Appreciating Ichiro

I have had 4 baseball players I have looked up to in my life as a baseball fan. The first is Derek Jeter, being a Yankees fan this is self explanatory. The second being Bernie Williams. Bernie in his prime made baseball look easy both on the field and when he was hitting. In fact at one point I loved Bernie more than Jeter. But that is neither here nor there. Then there is Mike Mussina. Mussina is my favorite Yankee pitcher of all time, not Andy not Mo, but Moose. Mussina never had the "gas" to overwhelm a batter, but instead relied on his intelligence and was methodical. Oh and he had the coolest pickoff move I have seen. One that I tried to imitate when I would pitch for my little league team. The fourth player is Ichiro. I never got to see Pete Rose play, but he is the true hit king and arguably one of the best best hitters in baseball history. Watching Ichiro play, is the closest thing to Pete Rose some of us will ever see. And at age 42, what Ichiro is doing needs to be appreciated.

Before there was Lin-Sanity or Tebow Mania, there was Ichiro. Ichiro was widely considered the most prized possession of the Japanese baseball leagues. In his career in the Japanese Leagues, Ichiro collected 1,278 hits, a .353 average, oh and a pultrey 7 gold gloves. Many MLB teams wanted him, with the Mariners winning out for his services in 2001. In a time where social media was not even thought about, it is impressive how Ichiro Mania spread. ESPN talked about him in the lead up to the baseball season, Sports illustrated put him in the cover. Even non baseball fans knew that his arrival was a big deal. Maybe it was because we had never seen him play, outside of the MLB All Star-Japanese All Star game in 1998, where he won MVP. Maybe it was the ever growing Asian population in the United States, whatever the case everyone wanted to see Ichiro.

Unlike these flash in the pan players that have one or two good seasons, Ichiro did not just fade away. He lived up to the hype. In his first three seasons he batted over .300, collected 200 + hits, and made the all star game. Yet it was his fourth season, he truly broke out. Ichiro had 262 hits, breaking the 84 year old record held by George Sisler. While he has had some terrible years as he has gotten older, that can be blamed more on age than his skill set. For a game that is so dependent on homeruns to draw audiences, it is amazing that a man more known for his singles and slapping the ball into the gap has become. You see when Ichiro was at his best, he made baseball beautiful. It did not matter that he was not a power hitter and better at the defense than with his bat(10 gold gloves), Ichiro's prime in the MLB was something to behold.

There are players that are so damn good, so iconic that they should be inducted into their respective sport's Hall of Fame while they are still active. Ichiro is apart of that class. Listing his accomplishments is eye opening. He is a 10 time all star, 10 time gold glove winner, has won 3 silver slugger awards, a 2 time batting champion, Al Rookie of the Year, and Al MVP. He holds the record for most hits in a season, the record for most singles in a season. Oh and he has 4,000 hits in his career(MLB and Japanese league combined). He is the greatest baseball player to never win the World Series. Yes, some will try a and away that Ichiro never won the big one. That he was a regular season player. But Ichiro does not need a championship to prove his greatness. He is a living baseball legend, championship or not.

Little Leaguers love to imitate baseball players. Be it an attempt at a Derek Jeter Jump Throw or a bat flip that makes Jose Bautista blush, if their favorite major leaguer is doing it, kids will try to imitate it. For those who played baseball in the early 2000s, there was one movement that everyone tried to imitate. That was Ichiro's batting stance. Everyone has tried it at one point or another. MLB even ran a ad entitled "epidemic" where ordinary people doing ordinary things imitate the stance. The pulling up of the sleeve, the pointing at the pitcher with the bat, the inward bended knee. Everyone tried to imitate that stance. Yet it could never truly be duplicated. Those that would try to imitate it, would often fail. There was only one person that could master the stance. Like any great artist, Ichiro was the only one to do it without looking foolish.  He is the master of the stance and like all the greats, we will never see again.

The text message from my friend simply read, "we got Ichiro" it was the 2012 season and the Yankees were fighting to win the division. To make the playoffs and win the World Series, they needed another component to get there. Someone to take them over the top. In Seattle, the team was struggling and likely not to make the playoffs. Ichiro as he had gotten older had asked to be traded, that he did not want to take up a spot for a better, younger player. The Mariners obliged and sent him to New York. Even though he was older and not the Ichiro we had all come to know, it was still Ichiro. The legend had finally come to New York. The man that had remained a bit of a mythological creature had finally arrived in the East Coast. You see West Coasters, you had been selfish. You had Ichiro all to yourselves, sure us in the East Coast appreciated his greatness, but that was from afar. We did not truly know his personality or his sense of humor. Had rarely seen him at a normal hour at night. He was still a little bit of a mystery for us that lived on the east coast, till he came to New York.

While he only spent 2.5 years in New York, Ichiro will hold a special place in Yankee fans hearts. In fact in his first public act as a Yankee, Ichiro said that he would not wear his famous 51. The iconic number that he had worn since coming over from Japan  would be switched from 51 to 31. With a single answer he had Yankees fans hearts in the palm of his hand. You see Ichiro could not wear 51, because he knew how beloved Bernie Williams was by the fans. Ichiro could have worn the number and no one would have mind. There are other moments that will stand out when Ichiro was a Yankee. His first home run with the Yankees, the first post season homerun he ever hit was while wearing pinstripes. But the play that truly stands out is in the ALDS against Baltimore in 2012. On a play at the plate Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters tried to tag Ichiro, yet Ichiro contorted his body to dodge the first tag, then as Wieters came for the second attempt at a tag, Ichiro contorted his body again and tucked the plate. It was a play that someone at Ichiro's shouldn't be able to make, yet here he was making it. Just Ichiro being Ichiro.

There have been times where legendary sports figures try to hold on. They are past their perceived prime. So the player latches onto a desperate team. Montana on the Cheifs, Jordan on the Wizards, Akeem on the Raptors, the list goes on. When Ichiro signed with the Marlins, many that had followed his career felt sad. Here was the legend going to the franchise known for poor attendance and an owner more concerned with conserving money than spending it. The Marlins needed to change the headlines so what better than bringing in the legendary and beloved Ichiro. Of course the move was panned with the critics saying that this was a desperate grab for headlines by the Marlins. And for Ichiro it was sad to see the legend go out not in Seattle or even New York, but in a city that did not care about baseball. 

Ichiro is now 42 years old. A man that should have retired and rode off into the sunset. Yet, Ichiro is finding a career resurgence. He is currently batting .336 with 8 RBIs and 5 doubles. He has also shown flashes of the old gold glove Ichiro making homerun saving grabs. But more importantly Ichiro is close to making history. Ichiro sits at 2974 hits, 26 shy of 3,000. It is not a matter of if, but when he hits 3,000. To join the rarefied air of joining that exclusive club. But it is a more important record that Ichiro is chasing.  He is 4 hits away from tying Pete Rose for most hits in baseball history. Of course this is combining both Ichiro's time in Japan and MLB. Still to become baseball's all time hit King at this age solidifies Ichiro's status as one of the best hitters in baseball history.

In his pursuit of 3,000 and the hits record, Ichiro has done something many thought was impossible. Ichiro has made people in Miami care about baseball. Baseball used to be a must tune out topic for radio stations in South Florida. But as Ichiro has inched closer to the records, more and more people are calling in to talk about his greatness. When Ichiro steps I tot he batters box, everyone at Marlins Park remains silent. Eyes trained on the artists getting ready to complete his masterpiece. Everyone, even the most casual of baseball fans, know that they are witnessing greatness personified.

 Perhaps my fondness of Ichiro, stems beyond baseball. Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, I grew up with Ichiro. Grew up watching Ichiro lead his team's against the likes of Jeter's Yankees, Ortiz's Red Sox, Vlad's Angels. He is the last of the transcendent baseball players of this era. Jeter and Mo have retired, Papi is retiring, Barry Bonds is now a hitting coach for the Marlins. All the players most of us grew up watching are fading away. Yet here remains Ichiro Suzuki, chasing history.