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.

Ryan Braun overturned steroids conviction

Ryan Braun - Steven_Paluch - Flickr

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder and reigning National League MVP Ryan Braun tested positive for PED (performance enhancing drugs) on Saturday, October 1, 2011 during Game 1 of last year’s National League Division Series. This case was overturned because Braun's urine sample was send to the laboratory nearly 48 hours later.

This is the first time in history of baseball that has successfully challenged a steroid related punishment. He could have been suspended for 50 games if his second test was denied.

Braun was tested at the beginning of the playoffs and learned in late October that he had reached the level of testosterone usage. According to a person who knows about the results said that the test showed a prohibited substance in Braun’s body, but not a drug or a steroid. 

Soon after the first test result came out, Braun took a second test in an independent laboratory, and the second result showed that he had normal level of testosterone.

So which test shows the real results? The first test shows that Braun is taking steroids and the second test that Braun did in an independent laboratory showed that he had normal levels of testosterone?

Well, Braun himself was really happy with the result of the second test. "It is the first step in restoring my good name and reputation. We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side," Braun said.

While Braun is claiming that he did not take steroids, Dino Laurenzi Jr., the man who collected Braun's first urine sample claims that he was doing what he was being instructed to do; however, Braun argued that keeping a sample at a collector's home violated baseball's drug testing rules.

Laurenzi has worked for the Major League Baseball's Comprehensive Drug Testing since 2005 and performed more than 600 collections during four separate seasons and for five different teams. Laurenzi said that the sample was sealed correctly and was not tampered with. He says that he kept the samples in the basement of his home over the weekend until FedEx opened and could ship them immediately like any occasions.

For now, Braun is still playing for the Milwaukee Brewers but if Braun starts to hit fewer home runs, and steal fewer bases after the test, then suspicions would arise about Braun's positive test.

Highest percentage winning rate quarterback

Andy Dalton was selected as the third pick of the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. It was really surprising Dalton wasn't picked in the first round. Dalton has an impressive career record of 42-6 and has more wins than any active quarterback in the country. Dalton was the most important player of his team and was MVP of the 2007 Texas Bowl, 2008 Poinsettia Bowl and offensive MVP of the 2011 Rose Bowl. What lessens Dalton's value as a football player is his size being 6'2" and weighting in at 215 pounds. He is physically smaller compare to other quarterbacks and his arm strength is labeled as sub par but that is not enough to hold him back as his team was undefeated in the regular season last year. Dalton beats the mentality that size in football win matches.

Dalton played for the TCU Frogs in his college career and earned numerous awards for his plays. After Dalton was redshirted for his first season, he became the starting quarterback for the TCU Frogs. Dalton is considered to be a jack of all trades player that does not have a strength that stands out. While Dalton can not rely on his arm strength, he relies on his play making skills and accurate passes. He can makes passes that guide his reciever to a place with room to run after the pass. Dalton is incredibly mobile and will rush if the other team is unprepared.

Dalton looks to mature into a professional quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals from his fantastic college career. The Bengals will renovate their offense after last season’s failures starting with the acquisition of new talents such as Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green. The Bengals intends to strengthen their offense from the draft with four of their first six pick on offensive players. The Bengals previous quarterback, Carson Palmer gave an ultimatum to the Bengals, to trade him or he retires. Since it is clear that Palmer does not want to play for the Bengals which only have two winning season in the past 20 years, it is the perfect opportunity to turn the team over to Dalton.

Who will it be? Rose-tastic, The King or Superman

Basketball season is coming to an end and the playoffs are on their way. The playoff tree is 90% complete and the only thing left is to announce are the end of season awards. There have been many disputes on who deserves to be named Most Valuable Player. Such candidates are Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitziki, and Kevin Durant. However out of all these candidates, only three stand out the most; Derrick Rose, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard.

Rose has been nothing but amazing this season. He averages 25.1 PPG and 7.9 APG. Compared to last season, Rose has improved his shooting abilities to a whole new level. It is because of Rose that the Chicago Bulls are the number one seed in the East. Derrick Rose is the leader of the Bulls just as James was the leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers. When James was still a Cavalier, he won MVP twice, but he could not win the championship. With Rose, however, we cannot come to the conclusion that he will win the MVP and lose in the playoffs.

Out of these three candidates, James has the best overall statistics; he is averaging 26.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 7.0 APG. Although James is a huge asset to the Miami Heat, the Heat do not need James as much as the Bulls need Rose. The Heat still have Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the winner of the 3-point contest, James Jones.

So far, Dwight Howard has also been spectacular, but his achievements aren't good enough because the Orlando Magic is the fourth seed. Howard averages 23.2 PPG and 14.2 RPG. If Howard doesn't win MVP, he will most likely win Defensive Player of the Year. According to Michael Jordan, Rose is the MVP of the season. With tons of supporters for Rose, he will most likely be named Most Valuable Player of the Year.