- Ichiro Suzuki
Infobox MLB player
name=Ichiro
width=200
caption=Ichiro in his pre-swing pose
position=Center fielder
team=Seattle Mariners
number=51
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1973|10|22
birthplace=Kasugai ,Japan
debutdate=April 2
debutyear=2001
debutteam=Seattle Mariners
statyear= 2008 season
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.331
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=1,805
stat3label=Runs
stat3value=885
stat4label=Runs batted in
stat4value=469
stat5label=Stolen base s
stat5value=315
stat6label=Slugging percentage
stat6value=.430
teams=
*Orix BlueWave (by|1992-by|2000) (NPB)
*Seattle Mariners (by|2001-present)
awards=
* 8x All-Star selection (2001-2008)
* 7xGold Glove Award winner (2001-2007)
* 2xSilver Slugger Award winner (2001, 2007)
* 2x Batting Champion (2001, 2004)
* 2001AL MVP
* 2001AL Rookie of the Year
* 2007MLB All-Star Game MVP
*Single-season Major League record with 262 hitsNihongo|Ichiro Suzuki|鈴木 一朗|Suzuki Ichirō, often known simply as Nihongo|Ichiro|イチロー|Ichirō, (born October 22, 1973 in Toyoyama, Nishikasugai,Aichi Prefecture ,Japan ) is anoutfielder for theSeattle Mariners Major League Baseball team.Ichiro moved to the
United States in 2001 after playing nine years for theOrix Blue Wave in Japan'sPacific League . When the Blue Wave posted him after the by|2000 season, Ichiro's rights were won by the Seattle Mariners and he signed a contract with them. He became the first Japanese-born everydayposition player in the Major Leagues.In 2001, Ichiro finished first in batting average and stolen bases, the first player to accomplish this feat since
Jackie Robinson . He set several MLB records in by|2004, including a single-season Major League record with 262 hits. He has won aGold Glove award in each of his first seven years in the majors as an outfielder.Ichiro is the first MLB player to join Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club). He was also selected the 2007 All Star Game
MVP , going three for three and hitting the event's first everinside-the-park home run .As of August by|2008, Ichiro has the second highest career
batting average among active players. At .331, he trails onlyAlbert Pujols (.334) of theSt. Louis Cardinals .Early life
At age seven, Ichiro joined his first baseball team and asked his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki ("Suzuki Nobuyuki"), to teach him to be a better player. The two began a daily routine which included throwing 50 pitches, fielding 50 infield balls and 50 outfield balls, and hitting 500 pitches, 250 from a pitching machine and 250 from his father.
As a Little Leaguer, Ichiro had the word nihongo|"concentration"|集中|shūchū written on his glove. By age 12, he had set professional baseball as his goal and, while he apparently shared his father's vision, he no longer enjoyed their training sessions. Nobuyuki claimed, "Baseball was fun for both of us," but Ichiro later said, "It might have been fun for him, but for me it was a lot like "
Star of the Giants ," a popular Japanesemanga andanime series about a young boy's difficult road to success as a professional baseball player, with rigorous training demanded by the father. According to Ichiro, "It bordered on hazing and I suffered a lot."When Ichiro joined his high school baseball team, his father told the coach, "No matter how good Ichiro is, don't ever praise him. We have to make him spiritually strong." Fact|date=September 2007 When he was ready to enter high school, Ichiro was selected by a school with a prestigious baseball program,
Nagoya 's "Aikodai Meiden Kōkō", where Ichiro was primarily used as pitcher instead of an outfielder, owing to his exceptionally strong arm. While in high school, his cumulative batting average was .505, and his home run total was 19. Among the drills he partook in were hurling car tires and hittingWiffle ball s with a heavy shovel. These exercises helped develop his wrists and hips, adding power and endurance to his thin frame. However, despite his outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the professional draft in November 1991, because many teams were put off by his small size of 5' 9" and 124 pounds. [(Whiting, 2004, pp. 2–12.)]Career in Japan
Major League
small|Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through
September 28 ,2008 .cite web| url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/suzukic01.html | title=Ichiro Suzuki Statistics| work=Baseball-Reference| accessdate=2008-09-26]Batting style
*Ichiro is well-known for his prolific ability to collect infield hits. He hit 59 infield hits during the season of 2004, which topped all major league players.
*In addition to his speed, another factor that helps Ichiro get so many infield hits is his batting style. When Ichiro was young he decided to bat left-handed (even though he is right-handed) just so he could be closer to first base. He also takes his first step towards first base during his swing, allowing him to get an extra step head start down the first base line.
*Ichiro's trademark batting stance is arguably one of the most recognizable in baseball (see his "pre-swing pose" picture at the top of this article). He points his right arm straight at the pitcher holding the bat standing straight up, and then tugs his right sleeve with his free left hand. He repeats this routine prior to standing in to face every single pitch.
*Although Ichiro boasts a career major league batting average of .331 (as of August 16, 2008), he usually gets off to a slower start during the first month of the season. His career average for April is .294.
*A writer for the "New York Times" considered the fact that Ichiro prefers hitting singles--which increases the number ofat-bats , to drawing walks, and concluded that he is more likely to break DiMaggio's 56 gamehitting streak than to register a .400 batting average. [cite news | title=Why Suzuki's Magic Number Is Really 56, Not .406 | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/sports/baseball/01score.html | publisher=New York Times | date=May 1, 2005]Awards in Japan
*7-time Best Nine (1994-2000)
*7-time Gold Glove (1994-2000)
*3-time MVP (1994-by|1996)
*2-time MLA (1994-1995)Personal life
The Japanese name "Ichiro" is often written 一郎, meaning "first son". Ichiro's name, however, is written with a different character, 一朗, so that his name roughly means "brightest, most cheerful". He has an elder brother, Kazuyasu Suzuki, who is a fashion designer.
Ichiro married Yumiko Fukushima, a former TV announcer, on
December 3 ,1999 at a small church inSanta Monica, California . The couple has no children. They have a pet dog (Shiba Inu ) named "Ikkyu".Ichiro is also well known for always wearing high stocking baseball pants and has worn these type for every game since the 2006 season.
Ichiro's walk-up music for the 2008 Major League Baseball season is "The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani.
Photo gallery
ee also
*
List of Major League Baseball batting champions
*List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
*List of Major League Baseball Hit Records References
Further reading
* Allen, Jim. "Ichiro Magic". New York: Kodansha America, 2001. ISBN 4770028717.
* Christopher, Matt, and Glenn Stout. "At the Plate With... Ichiro". New York: Little, Brown, 2003. ISBN 0316136794.
* Dougherty, Terri. "Ichiro Suzuki". ?: Checkerboard Books, 2003. ISBN 1591974836.
*cite book
last = Johnson
first = Daniel
authorlink =
year = 2006
title = Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook
publisher = McFarland & Company
location =
id = ISBN 0786428414* Komatsu, Narumi, and Philip Gabriel. "Ichiro on Ichiro: Conversations with Narumi Komatsu". Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2004. ISBN 1570614318.
* Leigh, David S. "Ichiro Suzuki". Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2004. ISBN 0822517922.
* Levin, Judith. "Ichiro Suzuki". New York: Chelsea House Publications, 2007. ISBN 0791094405.
* Rappoport, Ken. "Super Sports Star Ichiro Suzuki". Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Elementary, 2004. ISBN 0766021378.
* Rosenthal, Jim. "Ichiro's Art of Playing Baseball: Learn How to Hit, Steal, and Field Like an All-Star". New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2006. ISBN 0312358318.
* Savage, Jeff. "Ichiro Suzuki". Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2003. ISBN 0822513447.
* Savage, Jeff. "Ichiro Suzuki", revised ed. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2007. ISBN 0822572664.
* Shields, David. "Baseball Is Just Baseball": The Understated Ichiro: An Unauthorized Collection Compiled by David Shields". Seattle: TNI Books, 2001. ISBN 0967870313.
* Stewart, Mark. "Ichiro Suzuki: Best in the West". Minneapolis: Millbrook Press, 2002. ISBN 0761326162.
* Whiting, Robert. "The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime". Warner Books, 2004; retitled for the 2005 paperback to "The Samurai Way of Baseball: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime". ISBN 0446531928, ISBN 0446694037.
External links
*
* [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/columns/katz/040910.htm/"The Case for Ichiro"] (for the Hall of Fame), 2004 article from thebaseballpage.com by Jeff Katz.
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,300682-1,00.html "The Ichiro Paradox"] , S.L. Price, "TIME" magazine,July 8 ,2002
* [http://www.collectingichiro.com "Collecting Ichiro"] Non-profit site with comprehensive coverage of Ichiro collectibles, especially sports cards.
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