Ichiro Thread

[csh19792001]

As I've stated before the oldest 3,000 hit member to debut was Wade Boggs at age 24. Ichiro was 27 when he debuted in 2001. It is asking a lot for Ichiro to get 1,200 hits from this point forward. It has been done by just four players so it is possible. The key will be how many more 200 hit seasons does Ichiro have left in him?

-Boggs walked a ton, Ichiro doesn't walk hardly at all. Ichiro maxes out number of AB's more than any superstar I've ever seen. Ichiro walks about half as much as Wade did, hence many more balls in play and opportunities for hits.

-Boggs was never fast, in fact, even in his youth he was an awkward runner and couldn't get down the line very well at all.

-Ichiro has gotten 30-60 infield hits/year since 01'. Cleary, that will slow but again, even juxtaposed with an incredible Boggs, that bodes well for Ichiro. He's patently said that fans don't come to see walks, and he's enforced this credo time and again for 8 years now here.

In summary, I think it's more likely for him to do it than anyone who debuted at at late age in modern baseball history.

[Rennie Stennett]

Ichiro and Charlie Hustle

http://ussmariner.com/2008/07/29/5638/

Ichiro picked up his 3000th hit in 7 1/2 years (july 29th 2008) [1,722 in the U.S] in MLB and [1,278 in Japan] for the Blue Wave in 9 years. If he continues with his 229 hits per year, he will reach Pete Roses' 4256 (1186 behind) hits combined mlb and japan league, in 5 1/3 seasons and just (14) more hits after that he will hit 3000 hits for his big league career.

Now, is it just me or is Ichiro getting less infield hits this year than in the past ? When Ichiro can't drive the ball the infield cheats in and cuts off many of these dribblers that he is famous for. Ichiro's power numbers (2B's and HR's continue to gradually go down and his strikeouts per year continue to go up gradually. This year he was on pace for high strikeout numbers but thanks to a big second half of the year, he won't hit the high seventies in SO's. Ichiro gets his 200 plus hits but it takes him almost 700 plate appearances to do so. So figuring his good health, and that he is a flexibility freak, which should prevent injury and his gradual decline that has already began, it could take more than 5 1/2 years to reach 4256 and 3000.
Ichiro hurt his hamstring in July this year and this slowed him down greatly. He only missed one game but he did not attempt a steal for over a month. This is a concern because it seems that when speed guys like Ichiro start having hamstring problems they never go away as age continues to climb. He's 35 in October so 5 1/2 years at the earliest and say 7 years at the latest it will take him to reach these numbers discussed above, Ichiro will be 42 years old.

"I don't have the average thirty-eight year-old's body. I know my face looks old, but if you slid head first for sixteen years you'd be ugly too." - Pete Rose

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/play...php?p=rosepe01

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/player...?playerId=4570

[Edgartohof]

Well, the M's season is over....finito....no mas.

So here is Ichiro's final numbers for the season:

Games - 162 (lead the league)
AB - 686 (lead the league)
PA - 749 (lead the league)
Runs - 103 (top 10)
Hits - 213 (tied for league lead)
2B - 20
3B - 7
HR - 6
RBI - 42 (career low)
SB - 43 (3rd in league)
CS - 4
% - 91%
SO - 65
AB/SO - 10.6 (5th in league)
TB - 265
TOB - 269 (4th in league)

.310/.361/.386

So not the greatest season he has had, but not horrible.

He still had some high points during the year:

3000 career hits in his professional career
8 consecutive seasons w/ 200 hits (and 100 runs) - first player to do so from start of his MLB career.
fastest to 1800 hits
Most hits in 8 years
5th season leading league in hits - one of only 5 others to do so. In fact, he has never been out of the top 2 in hits - which is also tied for 7th most top 3 appearances in this category.
Set Mariner's career SB record

[mrakbaseball]

Ichiro batting 3rd or 4th

160 pound Ichiro Suzuki batting 3rd?
Ichiro collected 213 hits in '08. 180 singles. 20 doubles, 7 triples, 6 home runs en route to a very healthy .386 SLG. Ichiro is a leadoff hitter plain and simple. He's obsessed with getting 200 hits a year even if it means having a sub .400 SLG. Players with a .747 OPS don't hit third. Those power exhibitions displayed during BP have yet to be shown during 8 years of regular season play.

[G.Costanza]

Did you watch the WBC were he hit third and led them to a title? Or no? Not to mention he hit third more than he led off in Japan. The idea that Ichiro is obsessed with getting 200 hits a year just becuase he gets that is an unfounded and predjudice( which means to pre judge) attack on his character......................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...... When his actions have proven the contarary, In 2001 he was tied with Derek Jeter for a major league record for most games with a hit, He chose to sit out the final 3 games to rest up for the playoffs even though he could have broken the record.(this is a true fact) Look it up if you are responsible....................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ............ I'm always appualed by how much mariners fans whine about the best player on they team, rather than whats wrong with them. I'm a mets fan, but Ichiro is my favorite player to watch in todays game, and if he were on my team I know mets fans would say he was the best player on the team watching him day in day out............................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ........It is almost as if you can't say he's not great becuase of his numbers(even though he affects more runs outside of numbers than any player in the game) so you can only attack his character and call him selfish, even though it is flat out WRONG if you look at what he has done.

[mrakbaseball]

I'm an architect.

A 2 week tournament is not a 162 game season. You mention he hit third more than leadoff in Japan. It's going on 9 years since Ichiro last played in Japan. What he did in Japan is too distant to compare with his current situation. Ichiro is a leadoff hitter, plain and simple. I'm not whining about Ichiro, he's just not a viable third hitter. I don't see an attack on his character in any of my previous statements. My main beef is that Seattle overpaid Ichiro with his $18 mil per year extension. He wouldn't get that type of coin on the open market. Seattle is the one that treats Ichiro like a franchise player and not the complimentary player he is. You don't build a team around Ichiro. He's not a lead actor but a member of the supporting cast. I don't want to hear about anything like "bad fans blame the misfortunes of their team on their best player". The only thing I'm concerned with is wins and losses. Seattle hasn't been to the playoffs since '01. A guy like Ichiro, 35 in a few weeks, is out of place on a rebuilding team like the Mariners. They have finished last 4 out of the last 5 years. Ichiro's trade value isn't getting any higher. You say Ichiro is marketable, I say a winning team is the ultimate draw.

[Rennie Stennett]

Will Ichiro Play in the WBC ?

I have not heard either way. Does anyone know ? Can we Sticky this thread again ? It's such a great thread.

[Trickyhop]

Ichiro with home run #4 in the bottom of the ninth. M's still fall 9-6 to the Tribe.

I didn't see this before, but I was at that game. His home run ball landed several seats away from where I was sitting. A girl reached out and made a nice catch.

[Rennie Stennett]

Mariners star Ichiro finding form ahead of WBC

By JIM ARMSTRONG, AP Sports Writer

Suzuki batted .364 for Japan in the 2006 tournament and inspired his teammates with displays of emotion rarely seen when he plays for Seattle, a team that has finished last in the American League West standings in four out of the previous five seasons.

Suzuki, one of five major leaguers on Japan's squad, has been batting in the No. 3 spot and will likely remain there for the duration of the WBC.

MYNorthwest.com

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=29&sid=138725

[CandlestickBum]

What's with ex-Mariners bad mouthing Ichiro when they get out of town?

There's been a few guys complain about him being "selfish" and a bad teammate.

[Rennie Stennett]

Ichiro @ the WBC

Baseball-Japan's Ichiro 'depressed' at WBC slump

By Alastair Himmer, Reuters.

The Seattle Mariners outfielder saw his hitless streak stretch to 16 at-bats, including Japan's warm-up games, as he went 0-for-5 against China at Tokyo Dome.

"It's depressing," Suzuki told Japanese media on Friday. "After the game I got picked for a doping test -- things are going from bad to worse."

http://www.reuters.com/article/olymp...47269020090306

[Rennie Stennett]

Japan beats SF Giants in Exhibition

Ichiro singled during a four-run sixth inning to help Japan's World Baseball Classic team beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 in an exhibition game Wednesday in Scottsdale, Arizona.

With Japan trailing 4-2, Ichiro looped a single to right field to load the bases before Munenori Kawasaki doubled off Justin Miller to tie the game.

Norichika Aoki and pinch-hitter Kenji Johjima followed with RBI singles to give Japan a 6-4 lead.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/s...-in-exhibition

Japan begins Classic second-round play on Sunday in San Diego. Japan will play the Chicago Cubs in a final tuneup in Arizona on Thursday.

[Rennie Stennett]

Ichiro and Japan at the WBC

Japan 5, Korea 3 (10)

Ichiro hits a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning Monday.

http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/...y=wbc&team=jpn

Ichiro Suzuki, RF 6 AB's, 4 Hits, 2 RBI's,

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index...int_1&mode=box

Ryan Divish, TNT:

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/mari..._s_pretty_good

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro Suzuki, RF 6 AB's, 4 Hits, 2 RBI's,

And yet, just as in '06, he STILL did not win the MVP award . . .


He wins the Championship game, and yet gets nothing!


For those who did not see the game, after Korea tied it up 3-3 in the 9th inning, Ichiro had his chance in the 10th, with 2 on. He fought off several pitches, as he is apt to do, waiting for just the right pitch. That one came on the 8th pitch, hitting it up the middle to knock in the winning 2 runs!

[dominik]

Because the rest of his tournament was bad.
Hope he doesn|t start to decline, the WBC was not good by him.