Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一朗, Suzuki Ichirō, イãƒ?ロー, born October 22, 1973 in Toyoyama, Nishikasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) is the right fielder for the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball team. He moved to the United States around 2001 after playing for heptad years for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Whenever a Blue Wave granted his release when a 2000 season, Ichiro signed a locate a Tar. He became a number one Japanese-born everyday position player in the Major Leagues.

2004 was his most impressive (offensive) season yet, as he placed many MLB records, including the freshly tons-instance, lone-year Major League record by having 262 hits.

Childhood preparation
At age 7, Ichiro joined his number 1 baseball team & asked his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki (鈴木宣之 Suzuki Nobuyuki), to teach him to exist as the better streaming video player. Them began the day-after-day routine which involved: throwing Fifty pitches hit 200 pitches from either Nobuyuki fielding L diamond balls & Fifty outfield balls, and striking 250-300 pitches from either the machine.

As a Little Leaguer, Ichiro got a word shūchū (集中 — "concentration") written in his glove. By age Twelve, he got placed agent baseball when his goal &, when he apparently shared his father's vision, he did non enjoy their how to videos sessions. Nobuyuki claimed, "Baseball was fun for both of us," however Ichiro late said, "It might have been fun for him, but for me it was a lot like "Star of the Giants," a popular Japanese manga series that told of a young boy's difficult road to success as a professional baseball player, partially due to rigorous training demanded by the father). According to Ichiro, "It bordered in hazing & I personally suffered very much."

When Ichiro joined his junior high school baseball team, his father told the coach, "There are no matter how else practiced Ichiro is, don't ever praise him. I have to produce him spiritually heavy." When he was ready to enter high school, Ichiro was selected by a school with a prestigious baseball program, Nagoya's Aikodai Meiden Kōkō, where, unlike as a professional, Ichiro was primarily a pitcher instead of an outfielder, owing to his exceptionally strong arm. Among the strength drills he performed in training there were hurling car tires and hitting wiffleballs with a heavy shovel. These exercises helped develop his wrists and hips, adding power and endurance to his thin frame. Yet, despite the production of outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the professional draft in November 1991 because many teams were put off by his small size, 5'9", Long hundred pounds (54 kilo). (Whiting, 2004, pp. Two-12)

Career in Japan
Ichiro processed his Pacific League debut within 1992 at the age of Eighteen, however he spent virtually all of his number one 2 seasons by owning the farm team due to his manager's refusal to accept Ichiro's maverick swing. A swing, nicknamed 振り子打法 (furiko dashō) (i personally.e. "pendulum batting style" due to a pendulum-rather motion of a leg, shifting a weight send on when he swung a bat), was considered to last against conventional baseball wisdom, which insisted that the weight must remain on the rearward leg sequentially to hit the ball profits. Inside 1994 he benefited from the arrival of a newly manager world health organization put him in the leadoff spot for the Blue Wave & allowed him to hit how else he wanted. He responded by setting the Japanese only-year record by using 210 hits in 130 games for a so-Pacific League record .385 batting average and won the number one of the record 7 sequentially batting titles. He as well hit Thirteen home runs and experienced Twenty-nine stolen bases, helping him to earn his first of trine straight Pacific League Most Valuable Player awards.

It was in a period of the 1994 year that he began to have "Ichiro" instead of "Suzuki" in his uniform. Suzuki is the 2nd usual last name within Japan, & his manager introduced the idethe as a publicity stunt to help produce a fresh image for what got been a comparatively decrepit team, too as a way to distinguish their rising star. Ab initio, Ichiro disliked & was embarrassed per practice, however per prevent of the year "Ichiro" was a domestic word & he was existence flooded by having endorsement offers. (Whiting, 2004, pp. 13-16)

Within 1995 Ichiro led the Blue Wave to their 1st Pacific League pennant around Dozen years. Additionally to his 2nd batting title, he led a league inside RBIs with 80, hit Twenty-five personal diarrhea, & stole 49 bases. By this period, a Japanese click experienced begun calling him a "Human Batting Machine." A charted season, using Ichiro winning his third straight MVP award, a team defeated a Central League champion Yomiuri Giants in the Japan Series. As a result a 1996 season, playing within an exhibition series against the camping team of Major League Everthing-Stars kindled Ichiro's want to travel to the United States to play in the Major Leagues.

Inside 2000, Ichiro was however a year out of existence eligible gratis professional, however a Blue Wave were there is no yearn among Japan's better teams & would probably non exist as breathe to afford to keep him. Within the move each benevolent & practical, Manager Akira Ogi decided to release Ichiro from either any obligations to the team & allow him to pursue his dream. Fallowing a 2000 year, where Ichiro posted his greatest batting norm (.387), the Pacific League record (U.S.-natural Randy Bass, former Hanshin Tigers player, holds the greatest lone-year batting norm within Japanese baseball history using .389 within 1986), Seattle win the bidding war among Major League teams for the rights to negotiate using him on the contract. Ichiro signed a leash-month, $14 million locate a Old salt & became the 1st Japanese-born everyday position player in the Major Leagues.

Around his nine seasons around Japan, Ichiro was the career .353 batter &, additionally to his hitting accomplishment, won seven Gold Glove Awards.

Career in Major League Baseball
Ichiro's move to the United States was viewed sustaining dandy interest because he was the 1st Japanese position streaming video player to play regularly for a Major League Baseball team. As much as that point, just pitchers from Japan experienced been swimming within a United States &, in a equivalent way that numbers of Japanese teams had considered the 18-month-old Ichiro as well little to draft in 1992, several in the Usa believed he was as well weak to succeed against Major even League pitching or last the yearn 162-game year.

Non merely did he prove he belonged, Ichiro experienced the remarkable 2001 season, accumulating 242 hits (the virtually all by any streaming video player since 1930) and leading the league by owning a .350 batting norm & 56 purloined bases. By mid-year, he got produced striking streaks of 15 & 23 games, been [http://i.cnn.net/si/si_online/covers/images/2001/0528_large.jpg on the cover] of Sports Illustrated, and created the media storm in each sides of the Pacific. Within Seattle, ticket sales (& wins) were higher than ever, fans from either Japan were ingesting $2,000 baseball tours to look at a games, other than 150 Japanese newsperson & lensman were clamoring for access, & "Ichirolls" were existence sold at sushi fill in the ballpark. A flight agents besides benefited from either Ichiro, numerous Ichiro fans were flying within & away from a united states upright to view him play. (Whiting, 2004, pp. 25-31)

Assisted by Major League Baseball's guide to allow Tons-Star voting inside Japan, Ichiro was a foremost cub to lead 100% players inside voting for the All-Star Game. At year's prevent, he won a American League Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year awards, becoming only a 2nd streaming video player around MLB history (fallowing Fred Lynn) to receive both honors in the equivalent year. A few sportswriters criticized his official "rookie" status, saying that his years of experience in the Japanese "major leagues" gave him an unfair benefit all over more cub players world health organization experienced little or even there is no anterior major league personal experience.

Ichiro was too the little joe-instance Gold Glove winner from either 2001 across 2004. His profits has opened a door for more Japanese players rather Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui to enter the Major Leagues.

Continuing a custom he began around Japan, he utilizes his given first name on the back of his uniform instead of his surname, becoming the 1st streaming video player within Major League Baseball to wash soh since Vida Blue.

Ichiro's career is followed closely inside his native Japan, by having national television news software online covering apiece of his at-bat, & by owning favorite tour packages intended for Japanese fans to visit a United States to see his games.

Record-setting 2004 season
Ichiro placed a total of Major League records in the period of the 2004 season: August 26: With the home run off of Kansas City Royals reliever Jeremy Affeldt, Ichiro became the foremost streaming video player witharound Major League history to email 200 hits in every of his number 1 4 seasons. August 28: He became the number one streaming video player inside MLB history to keep close at hand 3 50-hit months around one year. September 17: He broke the major league record sustaining his 199th single of the season in the seventh. Ichiro bettered a modern (post-1900) record of 198 placed by Lloyd Waner of Pittsburgh in 1927. October 1: Ichiro collected his 258th and 259th hits, breaking a record placed by George Sisler with the St. Louis Browns in 1920. His 257th hit too placed a Major League record for virtually all hits on top any quaternion-month span, sustaining 919. October 3: Ichiro completed the 2004 season with 262 hits & an MLB-leading .372 batting norm. His 225 Singles in 2004 shattered the former 100%-era record of 206, placed by Wee Willie Keeler in 1898. Ichiro's 704 at bats fell one short of Willie Wilson's record of 705.

Additionally to these records, Ichiro as well began inside the Everthing-Star Game for the 4th sequentially month, & led totally leadoff hitters in batting norm, on base percentage, and on-base plus slugging.