Ichiro Suzuki
From BR Bullpen
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 160 lb.
- Debut April 2, 2001
- Born October 22, 1973 in Nishi Kasugai-gun, Aichi, Japan
- High School Aikoudai Meiden
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[edit] Biographical Information
Ichiro Suzuki was drafted in the fourth round by the Orix Blue Wave in 1991. Ichiro's first manager Shozo Doi said at the time that Ichiro would never hit with his batting stance. He won one minor league batting title. Doi was let go by the Blue Wave after the 1993 season, and new manager Akira Ohgi was hired; Ohgi placed Ichiro at the top of the lineup, and Ichiro responded with an all-time Nippon Pro Baseball hit total of 210 in 1994 which he still holds, batting .385/.445/.549 with 13 HR's and 54 RBI. He also set records for most consecutive games reaching base (69 in 1994), times hit by a pitch (18 in 1995, a mark broken within a decade) and most at bats without a strikeout (216 in a row in 1997). Ichiro would continue to shine in the NPB, becoming one of the best players ever. Ichiro batted .353/.434/.522 with 118 HR's and 429 RBI. Ichiro totaled 1,278 hits and stole 199 bases over his 9 year NPB career. Ichiro won 7 consecutive batting crowns from 1994 to 2000 (every year he was a regular in NPB), won 5 consecutive hit crowns from 1994 to 1998, was a 3-time MVP (1994-1996), was selected to seven Best Nine squads (1994-2000), and was a 7-time Gold Glove award winner (1994-2000). Ichiro has the highest career batting average in NPB history among players with 2,000 or more at bats - runner-up Randy Bass is 16 points behind. His seven batting championships tied the record set by Isao Harimoto. He led the Pacific League five times in OBP, once in steals, three times in total bases, five times in hits, 4 times in runs, once in doubles, once in RBI (part of a 3-way tie) and six times in intentional walks. He held the record for singles in a season in Japan until it was broken first by Norihiro Akahoshi and then Norichika Aoki during the 2005 season.
Ichiro spent spring training with the Seattle Mariners in 1999. He was posted by the Orix Blue Wave in the 2000 offseason. The Seattle Mariners won his rights for $13,125,000(USD). Ichiro shined in his first year, batting .350 with 8 HR's and 69 RBI and 242 hits. Ichiro was named the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year, being the first player to win both MVP and ROY since Fred Lynn did it 1975. Ichiro broke the all-time Major League Baseball single-season hit record in 2004 with 262 hits; the record was previously held by George Sisler.
Ichiro, as of the end of the 2006 season, has a .331 average with 61 HR's and 359 RBI and 1,354 hits in the majors. Ichiro has displayed excellent defense in right field with the Mariners, with a great arm and overall defensive ability, Ichiro has won 6 Gold Gloves so far in the MLB (2001-2006). He has also been selected to 6 All-Star squads since switching countries (2001-2006). Also, Ichiro holds the record with the most hits in their first five years, breaking the previous record held by Paul Waner.
Ichiro Suzuki went on to play with the winning Japanese team in the first World Baseball Classic, batting .363 (12-33) with 1 HR and 5 RBI.
In January 2006, Ichiro played himself in Furuhata Ninzaburo, a Japanese TV drama that he loves. In the show, he kills a person and is arrested.
He went 3 for 3 in the 2007 All-Star Game to win the All-Star Game MVP Award. He hit the first inside-the-park homer in All-Star Game history that year.
On July 29, 2007, Suzuki reached 1,500 MLB hits in his 1,060th game. Only Al Simmons (1,040) and George Sisler (1,048) had taken fewer games to get to 1,500 hits in the major leagues. Suzuki topped 220 hits for the fourth time that year, becoming only the third major leaguer to do so that often - only Rogers Hornsby and Jesse Burkett had done so before. Exactly a year later, Ichiro collected the 3,000th hit of his MLB-NPB career; only Isao Harimoto had reached 3,000 in NPB. The Associated Press and other media ignorant of international sports claim Suzuki had 1,278 hits in "the Japanese League" when there is no such league.
On September 17, 2008, against the Kansas City Royals, Ichiro recorded his 8th consecutive 200-hit season, tying "Wee" Willie Keeler (1894-1901) for most consecutive 200+ hit seasons.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2001 AL Rookie of the Year Award
- 2001 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- 8-time AL All-Star (2001-2008)
- AL MVP (2001)
- 2007 All-Star Game MVP
- 8-time AL Gold Glove Winner (2001-2008)
- 2-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2001 & 2007)
- 2-time AL Batting Average Leader (2001 & 2004)
- 6-time AL At Bats Leader (2001 & 2004-2008)
- 5-time AL Hits Leader (2001, 2004 & 2006-2008)
- 8-time AL Singles Leader (2001-2008)
- AL Stolen Bases Leader (2001)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 8 (2001-2008)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 8 (2001-2008)
- 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 1 (2001)
| AL MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Jason Giambi | Ichiro Suzuki | Miguel Tejada |
| AL Rookie of the Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Kazuhiro Sasaki | Ichiro Suzuki | Eric Hinske |
[edit] Records Held
- At bats, left handed batter, season, 704, 2004
- Hits, season, 262, 2004
- Hits, left handed batter, season, 262, 2004
- Singles, season, 225, 2004
- Singles, left handed batter, season, 225, 2004
- Hits, in 4 year span, 924
- Hits, in 5 year span, 1130
- Hits, in 6 year span, (will have this record by end of 2006 season)
[edit] Related sites
- japanesebaseball.com - Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics and analysis
