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 How
many players have an "off-season" batting .345?
Probably only Ichiro Suzuki. Actually, the right
fielder's batting numbers were rather consistent except
for a slight drop in his batting average. During the
early part of the season, Ichiro was more impressive than
ever, hitting near .400 for the first few months while
setting a record for most at-bats without striking out
(216). But during the summer, he slumped as if his bat
was corked with kryptonite, batting .312 after the
all-star break.Preferring
to be called by his given name, Ichiro is arguably the
finest Japanese baseball player of the last twenty years.
Probably the only batter who could reasonably hit over
.400 in Japan (it has never been done),  few records seem safe when compared to
Ichiro's natural talent and the possibility that the
twenty-four year old has his best years in front of him.
The
winner of four consecutive Pacific League batting titles,
Ichiro has compiled a .348 career batting average with 72
home runs, 803 hits, 126 doubles, 155 steals and 317 RBIs
since 1992.
Ichiro's
talent was not spotted immediately. Previous Orix
manager, Shozo Doi, did not like Ichiro's "leave me
alone and I'll do fine" attitude. Doi kept the young
rebel on the minor league team for parts of his first two
seasons. Akira Ogi, who replaced Doi, brought Ichiro up
to the varsity team where he hit .385 over 130 games and
broke the single season for most hits (210).
While
averaging over 500 at bats a season, Ichiro will
potentially qualify for the all-time batting average list
(which he will probably lead by a wide margin) after four
more seasons (minimum of 4,000 at bats). It's quite
possible that Ichiro will earn the title of career
batting king in the same year he becomes a free agent.
With that title, and at the age of twenty-eight, will
Ichiro have anything left to prove in Japan?
The
way in which Ichiro became in almost overnight sensation
invites comparison to another young Pacific League
prodigy, Hideo Nomo. Winning the 1990 PL Rookie of the
Year award while leading the league in wins (18),
strikeouts (287), and ERA (2.91), Nomo easily won the
1990 MVP and Rookie of the Year awards. From that year
until 1994, Nomo led the league in wins and strikeouts.
If Nomo dominated with his fastball, Ichiro did the same
with his bat.
The
comparison is apt considering speculation that Ichiro
wants to play in the major leagues. In the summer of
1997, a few publications (of varying repute) claimed that
Ichiro had plans to leave Japan after becoming a free
agent.
Although
Ichiro angrily denied the rumors, so troubling was the
news that, as quoted by John DeBellis of the Asahi
Evening News (July 25, 1997), one high ranking PL
official said that Ichiro's speculated departure
"will be the time Japanese baseball as we know it
lives or dies." Such is the importance of Ichiro,
both as a player and an icon.
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