Ichiro

[homer]

I've never really stopped and considered just how incredible this guy is and what kind of a career he's had. He speaks English but doesn't do it very often and I think that's one reason his game hasn't resonated with me is because I don't have a sound byte to go along with the accomplishments. He's a great player no doubt but he's also a deep and introspective person. I wonder how long he'll play? He's 42 but he's still raking hitting a cool .343 this year. Maybe that's a fluke since his last couple of years were not that great but who knows? Maybe he was fighting injuries. One wonders what he could have accomplished had he played his whole career in the states. If you have the time, I highly recommend this article:

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/17105389/miami-marlins-ichiro-suzuki-approaches-3000th-major-league-hit

 

A few of my fave stories:

When he played in Seattle, Ken Griffey Jr. started tickling him before every game. Ichiro hates to be tickled. But then Griffey stopped and Ichiro went into a slump. So he told Griffey to start tickling him again, even though it meant that every game he ran onto the field soaked in sweat. Ichiro lives at the intersection of zen, superstition and obsession

 

He loved going to Kansas City to talk with Buck O'Neil, the former Negro Leagues player who became the first black coach in the majors. O'Neil would hang around the batting cage before games. Ichiro enjoyed his style -- O'Neil always dressed beautifully -- and soaked up his stories. O'Neil had also helped establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and Ichiro stopped in for a tour. When O'Neil died in 2006, Ichiro sent a giant wreath to the memorial service.

 

A year later, on a road trip to Kansas City, he asked to meet some of the museum's staff. Museum president Bob Kendrick showed Ichiro a rare program from a barnstorming tour of Japan that a Negro League team called the Philadelphia Royal Giants made in 1927. Ichiro held the fragile paper in his hands, read from the Japanese on the cover. Then he got around to why he had come. He pulled out his checkbook. Kendrick won't say how much Ichiro donated to the museum, but he says it was the biggest donation from any active player.

[torts]

Ichiro has been my favorite non-brewer player ever since he came to the States.

[DHonks]

My favorite was when the Japanese paparazzi had a bounty on a nude photo of him. Uecker had a hilarious story in which he claimed Ichiro had personally signed a nude photo for him, and he wasn't going to give it up.

[sveumrules]

With apologies to Larry Walker & Vlad Guerrero there is no one else I'd have play RF on my all time "Own Two Eyes" team besides Ichiro.

 

Another favorite famous Ichiro quote would have to be, “To tell the truth, I’m not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to,” Ichiro said. “If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m lying.”

 

And of course the best Ichiro quotes have never been captured as he supposedly gave a profanity laced speech in English to get the AL All Stars fired up before some of the Midsummer's Classics which he participated in.

 

There's also a wealth of Ichiro stuff on youtube including many of the commercials he did for the Mariners TV broadcasts plus my all time favorite which I've linked below compiling some his greatest moments in Japan with scorching riffs accompanying in the background...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwM7LFl_PJM

[jerichoholicninja]

He didn't hit homeruns and he played in Seattle, therefore he never got the media attention he deserved. One of the greatest all around players ever. It would be interesting to see if he could have broken Rose's hit record if he played his whole career in MLB.

[madbad2000]

I always loved the way he approached the game. How many times did you see him hit the ball and beat it out for a single. Most players after seeing the hit would have dogged it.

[superfly]

I was pretty little and had the privilege of seeing him play in maybe 2002, out in Seattle not long after Safeco opened. Still haven't forgotten how the Seattle fans threw monopoly money at A-Rod every time he came to the plate (was playing for Texas at the time) lol. I've always had an attachment to Ichiro as well and was surprised to read above how well he's still hitting at his age. Now I have a reason to cheer for the Marlins (or wherever he may be traded?) for the rest of the season as our own team stinks.

[sveumrules]

He has said (who knows how seriously) that he wants to play until he's 50. Will be curious to see if the Marlins pick up their 2 million option on him for next year, you'd think with the way he's played so far this year it'd be pretty automatic.

 

Since he loves to pitch so much I say we throw him an offer if he hits FA again to serve the Brooks Kieschnick role. 5th OF/PH/mop up pitcher.

[StearnsFTW]

Agree with everyone here. Tremendous player and, seemingly, man.

 

Some of the throws he's made, particularly to 3rd, in his career are jaw-dropping. That Terrence Long play in particular is incredible. I can't link it from my phone but it's easy to find and awesome.

[GAME05]

I think he would have broken Rose's record had he began his career in the US at a usual age. One of the 20 best players in history. And by all accounts a great human being, which makes it impossible not to root for him.

[logan82]

He didn't hit homeruns and he played in Seattle, therefore he never got the media attention he deserved. One of the greatest all around players ever. It would be interesting to see if he could have broken Rose's hit record if he played his whole career in MLB.

Seattle has a huge market in Japan.

[The stache]

I really like Ichiro, too, but one of the 20 greatest players in history? Ah, no.

 

I think he would have broken Rose's record had he began his career in the US at a usual age. One of the 20 best players in history. And by all accounts a great human being, which makes it impossible not to root for him.

[nate82]

I really like Ichiro, too, but one of the 20 greatest players in history? Ah, no.

 

I think he would have broken Rose's record had he began his career in the US at a usual age. One of the 20 best players in history. And by all accounts a great human being, which makes it impossible not to root for him.

 

Definitely a top 50 player. Where in the top 50 I am not sure but he is a sure top 50 player in MLB history.

[Baldkin]

Always loved watching him play. The way he seemed to uncork those vicious throws from RF with little to no effort always amazed me.

 

Not sure where I'd rank him all-time. His 10 year run was pretty impressive, averaging about 5.5 WAR per season -- actually really similar to Jim Edmonds in that sense.

 

Ichiro will most likely be enshrined on the first ballot to the HoF while Edmonds received less than 5% on his first ballot.

 

[Invader3K]

One of the funnest moments I can remember watching a baseball game was his inside the park home run during the All-Star game in San Francisco a few years ago.

 

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v22030879/alnl-ichiro-hits-an-insidethepark-home-run

[The stache]

I wouldn't put him in the top 50, either. Baseball Reference has his JAWS7 (best seven seasons by WAR) 13th all-time....for a right fielder. A lot of people have played this game. There have been a lot of great players, and if you're on the list of the 50 greatest players to ever play the game, you're likely one of the five or six best players at your position in history. Ichiro is nowhere near the best right fielder to ever play the game.

 

Players in right field that are easily ahead of Ichiro Suzuki:

 

Babe Ruth

Hank Aaron

Stan Musial

Mel Ott

Frank Robinson

Shoeless Joe Jackson

Roberto Clemente

Al Kaline

Tony Gwynn

 

Other right fielders I would put ahead of Ichiro:

 

Reggie Jackson

Sam Crawford

Dave Winfield

Paul Waner

 

That's at a bare minimum ten right fielders in baseball's history that were superior players. I didn't include Larry Walker, though a case could be made for him, too.

 

I think people are overrating Ichiro's place in history because he's so likable. Great pure hitter, real good base stealer. Good outfielder. And he'll definitely be a Hall of Famer. 3,000 hits with a .314 lifetime average will see to it. But he has no power, whatsoever. None. In 10,300 career plate appearances, he has 349 doubles, 92 triples, and 113 home runs. That gives him a terrible career .400 SLG. A 100 OPS + is Major League average. His carerer OPS + is 108.

 

Too many other players have outperformed him.

 

I really like Ichiro, too, but one of the 20 greatest players in history? Ah, no.

 

I think he would have broken Rose's record had he began his career in the US at a usual age. One of the 20 best players in history. And by all accounts a great human being, which makes it impossible not to root for him.

 

Definitely a top 50 player. Where in the top 50 I am not sure but he is a sure top 50 player in MLB history.

[StearnsFTW]

Always loved watching him play. The way he seemed to uncork those vicious throws from RF with little to no effort always amazed me.

 

Not sure where I'd rank him all-time. His 10 year run was pretty impressive, averaging about 5.5 WAR per season -- actually really similar to Jim Edmonds in that sense.

 

Ichiro will most likely be enshrined on the first ballot to the HoF while Edmonds received less than 5% on his first ballot.

 

 

Yeah, that's the one I was referencing. Awesome.

[docduany]

You really do forget how many great players have played this game. If I was jaw jacking with some dude at a bar I would've easily said Ichiro was a top 50 player of all-time. But after seeing The Stache's" homework, I would've been wrong. Still, Ichiro has been fun to watch.

[jerichoholicninja]

We're talking over 125 years of baseball. To start ranking players or using top whatever is just disingenuous to the sheer number of players that have played and length of history of the game. Is Ichiro a Hall of Famer? Absolutely. Is he a top 50 all time or top 10 right fielder? I don't really care, but he's one of the best ever and one of the greatest of his generation and that's all he should be compared against.

[Funketown]

Ichiro was tearing apart the Japanese league by age 20. He hit .385/.437/.549/.985 in 1994 with Orix. I can't see putting him in the top 50 on his MLB performance alone, but if you include his seven full seasons in Japan when evaluating him, perhaps he has a case.

[nate82]

We're talking over 125 years of baseball. To start ranking players or using top whatever is just disingenuous to the sheer number of players that have played and length of history of the game. Is Ichiro a Hall of Famer? Absolutely. Is he a top 50 all time or top 10 right fielder? I don't really care, but he's one of the best ever and one of the greatest of his generation and that's all he should be compared against.

 

Rankings are all opinion based. For example I have Bonds #1 and Ruth #2. There are plenty of people who believe Bonds isn't a top 100 player and others who put him in their top 100 or wherever.

 

I like Ichiro and have him in my top 50 just on his baseball skills alone. I also have Clemente in my top 50 of all time for the same reason.

[logan82]

Always loved watching him play. The way he seemed to uncork those vicious throws from RF with little to no effort always amazed me.

 

Not sure where I'd rank him all-time. His 10 year run was pretty impressive, averaging about 5.5 WAR per season -- actually really similar to Jim Edmonds in that sense.

 

Ichiro will most likely be enshrined on the first ballot to the HoF while Edmonds received less than 5% on his first ballot.

 

Nice throw but it isn't much further than throwing from 3b to 1b.

[logan82]

Rankings are all opinion based. For example I have Bonds #1 and Ruth #2. There are plenty of people who believe Bonds isn't a top 100 player and others who put him in their top 100 or wherever.

 

I like Ichiro and have him in my top 50 just on his baseball skills alone. I also have Clemente in my top 50 of all time for the same reason.

Those people are wrong.

[The stache]

Um, no, rankings are not opinion based. Baseball, more than any other professional sport, lends itself to statistical analysis. And while the game itself does change over time (dead ball era vs live ball era, adjustments to the height of the pitching mound), the field of play itself hasn't changed in the lifetime of anybody still breathing.

 

Nothing I stated is based on opinion, or emotion. My rankings are based on empirical data. These numbers have been recorded after every game, and player rankings are based on observable behavior over several years. Now, there may be some argument over ordering of players. But the basic framework cannot be argued if the numbers do not support such argument.

 

And I'm not even going to comment on your listing Bonds as the #1 player of all-time.

 

 

 

Rankings are all opinion based. For example I have Bonds #1 and Ruth #2. There are plenty of people who believe Bonds isn't a top 100 player and others who put him in their top 100 or wherever.

 

I like Ichiro and have him in my top 50 just on his baseball skills alone. I also have Clemente in my top 50 of all time for the same reason.

[Funketown]

There's a lot of room in the analysis for different weighting placed on different things, which can lead to vastly different ratings. How should we compare a player who was very good for 20 years against one who was dominant for five years? How much weight should we put on performance in non-MLB leagues? I have a hard time excluding somebody like Josh Gibson from the discussion of greatest power hitters, but it's really tough to compare him to his peers on purely statistical grounds.

 

Of course, this history of performance data which goes back over a hundred years is what makes this all so amusing.