Now Batting Third: Ichiro Suzuki

John Lok / The Seattle Times

Read more here, here, and here.

Ichiro’s First Official Throw of Spring

Photographed today by Larry LaRue.

Ichiro Arrived at Spring Training Today

No photos, but here’s a link.

My First Ichiro Baseball Card of 2012

It’s a mini Topps 1987 replica, #TM-14… Can you dig it?

Hey, Ichiro! What Day Is It?

It’s the 2012 Ichiro wall calendar. And here are some from previous years…

Coming Soon…

…Wish I could go.

New Ichiro-esque T-Shirt

Spotted this off-season at Seattle’s Kinokuiya Bookstore.

Ichiro in Moneyball

May 2002: Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is at the Oakland airport, transfixed by an A’s-M’s game on a monitor. Over Beane’s shoulder, we briefly glimpse Ichiro leading off first. It happens at the 1:03 mark — blink and you might miss him.

Incidentally, when Ichiro was asked, “Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?”, he said Brad Pitt.

More Ichiro in the Winter

A couple recent photos of him working out in some heinous threads, found here and here.

Ichiro in the Winter

A couple cool recent finds by the mighty Mighty Flynn… Above, “December 23, 2011 – A young ballplayer is congratulated at the conclusion of the Aichi Toyoyama Cup, an annual youth tournament chaired by Ichiro.”

And below, Ichiro talks about his disappointing 2011 campaign…

I felt desperate last season. That doesn’t happen to me very often. Mental stress is a lot worse than physical stress… If I can get two or three hits every day, I never feel tired. One hit relieves my stress, it’s better than an hour of massage… Sometimes I feel I’m getting older, or more sensitive to what they say on TV. Yes my skin gets dry but it’s a lame conclusion to blame everything on age. People are quick to point to age. Those kinds of people don’t interest me… But if you are going to call yourself a professional, you need to put up results.

My Favorite Super Ichiro Crazy Posts of 2011

Above, Ichiro in video games; below, Ichiro vs. Kenny Powers…

Ichiro playing cards…

Ichiro haiku contest…

Ichiro impersonator…

The Baseball Project’s Ichiro Goes to the Moon…

Ichiro action figure…

Ichiro’s dog Ikkyu…

Ichiro fan art…

And finally, the video I posted of The Throw has since been removed, though this one I just found might be even better…

See you in 2012!

Happy Anniversary, Ichiro and Yumiko!

December 3, 1999: Ichiro and Yumiko marry at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles… This isn’t a photo from their wedding day, but close enough.

1/6/12 UPDATE

Regarding the top comment below — oops, I think Mike C might be right. So, here’s a picture of Ichiro and Yumiko, displaying their wedding rings at a long-ago press conference. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Ichiro in the Fall

This was inspired by this.

A Very Ichiro Halloween

Found on the Mariners web site is this Ichiro jack o’ lantern stencil, above… Below, our friend the Ichiro impersonator (who apparently dresses up every day like it’s Halloween) has appeared again, this time on a Japanese game show…

My pals Ken and Chinatsu recorded this Gong Show-like program for me, in which contestants imitate Japanese celebrities. However, instead of getting “gonged” offstage by the judges (who for some reason are dressed like mad scientists), a trap door suddenly opens beneath the contestants, and they drop out of sight! “Ichiro” appeared in a few different bits in various Mariner jerseys, acting out at-bats, playing catch in the field, and leading off first base. He was pretty good, but was “trap-doored” each time. Needless to say, he didn’t take home any prizes.

Finally, there’s this guy, whose ’09 Halloween costume was Ichiro…

Happy 38th, Ichiro!

Ichiro hits the big three-eight today. Here’s the most recent photo I have of him, taken right after this year’s season finale.

It Was Seven Years Ago Today: Hit #258

October 1, 2004 marked the single greatest achievement of Ichiro’s career, when he became baseball’s all-time single-season hit leader. Eliza and I were among the sellout crowd of 45,573 at Safeco Field on that chilly Friday night, the 160th Mariner game of the season. Despite the team’s last-place standing,  the ballpark had an electric, playoff-like atmosphere.

In the first inning, Ichiro singled to left for his 257th hit of the year, tying George Sisler’s 84-year-old record. In the third he lined a single to center, breaking Sisler’s record with hit #258. The crowd roared, Ichiro’s teammates rushed out of the dugout to congratulate him, and fireworks exploded overhead. Ichiro walked over to the stands to shake hands with members of the Sisler family (George Sisler died in March 1973, seven months before Ichiro was born). Frances Sisler Drochelman, Sisler’s 81-year-old daughter (who wasn’t even alive yet when Sisler set his record) congratulates Ichiro…

“He [Sisler] would be proud of Ichiro,” she later commented. “He would be delighted to know what a fine person he is.”

He also addressed the crowd, with commish Bud Selig standing by…

Doffing his helmet…

After the contest resumed, Ichiro upped the record to 259 with an infield single in the sixth. Following the game, he remarked: “It’s definitely the most emotional I have gotten in my life… It’s definitely the highlight of my career.”

The following day, he hit #260, and the day after that, in the season finale on Sunday October 3, he had two more hits (Eliza and I were at that one too). The new single-season hit standard was now 262, where it’s remained ever since.

Check out these fan photos from that historic night.

Season-End Report, Part 2: Jersey Breakdown

The Mariners wore their teal home alternate  jerseys for 22 games this year, and if they had any effect on the team’s performance, they should’ve worn teal all season. Of the five basic jerseys the Mariners sported in 2011, the teal is the only one that saw them play over .500, and Ichiro had a higher batting average in teal (.297) than in any other jersey. The jerseys’ official color is “Northwest Green” — I know, right? — so let’s just call ‘em what they are: teal.

Here’s how Ichiro and the M’s performed in their various jerseys this year. This includes the Turn-Back-the-Clock game, but ignores the Marineros jerseys, the Jackie Robinson jerseys, and the jerseys with American flag patches and breast cancer ribbons (since those are relatively small tweaks to their standard threads). In descending order of frequency…

Road Gray (worn with gray pants)
In 70 games, Ichiro went 82-for-292 (.280), and the Mariners went 27-43 (.386).

Home White (worn with white pants)
In 58 games, Ichiro went 63-for-240 (.263), and the Mariners went 23-35 (.397).

Home Teal (worn with white pants)
In 22 games, Ichiro went 27-for-91 (.297), and the Mariners went 13-9 (.591).

Road Navy (worn with gray pants)
In 11 games, Ichiro went 12-for-49 (.245), and the Mariners went 3-8 (.273).

Home Turn-Back-the-Clock (worn with Turn-Back-the-Clock pants)
In one game, Ichiro went 0-for-5 and the Mariners won.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the teal could be for real. The real deal Holyfield. Feel the teal. Or something.

Season-End Report, Part 1: What Happened?

This isn’t what we hoped for.

Back on Opening Day, I figured I’d be blogging about Ichiro cruising to his 11th straight 200-hit season — surpassing Pete Rose’s record of ten such seasons — as well as his 11th-straight .300 season, All-Star Game, and Gold Glove award. As usual, the expectations of him going into this year were quite high, and why not? He was coming off an unparalleled, Hall-of-Fame-worthy decade.

Instead, 2011 turned out to be a huge disappointment — as I said in my mid-season report, “yikes.” Let’s look at the numbers, noting that the “Career Averages” only include his stats prior to 2011…

Games
Career Average: 159
2011: 161
Difference: +2

At Bats
Career Average: 680
2011: 677
Difference: -3

Runs
Career Average: 105
2011: 80
Difference: -25

Hits
Career Average: 224
2011: 184
Difference: -40

Doubles
Career Average: 26
2011: 22
Difference: -4

Triples
Career Average: 7
2011: 3
Difference: -4

Home Runs
Career Average: 9
2011: 5
Difference: -4

Runs Batted In
Career Average: 56
2011: 47
Difference: -9

Walks
Career Average: 46
2011: 39
Difference: -7

Strikeouts
Career Average: 68
2011: 69
Difference: +1

Stolen Bases
Career Average: 38
2011: 40
Difference: +2

Batting Average
Career Average: .331
2011: .272
Difference: -.059

On-Base Percentage
Career Average: .376
2011: .310
Difference: -.066

Slugging Percentage
Career Average: .430
2011: .325
Difference: -.105

On-Base Plus Slugging
Career Average: .806
2011: .645
Difference: -.161

So Ichiro had a couple more stolen bases this year than his career average, but otherwise, he experienced painfully sharp drops in most every category. Apart from failing to reach 200 hits, his .310 OBP and .645 OPS were among the worst numbers for all leadoff hitters, as well as all regulars with his amount of plate appearances, and the very worst of any right fielder in the majors. On defense, he committed four errors for the third consecutive season. His career-worst was five errors in 2008, yet he still won the ’08 Gold Glove for the eighth time in ten seasons. Still, this year he occasionally looked shaky in right, so I’d be surprised if he’d be rewarded with yet another Gold Glove.

Following Wednesday’s season finale, Ichiro spoke through interpreter Antony Suzuki about his subpar season. According to Seattle Times Mariner blogger Geoff Baker (source of much of this info, and more), “Ichiro seemed to bristle when asked by reporters whether he’d thought often about extending his own major league record and reaching 200 hits for an 11th year in a row”…

This year, I’ve never mentioned about 200 — ever — during the season, nor in spring training. Nor did I mention that last year, too… I feel the communication is very tough because I’ve never mentioned it, nor have I thought about it. So, the psychology is very interesting from my standpoint. Because you never know what people think about you when you don’t show them. So, this year I felt I learned a lot as a human being. Not just as a player. Because that’s a part of being who I am. Knowing how people around me think psychologically.

Not sure what exactly he meant about that psychological stuff, and apparently he didn’t offer any explanation about the rest of his season’s shortcomings, but the “nor have I thought about it” line is hard to swallow. In previous seasons, though he might not have admitted it beforehand, once he reached the 200-hit milestone, he would then confess to it weighing heavily on his mind all along. After reaching the mark for the ninth consecutive season in 2009, he said of the pressure he felt from Japan: “For me, it’s not allowed for me to not accomplish this.”

So, what does this all mean? Was this just an off year, or are his abilities finally diminishing with his age? Has he lost a step? Has he lost his swing? Or was he distracted by something outside of baseball?

In any case, it seems that Ichiro’s career has come to a fork in the road. I’ll address what might lay ahead for him in my next post.

Game 162: 0-for-3 in 2-0 Loss vs. Oakland

At Bats: 3
Runs: 0
Hits, Game/Season: 0/184
Runs Batted In: 0
Walks: 1
Strikeouts: 1
Left on Base: 0
Average: .272
Box
Notes: Flyout, walk, flyout, strikeout… Finished 2011 with a career-low 184 hits, snapping his streak of ten 200-hit seasons… First sub-.300 season since 1993… On the other hand, he led the majors with 677 at-bats, if that means anything… I’ll post more end-of-season wrap-up stuff in the next day or two.
Next: Game 1 vs. Oakland at the Tokyo Dome; March 28, 2012.

Ichiro on TV: The Tenth Inning

September 28, 2010: One year ago today saw the premiere of The Tenth Inning, the follow-up to Ken Burns’ epic 18-1/2-hour documentary Baseball, which first aired on PBS in 1994. Ichiro was interviewed for a cool seven-minute segment (above), summarizing his career to date in both historical and global contexts.

Bonus interview clips with Daniel Okrent and Tom Verducci may be seen here.