Ichiro more than just a player

Ichiro Suzuki -Miguel Michan - Flickr

 

 

Ichiro Suzuki is not just an inspiration to Japan, but to all baseball fans. He is one of the best players in baseball history with all of the tools to be successful.

Ichiro was born in Kasugai, Japan on October 22, 1973 and practiced baseball daily with his father. After playing eight years in the Pacific League in Japan, where he hit .353, he became a free agent. The Seattle Mariners were interested in Ichiro and signed him. However critics believed that Ichiro would not perform well in the majors because of his small size and people thought he wouldn’t be able to endure the long 162 game season."I'm anxious to face them (major league pitchers) all, but in reality I'm looking forward most to (Boston's) Pedro Martinez," Ichiro said in 2000, the year before his major league debut.

Ichiro proved critics wrong right away. In 2001, Ichiro’s first year in the majors, he hit .350 and stole 56 bases. Not only was he the obvious 2001 Rookie of the Year choice, but he also took MVP honors. There was no longer a doubt in anyone’s mind that Ichiro wasn’t suited for the majors.

Two-thousand-four was a record setting year for Ichiro. He hit an unbelievable .372 and set the single season record with 262 hits. From 2001 to 2010, Ichiro hit above .300 and had over 200 hits in each season. Finally in 2011, his single season batting average sunk below .300 and he did not attain 200 hits, batting .272.

Ichiro currently has a .326 career average, 2428 hits, stole 423 bases, and has a great chance of being the first player to be elected to both the Japanese and MLB Hall of Fame.The speedy, smart, clutch-hitting outfielder has since become possibly the best player in baseball," the Seattle Times wrote. Ichiro surpassed Major League standards. He also became the first Japanese every day position player to play in the Majors, showing that Japanese players can be just as good or better than American baseball players.