Happy 40th, Ichiro!

Ichiro hits the big four-oh today.

Fake Ichiro Card #16

Topps didn’t issue any 2013 Ichiro baseball cards, which sucks. I’m guessing that, for whatever reason, Ichiro didn’t sign a contract with Topps, but who knows? There’s some speculation here.

ShlabotnikReport righted this wrong by creating this faux ’13 Topps Heritage replica card. Meanwhile, an eBay search for “Ichiro Topps 2013” mostly turns up these stupid fucking things.

The Best Song About Baseball Players: “Ichiro Goes to the Moon”

“Ichiro Goes to the Moon” by the mighty Baseball Project takes the #1 spot in this SB Nation survey, beating out songs about Ken Griffey Jr., Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Stan Musial and other greats. Here’s my first post about the tune, including this live version I filmed in 2011…

October 13, 2000: Ichiro’s Last Game in Japan

From my Ichiro site:

In his seventh and final full major league season in Japan, Ichiro’s .387 batting average was not only his career best, but he also set the Japanese record with seven straight Pacific League batting titles. He won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove award, played in his seventh straight all-star game, was named to his seventh straight “Best Nine” end-of-season All-Star team, and his .460 on-base percentage led the league for the fifth time. Though his season was again cut short (this time with a rib-cage injury), Ichiro played in the Blue Wave’s final game of the season, and ultimately his final game in Japan. Altogether, in his nine NPB seasons, Ichiro amassed 1,278 hits and a .353 batting average, and became the most-recognized person in the nation.