about Ernie Banks, the curse of the Bambino, and |
| hit? | | | | Pine Tar. We revel in blown calls, fan interference, |
| Hitting for contact is one thing Ichiro can do better | | | | and coaches jawing with an umpire face-to-face. In |
| than almost anyone who has ever played. His batting | | | | fact, my favorite part of the game is the |
| style is unorthodox, to say the least. He does not | | | | pitcher-batter duel. The universe comes to a stop |
| keep his balance back, as the book on hitting says to | | | | when John Lackey deals filth to Alex Rodriguez. Pitch |
| do, but often shifts his weight to his front foot, | | | | by pitch, moment by moment, who will win the |
| bringing the bat through the hitting zone as though it | | | | battle? Ichiro wins his wars more than any other |
| were a broom. You would not teach your child to hit | | | | player. |
| the way Ichiro does, and yet he has proven | | | | My daughter just turned one year old last month. I |
| extremely effective. He has hit over .300 every year | | | | plan to share my love of the game with her as she |
| in the majors, including .355 so far this year. If Vlad is | | | | grows up. I relish in the thought that she will see |
| the Impaler, then Ichiro is the Acupuncturist, sticking | | | | Ichiro Suzuki play, even if he is an old man. I will tell |
| it to the other team one line drive at a time. He is | | | | her that he is the Peter Pan of baseball - that he is |
| the Peter Pan of the American League, gracefully | | | | from Neverland, sprinkled with fairy dust, always just |
| flitting here and there, swatting cue shots up the | | | | a little too fast to be caught in the dreaded grasp of |
| middle, always just beating out the grounder to short. | | | | Captain Hook. |
| Sabermetricians must hate him. He draws fewer than | | | | Sometime in the future, on a warm summer day, a |
| one walk for every fifteen plate appearances in his | | | | crowd of people will gather in Cooperstown, New |
| career, although his ratio is a little better in 2007. He | | | | York. They will turn their attention to the man at the |
| displays little power, preferring to hit 'em where they | | | | podium who has enthralled them with his bat and |
| aint (see Wee Willie Keeler). Although he has a .333 | | | | glove. He was not like any other player they had |
| career batting average, his On Base Percentage is | | | | ever seen. He will not speak in a language that they |
| only .379, and his Slugging Percentage is .439, a hardly | | | | understand, but his words will be relayed through |
| Ruthian figure. Yet, if you asked today's GMs about | | | | another. That is because he comes from another |
| guys they would like to start a team with, Ichiro's | | | | place, seemingly not of this world. Mustering up the |
| name rises to the top. | | | | few English words that he knows, he will exclaim |
| In addition to Ichiro's incredible hitting prowess, he is | | | | "What up Dog?", and the people in return will chant |
| a gazelle on the basepaths. He reportedly gets down | | | | I-CHI-RO, I-CHI-RO! |