Ichiro Thread

[Edgartohof]

I just figured that with all of the different ichiro threads floating around, it was about time Ichiro was given a specific thread just for himself. This thread is for anything "Ichiro".

I'll start it off by stating that Ichiro just had another amazing night (or day actually), he went 3-4 with a leadoff homerun in the first and 2 runs.

He is now batting .362 with 185 hits in 116 games (on pace for 253 hits in 159 games - so probably no hits record but pretty close). He is now just 15 hits away from being the first player to have 200 hits in their first 4 seasons.

Just as a side note, ICHIRO is leading the mariners in Slugging pct!!!

Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners' RF,
July 14, 2004 All Star Game against Clemens, Houston, TX---------September 30, 2004-------------------------2001-06 ---BB Ref (http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/suzukic01.shtml)---Ichiro Thread (http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=19524)

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv217/BillBurgess/Player%20Tributes/Image14-3.jpg

Ichiro's Relative Stats: After 2007 season, 7 full seasons.

----Relative BA-----Rel.Slg.-------Rel.Onbase----Rel.ISO-------OPS+
----126 (10th)--------1.03------------114--------------------119 (t 347th)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Fever evaluated Ichiro as an All-Time RFer, in our 3 polls.

Here are the results of our 1st. RF poll, conducted by leecemark, December 8, 2004, 07:48 PM

1) Babe Ruth 210
2) Hank Aaron 189
3) Frank Robinson 163
4) Mel Ott 131
5) Al Kaline 74
6) Tony Gwynn 72
7) Roberto Clemente 71
8) Reggie Jackson 54
9) Paul Waner 52
10) Sam Crawford 49
11) Harry Heilmann 30
12) Pete Rose 12
12) Ichiro Suzuki 12
14) Dave Winfield 9
14) Willie Keeler 9

--other vote getters; Chuck Klein, Tony Oliva, Roger Maris, Kiki Cuyler, Sam Rice, Sam Thompson, Dwight Evans and Sammy Sosa.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the results of our 2nd. poll, conducted by 538280, December 27, 2005, 10:55 AM

We had 15 ballots submitted, and unsurprisingly, Babe Ruth was unanimously elected as our #1 RFer, with Hank Aaron also being a unanimous #2 choice. Frank Robinson and Mel Ott were the clear #3 and #4, but then after that things get really interesting. Here's everyone who received 12 or more points (first place votes in parenthesis):

1. Babe Ruth-180 (15)
2. Hank Aaron-135
3. Frank Robinson-115
4. Mel Ott-99
5. Tony Gwynn-53
6. Sam Crawford-50
7. Reggie Jackson-49
8. Roberto Clemente-42
9. Pete Rose-38
10. Al Kaline-35
11. Paul Waner-22
12. Gary Sheffield-12
----------------------------------------------------------
Here are the results of our 3rd. poll, conducted by Bill Burgess, June 6, 2007, 05:46 PM

1. Babe Ruth - 159
2. Hank Aaron - 145
3. Frank Robinson - 124
4. Mel Ott - 83
5. Paul Waner - 79
6. Reggie Jackson - 67
7. Roberto Clemente - 55
8. Tony Gwynn - 52
9. Sam Crawford - 47
10. Al Kaline - 41
11. Pete Rose - 12.5
12. Gary Sheffield - 12
13. Harry Heilmann - 9
13. Vladimir Guerrero - 9
13. Dave Winfield - 9
16. Ichiro Suzuki - 2.5
17. Willie Keeler - 2

[Edgartohof]

Is there anything this guy can't do? It is only the 2rd inning and he is already 2-2 with (get this) another leadoff homerun in the first inning, 2 runs, and 3 RBI.

Not bad, but there are still 6 more innings to play.

[brewcrew82]

At his current pace (take that for what you will), Ichiro is now on track for a record 262 hits this year... :eek:

[Gaijin]

According to my calculation he's on pace for 259 (he's played in 116 of 118 Mariner games).

33 hits in August so far (.516 avg) puts him in good shape for another 50-hit month.

He's hitting .486 since the all-star break.

Is the record for hits in a season 257? He would have to maintain a blistering pace for the remainder of the season.

September has been Ichiro's least productive month (.283) over his first 3 seasons.

[Edgartohof]

To wrap up the day, Ichiro went 4-4 with a leadoff HR, 2 runs, and 5 RBI!!!

He now has a .366 Avg, .408 OBP, .456 Slg, 189 Hits, 72 Runs, 20 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 44 RBI, 35 BB, 28 SB, and 235 TB. Not a bad year for anyone, and it's only 2/3 of the way through.

[Edgartohof]

Well Ichiro is out on a scary note today, after going 0-1 in the first, he gets hit in the head with a pitch in the third - I sure hope he is all right, but when things like this happen, you just never know. Let's hope the Mariner's use this as a reason to win.

[Zito75]

Yeah that was nasty! I heard he has a mild concussion. Here's to a speedy recovery! :clapping

[Gaijin]

:ughh

The article I read says he suffered a mild concussion and is doubtful for Thursday. Even if he only misses a game or two, it might be just enough to prevent him from getting another 50-hit month. I guess this too is just part of the game, though. I hope he'll be OK by game time tomorrow.

[Edgartohof]

I know it has been mentioned before, but what do you think it will take for Ichiro to make it to the HOF?

Personally I think I will just take him playing the requisite 10 years, even if he slows down some.

[Edgartohof]

Luckily with the game getting rained out yesterday, and with Ichiro likely playing today, he will not have lost another game of play, as the game will be made up as a double header later - and the last time Ichiro was in a double header, he went 6-6 (5-5 and 1-1).

[Edgartohof]

I just posted these numbers in another thread, but I felt they belonged here too.


Ichiro's 4 year average

.337/.381/.445

217 hits
108 runs
27 2B
7 3B
9 HR
57 RBI
37 SB
42 BB

[Edgartohof]

Well the Mariner's lost again, but Ichiro had another fair night.

In his first game since getting beaned in the head (actually he didn't miss any games because the last one was rained out), he went 3-4 with 1 run - not bad.

His average is now up to.369 and he is on pace for 256 hits in 159 games - he could do it but it will be close.

[Gaijin]

I was going to wait till the end of the game to post, but already Ichiro has a single double and triple in today's game so far.

In other news Bonds went 4-4 today to raise his average to .372. He's from a different galaxy apparantly.

[wlh99raiders]

ichiro just got another hit, an infield single, he is now 4-5 in the seventh inning. i believe he's at 196 hits for the year now. correct me if i'm wrong.

[wlh99raiders]

here is an article from espn.com about ichiro's pursuit of sislers record:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=schwarz_alan&id=1861009

[Edgartohof]

So the Mariner's lose another close one (whooda thunk?), but (as if I even have to say) Ichiro still had a tremendous day.

The final for him was:

4-7 with 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 7 TB, and 2 RBI

Ichiro 4 MVP!!!

He now has 196 hits, 75 R, .372 BA, .413 OBP, .465 Slg, and 245 TB

With his run total getting up there too, he could be the first player not only to have 200 hits in the first 4 seasons, but to have 200 hits and 100 runs.

Ichiro also has over 100 RC this season - on pace for ~134

He is now on pace for 259 hits this season, and if he keeps this tear up, he could even get 258 hits in 154 games - i.e. no asterisk next to his name.

[Edgartohof]

Since the day before I started this thread, over 5 games, Ichiro has:

Raised his average up 13 points to .372( by batting .700!!! this week), had 14 hits (in only 20 AB), 7 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR (both leadoff HR's in 1st innings), 8 RBI, 23 TB, 0 SO!!!, 2 BB, 3 SB.

This all with only playing in 4 full games out of the 5, as he got hit in the head, and he still came back and has done as much damage.

If that does not deserve another player of the week award I do not know what does

[Mariner DNA]

WOW. If he can keep this up, he'll be flirting with .400 by the last two weeks of the season.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro is going to get one last chance to get his second hit of the game, so far he is 1-4 :eek:

[Edgartohof]

The final - Ichiro went 1-5 (although he did reach on a fielder's choice in his last at bat - almost like 2 hits). At least the Mariner's won.

Ichiro is still on pace to get 258 hits in 159 games.

[Edgartohof]

Sorry I took so long to report, but for yesterday's game, Ichiro only went 1-4, as the Mariner's were slaughtered by Lou Piniella and Devil Rays 9-0. Let's hope Ichiro (and the Mariner's as a whole) do better tonight.

As a side note, it is kind nice that Piniella will be there for Buhner's induction ceremony into the Mariner's HOF (even if he is on the wrong bench).

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro went 1-4 last night, but tonight with 199 hits, he is looking at becoming the 1st player to have 200 hits in each of his first 4 seasons. Good Luck :D

[Edgartohof]

Yesterday Ichiro went 0-4 with 1 run

Tonight, Ichiro was 0-4 going into the ninth. He has not had 2 consecutive 0 hit nights since April 28th and 29th. So sitting at 199 hits, and being the leadoff man in the bottom of the ninth, what does he do? Hits a first pitch home run to right center field, to become the 1st player to have 200 hits in each of their first four seasons - and he did it with, as long-time Mariners announcer Rick Rizz puts it, "with flair".

[Edgartohof]

If Ichiro keeps up pace (or even if he slows down a bit), these are some categories that he will have been top ten/top3/led in in his 4 seasons:

BA - top ten 4/top three 2/led 2
OBP - 2/1/0
Games - 1/0/0
At bats - 4/4/2
Runs - 3/1/0
Hits - 4/4/2
Total bases - 1/0/0
Times on Base - 3/0/0
3B - top ten 3/1/0
SB - 4/2/1

[Gaijin]

And with 2 more games to go. I think that no one has ever had 3 50-hit months in one year, correct?

:gt

[Edgartohof]

I could break the numbers down into the individual games for today, but I am lazy so I won't, but here goes. The numbers for both of the games of the doubleheader today (the first at Safeco Field) are as follows:

4 H in 10 AB, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB (I also should mention the 3 SO's, but I don't want to)

So all in all, not a bad night, oh and did I mention, yeah he did reach 50 hits for this month, and yeah that's his 3rd 50+ hit month this year, and yeah he is the only person known to have three 50 hit months in a year.

P.S. With his stolen base tonight, this is his 4th consecutive year with 30+ SB's

[Gaijin]

Just out of curiosity, since there's two more games left, does anyone know the all-time record for hits in a month?

[Edgartohof]

The finals for today are as follows:

Ichrio went - 3-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1HR

That means he now has 53 hits this month, needs one more to tie the record for hits in a month since 1972 (by Rod Carew, and tied by Alex Rodriguez).

In 129 games, Ichiro has already surpassed his hits total from 2002 (208 in 157 games).

This is now his 4th year with at least 8 HR's (may not be a lot, but at least it is something)

Also is 1 RBI away from having his fourth 50+ RBI season

(I am sorry, but I had incorrect information here - check my next post for revised information)

He is also back on pace to get 258 hits (in 159 games), and 100 runs

Oh, and the Mariner's won 5-4 over the KC Royals

[Edgartohof]

Well, it looks like the Mariner's are finally putting it together.

Ichiro (who has had it together all along) wen: 3-5 with 2 RBI

That means he has 56 hits in August. He also has tied his 2002 total for RBI, and his 2003 total hits and RBI (he has had at least 50 RBI, all 4 years).

So, his August finals are as follows:

123 AB, 56 H, 21 R, 3 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 77 TB, 6 BB, 4 SB, 1 HBP, .455 BA, .484 OBP, and .626 SLG.

[Gaijin]

Sisler Countdown: 45

If Ichiro can follow up 56 in August with 45 in September, he will tie Sisler's single-season hit record!

[Edgartohof]

So at this point, 45 to tie the record, but if he goes that far, why not set the record, so for that he needs 46 hits. And if he does not want an asterisk next to his name, he needs to do it in 24 games, that is an average of 1.917 hits/game - and he has been hitting above that pace for the second half of the season (~2.07 hits/game).

But for those who do not care if he gets the record in 154 games (the same amount of time it took Sisler), then, Ichiro will only need to average 1.6 hits/game over the next 29 games (for 159 games total) - something entirely possible.

[Gaijin]

2 for 3 today with a run, a stolen base and a base on balls (intentional).
Another fine day for Ichiro :) , but the Mariners lost :ughh .

[Edgartohof]

So at this point, with 214 hits, and 44 hits to set the record. These are the paces that he will have to keep to attain it:

44 hits in 23 games = 1.92 hits/game (154 games total)

44 hits in 28 games= 1.58 hits/game (159 games total)

August pace: 2.00 hits/game (56 hits in 28 games)

September pace: 2.00 hits/game (2 hits in 1 game) :laugh

So again, it is something totally attainable for Ichiro at this point, but we will not know for sure until the end.

[Gaijin]

Today Ichiro went 3 for 5 to raise his average to .374, the highest it's been all season. He also had a run, an rbi and a stolen base. He has multiple hits in 4 straight games and 6 of the last 7 (4 of which were 3-hit games).

The Mariners lost, if anyone still cares at this point in the season.

Edgartohof: I hate to nitpick, but in your previous post you mentioned the pace Ichiro would need to get the hits in 154 games. However, I think you are counting Ichiro's games, not team games. Since he has sat out a couple times this season he has less games than the total team games. A purist would probably say that every team game counts. On the other hand, a 154 game season would mean (I assume) that there are more days off and hence players might not need the days off like they do in a 162-game schedule (although in the old days travel probably took longer, but the teams were less spread out geographically; whether that evens things out I'm not sure). I guess it just shows that it's hard to compare feats from different eras.

I checked in Baseball Reference (http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sislege01.shtml) and Sisler apparantly played in every game that year, so maybe individual games rather than team games is the proper measure.

[Edgartohof]

Thank you Gaijin for pointing out my flaw, luckily for me, Ichiro has only sat out 1 game this season, so I was not too far off.

So here are some revised numbers:

Assuming Ichiro gets (or is forced) to sit out one more game, by the time the Mariner's have played 154, Ichiro would have played 152 (153 if he doesn't sit out), so to set the record of 258 hits in that time, Ichiro will have to hit 41 hits in 20 games (2.05 hits/game) or 41 hits in 21 games (1.95 hits/game). As of yet, Ichiro's season pace is not there to get it in only 154 games, but his season pace is lower because of the 1st half of the season, and his post break pace is climbing.

As of yet, Ichiro has 217 hits in 133 games (again the teams total - Ichiro has only played in 132 so far) and that is ~1.63 hits/game - not on pace

Pre All-Star pace - 119 hits in 86 games ~1.38 hits/game
Post All-Star pace - 98 hits in 47 games ~2.08 hits/game (and rising)

So Ichiro's pace for the 2nd half of the season is right where it needs to be.

[Gaijin]

I really don't think Melvin would sit him now anymore, not while he's got a realistic chance of getting the record. Right now he's in the zone.

Although I guess he only sat out 1 game entirely, I recall once or twice that he didn't start, but was used as a pinch hitter in the late innings. And he also left early that one time after getting beaned.

[Mariner DNA]

Yeah, I don't think Ichiro is going to get a day of rest. He'll never say to the Manager "I really need the day off." Melvin just has to figure out when Ichiro needs a day off, and with Ichiro's streak I don't think he'll get one, nor do I think he wants one. :D

[Chisox73]

In Chicago tonight,Ichiro through 6 innings has gone 3-for-3 with 3 singles and 2 runs scored. That leaves him 36 hits shy of George Sisler's single season record of 257 hits.

The Mariners left the bases loaded in the 6th and are trailing Chicago 7-2.

[Chisox73]

Ichiro hits one up the middle in the 7th inning to go 4-4.

White Sox starter Mark Buehrle after the 3rd hit just looked at Ichiro and just smiled like,"You're killing me out here."

After his 4th hit,Buehrle doffed his cap to Ichiro to salute him on his performance.

[Gaijin]

Make it 4 for 4 now and add an rbi!

He's on fire.

However, the White Sox as a team are really manhandling the Mariners.

[Chisox73]

A single over Paul Konerko's head off Jeff Bajenaru gives Ichiro a 5 for 5 night.

The White Sox fans gave Ichiro a standing ovation after his hit.

Great job tonight Ichiro.

[Gaijin]

5 for 5!

There's only one thing left to say:

We're not worthy!
We're not worthy!
We're not worthy!

:clapping

[Chisox73]

The man is just simply amazing.That's all I can say about Ichiro.

I hope he breaks the record.

[shigelojoe]

During the game (as televised over here in Seattle), the announcers noted that Ichiro needs to bat only .297 for the rest of the season to break the hits record. On the other hand, Ichiro would have to bat .509 the rest of the season to break .400.

For both of those achievements, it was assumed that Ichiro would keep getting ABs at the rate he has been getting them; if he gets walked more often, he'll have to up those rates. Of course, walking Ichiro doesn't accomplish as much as walking a slugger like Barry Bonds, since Ichiro was pretty much going to end up on first anyway. ;)

Go Ichiro! :D

[Edgartohof]

This guy is beyond amazing. He is everything that is good in baseball today (okay, so maybe not everything - but close :D ). he goes out there night after night, and puts on a show, both at the plate and on the field, the latter part being greatly shadowed by his offensive accomplishments, but it is still there.

While nobody really cares, the Mariners lost :eek: , and on a more personal note, Edgar got a stolen base.

[Mariner DNA]

Unbelievable. Ichiro is just AMAZING. This entire year for Ichiro is taking me back to the George Brett days, and the John Olerud days when he flirted with .400 -- thank god for it, too. This season has been a total disaster. And I can't imagine it without Ichiro's streak. :cringes:

For the last month or so, and I think most fervent Mariners' fans agree, the consensus was that Ichiro would eventually break the record for most hits in a season this year. What I'm more excited about is the possibility of Ichiro hitting .400 or better. And at this point, that is not impossible for him to do. Call me an extremist, but that's what I'm rooting for.

[element1151]

Ichiro is the only thing that keeps me watching the games now!

[Gaijin]

Welcome to Baseball Fever, element1151!

Just one hit today for Ichiro, but at least he extended his hit streak to 11 games.

[element1151]

Thanks for the welcome.

1-4 for Ichiro today. 34 more hits to break record.

[Gaijin]

2 for 4 yesterday.

14 hits through 6 games in September, which is the same number of hits he had through the first 6 games of August. Is another 50-hit month coming?

He's batting .560 so far this month. All hits save one have been singles.

[Edgartohof]

With Ichiro getting 2 hits last night, he has already had 71 muliple hit games this year.

broken down, he has:

22 games with 0 hits

45 games with 1 hit

40 games with 2 hits

23 games with 3 hits

5 games with 4 hits

3 games with 5 hits

All in all, quite impressive - although a few more 0 hit games than I would like

[Mariner DNA]

I think we all know Ichiro's hit patterns by now. He won't have another 0-4 game tomorrow. I think he'll take off once again, for a few games at least.

[Gaijin]

Ouch. 2 Ofers in a row.

It's still far from a sure thing that he'll break the record.

The Mariners have 21 games left. It took 24 games for Ichiro to reach 28 hits at the beginning of this season, and 25 games to get more than 28. Reaching the record in 154 games is looking even more unlikely - he would need more than 2 hits per game.

:noidea

[prof93]

Some info on the man Ichiro is chasing

George Sisler:

In 1920, Sisler played every inning of 154 games and had a major league record 257 hits en route to hitting .407. Among his 399 total bases were 49 doubles, 18 triples and 19 home runs. He went hitless in only 23 games and finished the campaign batting .442 in August and .448 in September.

According to research by retrosheet.org, Sisler had 10 50-hit months during his career, the most by any player (Ichiro has four career 50-hit months).

Sisler was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1922 when he had 246 hits and led the league in batting average with an American League record .420.


In 1939, Sisler became the first first baseman inducted into the Hall of

[Edgartohof]

Recently Ichiro has been skidding offensively, but picked it up tonight, going 2-4. But what was more impressive about his performance tonight, was his defense. He had an outfield assist, and was part of a double play.

Let's hope that was the end of his September slump.

[Edgartohof]

Ouch. 2 Ofers in a row.


An interesting note is that he has not gone hitless in three consecutive games since some time in 2002 (I'll try to get back on an exact date).

[Gaijin]

Finally a multi-hit game again. Ichiro had 2 hits and should have had 3 but he was robbed by a bad call. The replay showed that the ball was still a good three feet or so away from the firstbaseman's glove when Ichiro stepped on the bag, but he was called out nonetheless. Melvin came out to argue but it was no good.

Anyway, hopefully this means he's going to get on a hot streak again, and hopefully one hit won't be the difference when it's all over.

[Gaijin]

A few things are apparant now. By going 9 for 43 (.209) over the last 11 games, including 5 Ofers, it would take nothing short of a miracle for Ichiro to tie Sisler at 154 games, much less surpass him. It would require 18 hits in 5 or 6 games, depending on whether you count by team games or individual games. There's probably guys that have gotten that many hits over that few games in the history of baseball, but I imagine it is a very rare occurance. It's also apparant that he'll have to pick up the pace to even tie the record within 162 games. I think he needs to have at least 2 or 3 games with 3 or more hits, something he hasn't done since September 4, when he went 5 for 5.

But I think it's still very exiting. Because it looks like it might come down to the wire, which adds drama. Can he or can't he?

[Edgartohof]

well, just to keep us on the edge of our seats, Ichiro went 5-5 tonight with a run. So he is just barely on pace for the record, if he plays 162, also, with this outburst, I think it interesting to note, that he is also about on pace for another 50 hit month...that is as long as he does not have any more "ofers".

Can he do it? I don't know, but I sure love watching him try.

Good luck Ichiro!!! :clapping

[Gaijin]

Story Here (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sea/news/sea_news.jsp?ymd=20040922&content_id=866670&vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp)

By going 5 for 5 he has now surpassed his own hits total for 2001, when he won MVP. It is also the most anyone has had since 1930.
:clapping

He became the fifth player in Major League history to have four five-hit games in the same season.
:clapping

I must admit he had me a little worried there until this game.

Although he appears to be cool, an article in the Japanese press quotes him as admitting that in reality he feels a lot of pressure, and sometimes feels like he wants to heave.

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro went 4-6, with 3 runs, and 1 RBI.

11 hits in 3 days - not bad.

he now has 247 hits, in 152 games (played in 151 - sat out 1), while he probably won't get 10/11 hits in the next too days (:laugh), he still has a shot at the record, in 160/161 games - it will just be accompanied with an asterisk (booh!!!).

Ichiro's stats:

151 G, 660 AB, 96 R, 247 H, 211 1B (a new ML record - any century), 23 2B, 5 3B, 8 HR, 56 RBI, 304 TB, 46 BB, 56 SO, 35 SB, 10 CS, .374 BA, .416 OBP, .460 Slg.

[Edgartohof]

I just felt like posting something, so here goes:

there are a total of 46 players in MLB history to have at least 1 season with 225+ hits. Of them, 28 are currently in the HOF. Of the 18 players, not in the Hall, 2 are still active (Ichiro and Darren Erstad). 15 of the remaining 16, only had 1 season with 225+ hits; the only retired player with more than one is Joe Jackson with 2, and he is ineligible.

So all in all, there are 12 players who had 2 or more seasons of 225 or more hits. Of them, all 10 eligibly retired players are in the HOF.

While this is more or less another way to show that Ichiro deserves to be in the Hall, like I said at the beginning of the post, I just wanted something to type, so if you are some crazy poster that doesn't think some bat flailing, singles hitting, phenomenon deserves to be in the HOF, don't think too far into my post. If the previous statement does not cover you, then by all means, delve deep into my post, and extract some other grain of information from it, that may have something to do with the topic, or even if it doesn't.

[Gaijin]

I just felt like posting something, so here goes:

there are a total of 46 players in MLB history to have at least 1 season with 225+ hits. Of them, 28 are currently in the HOF. Of the 18 players, not in the Hall, 2 are still active (Ichiro and Darren Erstad). 15 of the remaining 16, only had 1 season with 225+ hits; the only retired player with more than one is Joe Jackson with 2, and he is ineligible.

So all in all, there are 12 players who had 2 or more seasons of 225 or more hits. Of them, all 10 eligibly retired players are in the HOF.

While this is more or less another way to show that Ichiro deserves to be in the Hall, like I said at the beginning of the post, I just wanted something to type, so if you are some crazy poster that doesn't think some bat flailing, singles hitting, phenomenon deserves to be in the HOF, don't think too far into my post. If the previous statement does not cover you, then by all means, delve deep into my post, and extract some other grain of information from it, that may have something to do with the topic, or even if it doesn't.

Do you think that his seven consecutive batting titles in Japan should even be a consideration? Or should only his MLB career be considered? It's still too early to say for sure, but I suspect if he continues to have the career he's having he could probably get in considering only MLB achievements.

By the way he's 1 for two so far today. He's down to single digit range.

[Gaijin]

2 for 3 now, with a sac fly. Ichiro moves past Cobb for 7th all time!

:clapping

[Gaijin]

So 2 for 4 today with 2 runs, a sac fly, 1 rbi and an intentional walk.

Ichiro now has 96 runs. It would be somewhat ironic if he were to get the hits record but fail to score 100 runs for the first time since coming to the majors.

[Gaijin]

Well, the Mariners just finished their 154th game of the season. Ichiro went 1 for 5 with 2 rbis. So that would give Ichiro the following final statistics if it were a 154-game season:


669 AB, 98 runs, 250 hits, 23 doubles, 5 triples, 8 HR, 59 rbis, 307 TB, 47 BB, 57 SO, 35 SB, 10 CS, .415 OBP, .459 SLG, .374 BA

250 hits would be tied for 5th all time with Rogers Hornsby's 1922 season and Chuck Klein's 1930 season.

[Zito75]

Not bad. He has a good chance of getting the record, IMO. It's only going to take a couple 3-3 days, and that's it! Good Luck Ichi!!!

[Mariner DNA]

This is a wierd offense we have. I haven't seen too many teams that rely on singles to win ball games...

[Gaijin]

The offense certainly has been showing some signs of life lately though, hasn't it. It was awful for most of the season, but now the bats seem to have come alive in time for the Mariners to act as spoilers against the Angels and Rangers. Case in point: they beat the Rangers today 9-0. Ichiro was held to 1 hit, but that's the minimum pace he needs to be on at least.

[Gaijin]

I got the feeling that today's going to be the day.

I predict Ichiro will get 3 or more hits today (9/29) to tie or surpass the all-time single-season hits record.

That is all.

[Gaijin]

Ugh. :ughh So much for my prophetic abilities.

But now (10/30) he has pulled within one hit of a tie! I'm quite confident he'll surpass the record now. He's also got a 10-game hitting streak going.

:cool:

[Gaijin]

There's 257!

:clapping

Bottom of the first inning, pitcher Ryan Drese, count 0-2, chopper over the head of 3rd baseman Hank Blalock.

[shigelojoe]

258! Good Job Ichiro!

[Zito75]

http://espn-att.starwave.com/media/mlb/2004/1001/photo/la_ichiro2_skirm.jpg

[Gaijin]

An article about the Sisler family, who showed a lot of class I think in coming out to watch Ichiro and congratulate him.10/01/2004 11:53 PM ET
A 'proud' moment for Sisler's family
Relatives on hand to see Ichiro break record
By Jim Street / MLB.com

http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/images/2004/10/02/ctg7OpBZ.jpg
Ichiro Suzuki (left) is congratulated by
George Sisler's daughter, Frances, on Friday.
(Jim Bryant/AP)

SEATTLE -- Three generations of the George Sisler family came to Safeco Field on Friday to witness -- and applaud -- the end of an 84-year-old Major League record dear to their hearts.
The family patriarch set the all-time single-season hit record in 1920 when he had 257 hits for the St. Louis Browns. Bill Terry challenged the record in 1929 with 254 hits and Lefty O'Doul made a run the following year, also ending up with 254 hits.

But Sisler's record has rested comfortably ever since -- until this season.

Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki used speed, bat control, a strong mind and healthy body to challenge, and eventually catch, one of the oldest records in the book.

Ichiro entered Friday night's series opener against the Rangers with 256 hits and promptly bounced a single over the head of Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock. Two innings later, Ichiro hit a hard grounder up the middle for his record-breaking 258th hit.

The Sisler family, flown in by the Mariners for the three-game series, watched from the Commissioner's box near the first base dugout when Ichiro tied and then broke the record.

Two hours earlier, they were sitting at a table in the Safeco Field interview room.

"We are here to celebrate baseball and my grandfather," said Ric Sisler. "There are mixed feelings. I'm very proud of my grandfather's accomplishments in baseball, but records are made to be broken."

Along with Ric were his mom and George Sisler's only daughter, Frances, grandsons Peter Drochelman and William "Bo" Drochelman, and great-grandson Brian Drochelman.

"My grandfather really respected the game of baseball," Bo Drochelman said. "He cherished it and he played every minute to the hilt. He was dedicated to the game, dedicated to hard work and it would make him proud that the same kind of person is moving toward his record."

Sisler once held the AL record for the longest consecutive-game hitting streak -- 41 games in 1922. He was still alive when Joe DiMaggio shattered the record with a 56-game streak in 1941.

"When Joe DiMaggio broke the record someone asked my grandfather how he felt about it," Peter Drochelman said. "He said, 'I think it's great and couldn't happen to a nicer guy.' In this instance, he would be saying the same kind of thing about Ichiro."

Now 81 years old, Frances has fond memories of her father, considered by some as the greatest first baseman to ever play the game, and certainly one of the nicest to play it.

"I am delighted to be here," she said. "I had it wonderful growing up. I had three brothers and was the only girl in the family, so I ignored baseball pretty much. My father was a gentleman and I love the fact they called him 'Gentleman George,' because he was such a gentleman. From what I have been told, Ichiro also is a gentleman."

As they reminisced inside a room full of national and international media, the Sisler offspring talked of George being so modest that he refused to talk about his own career.

"My brother and I would try to get stories out of him about his own exploits and he wouldn't budge," Bo said. "He would just never tell stories about himself. He might tell stories about other great players he played against, but he wouldn't talk about himself."

And there was so much to talk about. George Sisler played against Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. He was the American League Most Valuable Player in 1922, when he batted .420 -- still the highest average ever in the AL.

As the oldest grandson, there were times when Bo received special privileges.

One of those times was when his retired grandfather and Branch Rickey were in the living room talking about which players they thought were potential Major League hitters and those that weren't.

"If I had a tape recorder at that point, I probably could have sold that tape for a lot of money," Bo said. Brian Drochelman, 30, Bo's son and George's great grandson, said, "My great-grandfather passed away the year before I was born so I didn't have a chance to know him. But I recently have been able to read some of the stories that have been written on him and to learn what a great person he was."

So great was Sisler that Cobb -- one of the roughest players in the game when he played -- went out of his way to be a gentleman around him.

"Maybe it was because of who my grandfather was on the field and as a person," Bo said, "but whenever they played against each other in St. Louis, [Cobb] would always come over to my grandfather and ask if my grandmother was in the stands.

"He respected her so much he was the ultimate gentleman when he talked to them."

Cobb reportedly once said that Sisler might have been the only player better than him and Sisler's one weakness was, "He was too much of a gentleman. When I went into a base, my spikes were up and if the guy was in the way, he was in trouble. If George was going into a base and it looked like he might hurt [the defender], he would back off.

"You have to admire a man like that."

Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Maybe somewhat late, but I didn't have the chance to go on the internet until now.

Congrats Ichiro.

I love these moments.

[Zito75]

Thanks for sharing that article! Nice! I read that Ty Cobb "built" Sisler from the ground up. Very cool stuff!

[Gaijin]

No sweat.

I'm really looking forward to next year.

BTW, check out Ichiro's Splits (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/stats/mlb_individual_player_splits.jsp?playerID=400085&statType=1).

He hit .429 :eek: after the all-star break. He has said that he is now a better hitter than he used to be, and I think it is not just an idle boast. He said he used to hit, but not really understand why he was hitting, and now he understands why, if that makes any sense.

Other factoids about his season include:
He had more hits in August than April and June combined.
He hit .404 against lefties (most hitters hit better against the opposite handed pitchers, I don't know why this does not hold true for Ichiro, it has been the same in past years too.).
He hit .405 away from Safeco. (What if he hit in a hitters ballpark?)

The realist in me says that it's one thing to have a good half a year, but a whole year is a whole other animal. But part of me still wonders if he hit .429 in the second half, can make a run at .400 next year? Anyway, I'm looking forward to finding out next year.

[bluejaysfan93]

I like Ichiro alot. He can run so fast, every time he hits he runs as fast as he can.

[Edgartohof]

At his current pace (take that for what you will), Ichiro is now on track for a record 262 hits this year... :eek:


Apparantly we should all listen to you, since you had the answer on 8-17-04 at 7:59 PM - a long time before everyone else knew :laugh

(It was just the 3rd post in this forum - check it out, it's true!!! :) )

[Edgartohof]

According to Bill James' newest version of Runs Created (RC), this year in the AL, Ichiro came out on top.

Here are those who had 120+:

138 - Ichiro Suzuki
133 - Manny Ramirez
131 - David Ortiz
128 - Vladamir Guerro (not sure on spelling, will fix later if wrong)
126 - Miguel Tejada
124 - Gary Sheffield

Now I find that impressive, since he comes from a last place team, where half the lineup couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with a shotgun, let alone hit a ball (and no I am not from the country - just an expression I have picked up :D ).

Now while it does not seem likely that he will win the MVP, this here helps to show how valuable he was. And it would not be out of the question for a player on a last place team to win the MVP, since just last year, A-Rod won it while in Texas.

As a fan of baseball, I do not necessarily believe he deserves it, but I also would not think it totally out of the question. Especially since all of the attention he has received from chasing and breaking the hits record, and is generally liked by fans and press alike.

But as a lifelong Mariner's fan, he's got my vote!

[Edgartohof]

Here is just an extension of what is above:

In order of stats, they will be -

Win Shares, Runs Created, GPA*, and BA w/RISP

*GPA - [(1.8 OBP) + SLG]/4 this is meant to fix some of the shortcomings of OPS

player............win shares....runs created...GPA........BA w/RISP
Ichiro Suzuki.........27(7th)...138(1st).....320(5th).... ...372(1st)
Manny Ramirez......28..........133.............330...... ......346
David Ortiz............25..........131.............316.. .........350
Vladimir Guerrero....29..........128.............336....... ....314
Miguel Tejada........30..........126.............298..... ......322
Gary Sheffield........31..........124.............318.. .........325
Alex Rodriguez.......30..........113.............304... ........248
Matsui.................30..........117............ .313...........292
Melvin Mora..........25..........116.............332..... ......323
Michael Young.......25..........117.............270....... ....340
Texeira................25...........117........... .295...........314
Hank Blalock.........26...........118............277... ........345
Johnny Damon......26..........116.............285........ ....353
Carlos Guillen........24..........105.............314.... .......311
I-Rodriguez...........22..........102.............30 8...........361
Travis Hafner........21..........105.............334..... ......289
Carlos Lee...........24..........112..............295.... .......304

[brewcrew82]

Apparantly we should all listen to you, since you had the answer on 8-17-04 at 7:59 PM - a long time before everyone else knew :laugh

(It was just the 3rd post in this forum - check it out, it's true!!! :) )

No you probably shouldn't listen to me, at the start of the LCS my brother asked me who would be in the WS, my answer...NY vs Houston! :laugh
Usually the only predictions that come true are things like "this season the brewers will suck" and the like.

[Edgartohof]

No you probably shouldn't listen to me, at the start of the LCS my brother asked me who would be in the WS, my answer...NY vs Houston! :laugh
Usually the only predictions that come true are things like "this season the brewers will suck" and the like.

Well as I see it, you got the "important" one correct :laugh

[Gaijin]

According to Bill James' newest version of Runs Created (RC), this year in the AL, Ichiro came out on top.

Here are those who had 120+:

138 - Ichiro Suzuki
133 - Manny Ramirez
131 - David Ortiz
128 - Vladamir Guerro (not sure on spelling, will fix later if wrong)
126 - Miguel Tejada
124 - Gary Sheffield

Now I find that impressive, since he comes from a last place team, where half the lineup couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with a shotgun, let alone hit a ball (and no I am not from the country - just an expression I have picked up :D ).

Now while it does not seem likely that he will win the MVP, this here helps to show how valuable he was. And it would not be out of the question for a player on a last place team to win the MVP, since just last year, A-Rod won it while in Texas.

As a fan of baseball, I do not necessarily believe he deserves it, but I also would not think it totally out of the question. Especially since all of the attention he has received from chasing and breaking the hits record, and is generally liked by fans and press alike.

But as a lifelong Mariner's fan, he's got my vote!

Do you know how the "newest version of Runs Created" is calculated?
I vaguely remember the original version, which was based I think on hits, walks and total bases. Therefore it is a stat that is not influenced by how the other teammates perform. The fact he did so well is impressive and indicates that he would have scored a lot more runs if the guys hitting behind him had been reasonably productive.

I'm also wondering now what to make of Ichiro's second half. Is it simply a hot streak or a fluke, or did he really take his game to the next level? And if he did take his game to the next level, can he stay there next year?

[Edgartohof]

Do you know how the "newest version of Runs Created" is calculated?

I'm also wondering now what to make of Ichiro's second half. Is it simply a hot streak or a fluke, or did he really take his game to the next level? And if he did take his game to the next level, can he stay there next year?

To answer your first question, I do not, but I will try to find out.

Also, I do not believe (and sure as heck hope) it was a fluke, and I expect to see more of this from him.

If you listen to some interviews from him, he talks about how he has a better understanding of baseball, and he knows what he is doing.

I see it like what is happening with Barry Bonds (not going to deal with the steroids issue right not) is amazing. He is seeing and hitting the ball better than just about anyone - EVER. Be it whether he used steroids, or not, he is doing things we never thought we would see.

In a scenario that I can better understand, I play the saxaphone, and I love it, but I am not great (good, but not great). There are fundamental differences between me and a professional (good looks, cool name, fans, etc... :laugh ). They UNDERSTAND the music, they know what to do. All I can do is read the notes on a page, and a bit of improvising - to them, music is a "pink elephant". Most hitters swing the bat, and every 3-4 times up to the plate, they connect. Then there are those such as Bonds and Ichiro who do more than just swing, they $%&*($^%* (I have yet to find the word for what they do - I am going to read a thesaurus and get back to it).

P.S. Do not take what I said about my music as saying that I am futilly trying to hold on to something that I can't do. I truly can play the saxaphone, and am not half bad - not naturally talented, but I still love it. I also cut a couple of CD's with a group a couple years back - unfortunately it did not sell, and I probably own the only one in the world. :laugh

[Gaijin]

Ichiro factiod found in an article in the Hardball Times:

In addition to strikeouts and walks, the 2004 THT Baseball Annual will include the distribution of batted ball types for each batter with at least 100 plate appearances. We'll specifically list his percent of PA's that resulted in strikeouts, walks, groundballs, flyballs, line drives and other (usually bunts). As an example, let's look at Ichiro's line, compared to the major league average:

Player PA K BB GB FB LD Oth
Average 17% 10% 32% 27% 13% 2%
Ichiro! 762 8% 7% 53% 15% 15% 2%

Ichiro achieved his success by hitting a huge proportion of groundballs (at 53%, the highest rate in the majors) and legging them out. It's also worth noting that he hit more than his share of line drives, and eschewed the flyball and strikeout.

Link to Article (http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/who-hit-what/)

[Edgartohof]

So it is the offseason, but does anybody here know what Ichiro is up to these days? I mean, is he still here in the states? Or did he go back home in Japan?

If anyone knows, it would be great to hear.


P.S. Even though he was on a last place team that nearly lost 100 games, he was still in the top 10 for MVP

[csh19792001]

An article about the Sisler family, who showed a lot of class I think in coming out to watch Ichiro and congratulate him.

Cobb was actually a gentleman quite often, but it's been entirely enshrouded by his violent outbursts. He helped many players, both through tutelage, and financially, when their careers were through.

[csh19792001]

No sweat.

I'm really looking forward to next year.

BTW, check out Ichiro's Splits (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/stats/mlb_individual_player_splits.jsp?playerID=400085&statType=1).

He hit .429 :eek: after the all-star break. He has said that he is now a better hitter than he used to be, and I think it is not just an idle boast. He said he used to hit, but not really understand why he was hitting, and now he understands why, if that makes any sense.

Other factoids about his season include:
He had more hits in August than April and June combined.
He hit .404 against lefties (most hitters hit better against the opposite handed pitchers, I don't know why this does not hold true for Ichiro, it has been the same in past years too.).
He hit .405 away from Safeco. (What if he hit in a hitters ballpark?)

The realist in me says that it's one thing to have a good half a year, but a whole year is a whole other animal. But part of me still wonders if he hit .429 in the second half, can make a run at .400 next year? Anyway, I'm looking forward to finding out next year.

That's nothin'- check out his CAREER splits. .524 with the bases loaded (yes, that isn't a typo), and .384 lifetime with RISP.

Ridiculous- one of the best players Ive seen. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/players/6615/career_by_all_batting_splits.html#base_situation

[Gaijin]

So it is the offseason, but does anybody here know what Ichiro is up to these days? I mean, is he still here in the states? Or did he go back home in Japan?

If anyone knows, it would be great to hear.


P.S. Even though he was on a last place team that nearly lost 100 games, he was still in the top 10 for MVP

I am not aware of him returning to Japan, but I'm just not sure. He's been interviewed on Japanese TV several times, but where the interviews took place I am not sure. I suspect he will come to Japan at some point if he is not here already. It would be a news item (Yesterday Hideki Matsui arrived, and that was in the news.) But it is possible that I missed the news.

csh19792001: His career splits are quite impressive. I wonder why he hits lefties better than righties though. I wonder how common it is for a player to hit the same-handed pitchers better than the opposite-handed pitchers?

[csh19792001]

I am not aware of him returning to Japan, but I'm just not sure. He's been interviewed on Japanese TV several times, but where the interviews took place I am not sure. I suspect he will come to Japan at some point if he is not here already. It would be a news item (Yesterday Hideki Matsui arrived, and that was in the news.) But it is possible that I missed the news.

csh19792001: His career splits are quite impressive. I wonder why he hits lefties better than righties though. I wonder how common it is for a player to hit the same-handed pitchers better than the opposite-handed pitchers?

It's extremely rare- look through the ledgers, and you'll see just what an abberation it really is. I can't figure it.

[Gaijin]

Update for Edgartohof:

Ichiro returned to Japan yesterday (Dec. 5). I don't have any other news.
:cool:

[Edgartohof]

Update for Edgartohof:

Ichiro returned to Japan yesterday (Dec. 5). I don't have any other news.
:cool:

Thank you for the update.

[Gaijin]

BASEBALL
Ichiro attends Ogi's Hall of Fame induction
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 at 07:14 JST
OSAKA — Seattle Mariners star Ichiro and his wife Yumiko were among the celebrities attending the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony held Tuesday for former Orix BlueWave manager Akira Ogi.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo, Orix Buffaloes player Yoshitomo Tani and wife Ryoko, a six-time world champion judoka, were also among the 400 guests who gathered at an Osaka hotel to honor the 69-year-old newly appointed manager of the Orix Buffaloes. (Kyodo News)

[Edgartohof]

I was getting bored, and I didn't want to lose this thread to the depths of this forum.

These are my predictions for what I think Ichiro will get this coming up season barring disaster (injury, etc...):

159 G, 702 AB, 248 H, 103 R, 26 2B, 7 3B, 12 HR, 73 RBI, 65 SO, 63 BB, 44 SB, 13 CS, 324 TB, .353 BA, .402 OBP, .461 Slg

Of course, He could get more AB's, which would in turn give him more hits, which could mean 250+ hits again. I also guessed very conservative on the Runs, but with the new power behind him (almost like 2001), he could get quite a few more - 115+ Runs. I see him getting a few more HR's - they will just "occur" naturally. As long as they allow him to do his thing, his SB's may pick up, but I did guess high, but expect at least 35 SB's. According to things Ichiro has said about knowing what to do when hitting, he could easily hit at a higher BA - some have mentioned .400+ BA.

[good sport]

just saw a great Ichiro lithograph at Starstruck.com

[HDH]

When Ichiro was going for the hit record last year, I heard a radio sports show hosts state that the hits record was a meaningless record and that George Sisler was an insignificant, long forgotten, player in the history of baseball. In fact, I heard it both in Chicago and in Detroit by different hosts. Just that alone makes them unworthy of even talking baseball in my book. I just wish that one city could just have one hosts who has some knowledge in the game and history than the one's I usually have to listen to.

[Edgartohof]

Well, after hitting .429 after the all-star break last year, Ichiro is continuing in like fashion here in Spring Training, with 8 hits in 18 AB's, with 1 2B and 1 3B. This adds up to:

.444 BA, and a .611 Slg! Not bad, and since Ichiro having a good Spring Training seems to lead to a good year ahead, there should be many great things ahead!

[Sweet Lou]

When Ichiro was going for the hit record last year, I heard a radio sports show hosts state that the hits record was a meaningless record and that George Sisler was an insignificant, long forgotten, player in the history of baseball. In fact, I heard it both in Chicago and in Detroit by different hosts. Just that alone makes them unworthy of even talking baseball in my book. I just wish that one city could just have one hosts who has some knowledge in the game and history than the one's I usually have to listen to.

Notice my location.... :rolleyes:

[HDH]

Notice my location....
Are you a radio host? I was referring to these radio hosts lack of historical perspective.

[Sweet Lou]

Are you a radio host? I was referring to these radio hosts lack of historical perspective.

No No, I'm referring to bad baseball in Chicago. I was listening to sports radio one day a few years back, after hockey season had ended, basketball season had ended, and before football camp had started, and were they talking any baseball at all? No, they were talking about what's her face the women golfer... :rolleyes: You'd think they'd talk baseball, but no, they talk horse racing, golf, bowling, even figure skating, before giving much time to baseball. Then, when they do, they usually only give the scores for the 2 Chicago teams, as if there aren't any other teams out there.

But, I got cable now, so maybe I'll catch more baseball this year! :clapping

[Edgartohof]

Now I can see wanting to let some players get enough AB's so that the coaches can get an idea of how good they are, but they really need to let Ichiro play more, to let him get into a groove. While he has had 20 AB's, that is not the most on the team, and with him hitting .500 and all, it wouldn't exactly be such a bad idea (we might actually win some games - oh, what a thought!).

I just keep getting more and more excited as it gets closer to the season. I want to see if Ichiro can improve upon last year. Of course I have become spoiled as a Mariner's fan, especially after 2001, I have come to expect a good team (maybe last year was a good thing, it brought me back to earth a little), I hope I won't be dissapointed if Ichiro only hits around .350 and gets 240 hits :D

I skimmed through the 2005 Baseball Prospectus the other day, and under Ichiro, it said the chances for Ichiro to have a "breakout" season was 0%!!!

Where is their faith!?!?

While it is unlikely that he will repeat last season, there is still a chance, and I would love to see what else he can do. I just love seeing this dead-ball-era-singles-hitter tearing up the league! It's exciting!

I just hope that after all of the money that was poured into the team this past off-season, that the Mariner's can do something with it. While it is most likely certain that Ichiro will produce, Sexson has been injured recently, Beltre is yet unproven (although last year was great), and Boone may not see another '01, or '03 again (although a good glove and ~20 HR's should suffice).

All in all, we should have a good year (a little worried about the pitching).

But you know what, all of that other "stuff" belongs in a different thread, so I will stop here.

[Gaijin]

Now I can see wanting to let some players get enough AB's so that the coaches can get an idea of how good they are, but they really need to let Ichiro play more, to let him get into a groove. While he has had 20 AB's, that is not the most on the team, and with him hitting .500 and all, it wouldn't exactly be such a bad idea (we might actually win some games - oh, what a thought!).
I think he's getting enough playing time, so I wouldn't worry about it. He's clearly ready to go and just needs to stay sharp. Don't want him to get tired or waste too many hits when it doesn't count.

I skimmed through the 2005 Baseball Prospectus the other day, and under Ichiro, it said the chances for Ichiro to have a "breakout" season was 0%!!!
I suppose he already had his "breakout" season in 2001.
I am hoping to see him make a run at .400, although I realize that's a very high bar. ST doesn't count for anything, but right now he's hitting over .500 in ST, so he seems to be picking up where he left off last year, with his phenomenal 2nd half. If he has 700 at bats, he would need 280 hits to hit .400.

Waiting is always the hardest part. Hopefully it will be worth the wait for M's fans this year.

:gt

[Peter Ramsey]

I think Ichiro should be able to match his hit total of last year...if he has no 'slump months' which dogged him at the beginning of last season. What I'd like to see him do is break Sisler's record of hits in the same amount of games Sisler had!


Pete
Ice Ice Ichiro
www.geocities.com/Philidae

[Edgartohof]

I know that Spring Training numbers don't mean much of everything, but they are sure getting me excited about this upcoming year.

I mean Ichiro has been red hot this spring, getting at least one hit in every game, and that was before tonight.

Through ONLY 6 innings (when he was pulled out), he was 4-4, with a triple, 1 RBI, 2 Runs (would have been three if they did not pull him after the triple), and 2 Stolen Bases!

That means, for this entire Spring, Ichiro has:

22 Hits, 38 AB's, 3 2B's, 2 3B's, 7 Runs, 4 RBI, 5 SB's, .579 BA, .763 Slg!!!!!!!

and so far, he is leading in BA, and Hits (of course)!

But then again, like I said, these numbers don't mean much of anything - YEAH RIGHT!!! :clapping :clapping :clapping :gt

[Gaijin]

I know that Spring Training numbers don't mean much of everything, but they are sure getting me excited about this upcoming year.

I mean Ichiro has been red hot this spring, getting at least one hit in every game, and that was before tonight.

Through ONLY 6 innings (when he was pulled out), he was 4-4, with a triple, 1 RBI, 2 Runs (would have been three if they did not pull him after the triple), and 2 Stolen Bases!

That means, for this entire Spring, Ichiro has:

22 Hits, 38 AB's, 3 2B's, 2 3B's, 7 Runs, 4 RBI, 5 SB's, .579 BA, .763 Slg!!!!!!!

and so far, he is leading in BA, and Hits (of course)!

But then again, like I said, these numbers don't mean much of anything - YEAH RIGHT!!! :clapping :clapping :clapping :gt

He also has a 12-game hitting streak (25-game hitting streak if you include the end of last year). Too bad it doesn’t count. :ughh I’m going to make a bold prediction that Ichiro will hit.400 or more this year. :cool:

I hope his teammates help him score more runs though. 7 runs is not a whole lot when you reach base so many times. Last year he barely reached 100 runs despite setting the single-season hits record.

[HDH]

No No, I'm referring to bad baseball in Chicago. I was listening to sports radio one day a few years back, after hockey season had ended, basketball season had ended, and before football camp had started, and were they talking any baseball at all? No, they were talking about what's her face the women golfer... :rolleyes: You'd think they'd talk baseball, but no, they talk horse racing, golf, bowling, even figure skating, before giving much time to baseball. Then, when they do, they usually only give the scores for the 2 Chicago teams, as if there aren't any other teams out there.

Well, at least they talk sports. I was stuck in snowsorm traffic one morning and heard a Detroit radio host (the final time I will ever listen to that station) describe how he likes to wad the toilet paper to wipe himself... Detroit's a crappy town in so many ways.

[akbravesfan]

i think if he walks more, he's got a better chance of hitting .400. it'll be awfully hard for him to do it with another 700 ab season like he had last year. but walking just isn't his game, putting the ball in play, is. i wonder, though, what the addition of beltre and sexson will have on the pitches he sees.

[Edgartohof]

i think if he walks more, he's got a better chance of hitting .400. it'll be awfully hard for him to do it with another 700 ab season like he had last year. but walking just isn't his game, putting the ball in play, is. i wonder, though, what the addition of beltre and sexson will have on the pitches he sees.

Well if he hits .400, he'll start getting more walks, whether he likes it or not.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro is continuing to give us all a show this Spring, going 2-4 with 2 runs, in tonights win over the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim!!! (sorry HG).

Isn't it sad, when going 2-4 hurts your batting average? Well that is what it did for Ichiro.

But in any case, Ichiro is now hitting .571, with 24 hits (still leading in both categories), and no other player is hitting over .500 this spring, and the closest person (Tony Womack) is hitting about 90 points lower (around .488).

He is also being aggressive on the basepaths (like Hargrove wants), and it is paying off very well.

The team is finally starting to get Ichiro in, which is always nice, but it is not coming from the power in the middle of the lineup (Boone, Sexson, Beltre), who are not hitting Homeruns this spring, although it is starting to peak its head out there, as Sexson has 2 HR's, Boone was close a couple (3?) times the other nights, and Beltre has been starting to see and hit the ball better as of late (a nice hit tonight).

But all of that extra stuff has nothing to do with Ichiro, so that is all I have to say on that for now.

[akbravesfan]

do you know how many runs ichiro has scored this spring?

[Sweet Lou]

do you know how many runs ichiro has scored this spring?

Dag, Ichiro is slugging .738! :crazy And 9 Runs. Hm, he needs more runs...
Player - G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB SB CS SF SH HBP SLG AVG
Suzuki 13-42-9-24-3-2- 0 - 4 -31-5 -2 -0 - 0 - 0 -.738-.571

[Edgartohof]

it took around 47 AB's, but Ichiro was finally struck out.

Not bad when you think about it.

Now Ichiro may not hit .400, or get 263 hits, but overall as a hitter (and a player), he is much better. He is much more disciplined at the plate, and his bat control just gets better and better each day.

Now the way he is playing, all of these high marks may seem possible, but not even Ichiro himself wants to say he can or will reach them. He has even said that he does not nessecarily want to hit .400, to keep people asking, "who will be the next...".

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/specials/spring_training/2005/03/26/ichiro.momentum.ap/index.html

This link here has a wonderful article about where Ichiro is, an what he hopes to accomplish.

[The Splendid Splinter]

On Friday, Kansas City lefty Brian Anderson fanned Suzuki on a check swing, his first strikeout in 50 plate appearances this spring. Any hitter probably would take that kind of ratio.

Not Suzuki.

"When you get a bad result, of course you're disappointed," he said.

From that link...


Ichiro could hit .430 this season and still find something to be disappointed about. All in all, Ichiro is just amazing. He's like ty cobb among babe ruth, jimmie foxx, hornsby. Instead, it's ichiro among Bonds, Sosa, Thome, A Rod, Manny.

[Gaijin]

I don't know that trying to get more walks would give him a better chance to hit .400. The thing is he has a better average actually early in the count (I've looked at splits that show this, although I can't find them now. For example on first and second pitches he hits over .400 if he puts the ball in play). If he goes deep in the count and tries to work walks and not swing at borderline pitches (which he is perfectly capable of hitting) then he will get more walks, but also more strikeouts This may possibly increase his OBP but it would lower his batting average, because walks don't help your batting average. Of course he should probably not swing at obvious balls, but he can swing at borderline pitches because he can actually get hits on those.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro could hit .430 this season and still find something to be disappointed about


I'd love to be disappointed like that :D :laugh

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro has extended his hitting streak now to 16 Spring Training games, breaking Mariner's (and all-time) great Ken Griffey Jr.'s streak of 15.

He is still leading in hits (28), and BA (.519).

He is also staying agressive on the bases, with another stolen base (number 6).

I am going crazy waiting for the season to start. The offense for our team has picked up considerably (due much in part to spring training pitching - minor leaguers, etc...), and while the pitching hasn't been great, it has shown some fight in it. And with Ichiro leading the way for the team, we have a chance to be right back in the thick of things this year.

[Edgartohof]

Spring Training is over, the season has begun, and the first game is now in the books!

Just to recap for Ichiro, he went 2-4 with 1 Run.

So he just needs 261 more hits to set a new single season hits record - can he do it? :laugh

[Edgartohof]

The Mariner's lost last night, and only scored in the 1st inning, but after that, Santana was lights out.

Ichiro went 2-4 again with 1 run and 1 Stolen Base.

Just like Grover said, the team (Ichiro :laugh ) is being more aggressive on the basepaths - yes I know it is only through game 2, but if Ichiro keeps it up, he could easily surpass his '01 totals of 56 SB's.

I just realized that already, 2 of Ichiro's hits have been infield singles already! So he he is still going by the motto, "hit 'em where they are, and run like heck"!

[Edgartohof]

In the last game of the last series, again, Ichiro went 2-4, to keep his average up at .500 - why should he settle for just .400?

Already tonight, through 5 innings, Ichiro is 2-3 with 1 Run, 1 RBI, and 1 SB (his third for the season).

My question here is who has the record for most multiple hit games to start a season?

[Edgartohof]

To finish the game, Ichiro was intentionally walked twice!

So for those of you who think that he won't get walked this season, think again.

For the season, Ichiro is now 8-15, with: 2 (intentional) walks, 3 SB's, 4 Runs, 1 RBI, and a .533 BA

He is towards/at the top in BA, tied for second in hits, leading (tied?) in SB's, and around the top 10 in Runs.

[akbravesfan]

This is the kind of start he needed last year to hit .400. If he keeps this up, he may well do it. I hope he does, but even if he doesn't it'll be fun to watch. as for the walks... well, I was thinking more along the lines of HIM taking walks as opposed to being given walks. Although I did laugh my ass off when I saw the box score this morning and saw not one but TWO IBB's (couldn't catch the game, too many visitors last night).

[Edgartohof]

This is the kind of start he needed last year to hit .400. If he keeps this up, he may well do it. I hope he does, but even if he doesn't it'll be fun to watch. as for the walks... well, I was thinking more along the lines of HIM taking walks as opposed to being given walks. Although I did laugh my ass off when I saw the box score this morning and saw not one but TWO IBB's (couldn't catch the game, too many visitors last night).


I was thinking about changing my previous post, but I decided to keep it as is.

Ichiro's style of play does not have him taking many walks, but because he is so feared, he will be walked more. Everybody says that the only way he can hit .400 is to have more walks, well, I figure it doesn't matter how the walks come about, just as long as he gets the desired results.

But of course this is only the first week of the season, and there are many more to go, so I have no idea what is going to happen, but I will continue to be happy with what he is doing right now.

The Mariner's lost the game today (Guardado blew their 3 run 8th inning lead), but again, Ichiro went 2-4 (look familiar?), with a double, and 2 runs.

So in each of his first 5 games, he has had 2 hits! Not too shabby of a start.

[Gaijin]

Man, talk about a costly error! If Booney had made that play on a routine grounder the M's would have won 6-4. Blaylock's homer would have been a solo shot and Texiera's strikeout would have ended the game.

Lessee. Today Ichiro also got, correct me if I'm wrong, his first extra-base hit and his first non-intentional base-on-balls. Ichiro's hot out of the gate this year unlike last year, although this is of course only a drop in the bucket so far with 157 games still to play.

Ichiro is 66 hits away from 1000 MLB hits. If he averages 1.5 hits per game after this (243 hits per 162 games pace, which I consider conservative for Ichiro) it would come on May 29.

If Ichiro does manage to hit .400 this year, I bet there will be people that say hitting .400 is overrated, just like many discounted his hits record last year by pointing out his relative scarcity of walks and extra-base hits. They wouldn't be satisfied unless he also hits 30 homers and walks 100 times.
I think to hit .400 the key for him is to strike out as little as possible, because he has a great batting average when he puts the ball in play, especially ground balls. To draw a lot of the unintentional sort of walks, you have to go deep in the count of course, which increases the chance of a strikeout result as well as a walk result.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro went 1-4 yesterday afternoon, his first single hit game this season (hopefully we don't see too many of those this year :laugh ). For the first time this season as well, his BA has dropped below .500 (.478)! But it could easily get back up there today.

The nice start that he has had so far is much better than what we had to endure through last year at this time (although we aren't really winning much more :( ).

[Ichiro51]

I got a question for fellow Ichiro fans...

As you know, he was in the commercial made by MLB called "I live for this." where he speaks Japanese and have English subtitles on the bottom.

I'm intersted to know the exact phrases that he used in the commercial, I try to type on the computer when the commercial comes up but the way commercial goes is way too fast for my finger, although I do type 60-65 wpm.

If any fellow Ichiro/Mariners fan can help me out, I'll be appreciated.

[Gaijin]

Welcome to Baseball Fever Ichiro51. Another Ichiro fan is a very welcome addition. I'm fluent in Japanese, but I haven't seen the commercial you mention. If you can find a link to it I could view it later at home and tell you. Maybe it's on the Mariner's official site? Right now I'm at work.

[Ichiro51]

Thanks.

The commercial don't run anymore, MLB show him and several other foreign players (Sosa, Pedro in Spanish) etc to do those commercials during post season of 2003.

I remember couple line goes like this.

"Being a baseball player, I try to do my best blah blah blah etc."

I hope that helps.

[Gaijin]

Having never seen the commercial it would be hard to guess what he said. Even with just one sentence 10 translators would probably come up with 10 different translations, each meaning more or less the same thing but worded differently. So if something is translated into one language and then a different translator translates it back into the original language without knowing the original wording, it will probably be different. I would translate "Being a baseball player, I try to do my best..." into Japanese as "Yakyu senshu to shite, itsumo ganbatte..."

[Gaijin]

Tomorrow is a day off for the Mariners. :(

In the meantime to distract myself I thought about the mathematics of hitting .400. Since .400 is 2/5 it's very simple mathematically. So for every 5 at bats he needs at least 2 hits to hit .400. If he hits above .400 he will build what I'll call a "400 cushion." The "400 cushion" as I define it is the number of at bats that he can go hitless in and still remain above .400.

At present Ichiro has 13 hits in 28 at bats for a .464 average. His 400 cushion is currently at 4, meaning he could go 0 for 4 in his next 4 at bats and still be above .400 but if he goes 0 for 5 in his next 5 he will drop below it.

Since going 0 for 5 in a single game is entirely possible, a 400 cushion of 5 could be considered a one-game cushion and 10 would be a two-game cushion, etc.

Ichiro has not gone hitless in a game yet but it's sure to happen eventually, so he needs to build up his 400 cushion if he hopes to hit .400 this year.

Tracking the 400 cushion for each at bat is simple: Each at bat reduces it by 1 while each hit increases it by 2.5 on average, or specifically 2 for odd-numbered hits or 3 for even-numbered hits. For example his next hit will be his 14th, so it will increase by 3. Of course, each hit also accompanies an at bat, so getting a hit only actually nets 1 or 2 for the 400 cushion. Therefore if his next at bat results in a hit, his 400 cushion will increase to 6 at that point.

[Be The Reds!]

"Being a baseball player, I try to do my best..." into Japanese as "Yakyu senshu to shite, itsumo ganbatte..."


Close enough, but I'd take out yakyu add meijaa riigu
and the last part I'd change to dekiru dake ganbatte iru...

Hard to follow non-Yankees/Mariners from here huh...

[Gaijin]

Close enough, but I'd take out yakyu add meijaa riigu
and the last part I'd change to dekiru dake ganbatte iru...

Hard to follow non-Yankees/Mariners from here huh...

Hello fellow Japan resident. :laugh

Just goes to prove that different translators will use different wording, so it's impossible to guess what he said in Japanese by looking at an English translation, wouldn't you agree?

I grew up in upstate NY so my interest in the Yankees predates their signing of Matsui. I started following the Mariners, however when they signed Ichiro. I like both Matsui and Ichiro anyway, so I'm happy with the TV arrangements. I guess you'll have to hope the Orioles sign a Japanese player someday if you want to see much of them unless they're playing the Yankees. I was also a Bernie Williams fan, which is part of why I like Ichiro (Ichiro wear the number 51 in honor of Bernie), although I like him for himself anyway.

[Be The Reds!]

Hello fellow Japan resident. :laugh

Just goes to prove that different translators will use different wording, so it's impossible to guess what he said in Japanese by looking at an English translation, wouldn't you agree?

I grew up in upstate NY so my interest in the Yankees predates their signing of Matsui. I started following the Mariners, however when they signed Ichiro. I like both Matsui and Ichiro anyway, so I'm happy with the TV arrangements. I guess you'll have to hope the Orioles sign a Japanese player someday if you want to see much of them unless they're playing the Yankees. I was also a Bernie Williams fan, which is part of why I like Ichiro (Ichiro wear the number 51 in honor of Bernie), although I like him for himself anyway.


Well lucky you, being a Yankees fan, you only have to deal with the time difference to be able to watch your team.

If I watch every game that they broadcast here, I'll see the O's maybe 20 times... (18 when they play the Yankees, 2 or 3 when they play the Mariners, depending on if the Yankees are in the same timezone or not, since they get priority)

I was surprised at least that on FUJI TV sports last night they showed a Tejada highlight.

I was praying that Matsui would stay Orange and Black and sign with the Orioles in 2003, but it appears he already had his mind made up, even tho newspapers were reporting that the O's had interest.. (Dammit, if only Jeter played left!) I was hoping and praying that somehow that Little Matsui would have gone to the O's instead of the Mets in 2004, just so I could watch them more often, but I am of course glad that we got Tejada instead. I was also hoping that there would be a Kazuhisa Ishii for Jerry Hariston trade that many people were talking about last year, but that didn't happen either. We need pitching help and Nomo somehow goes to the Devil Rays! The RAYS! This must be like the 4th or 5th time that the O's have passed on Nomo once he became a free agent, even though they needed pitching. Nomo might be old, and he may not be like he was in the mid '90s, but he'd be at the very least, the #3 pitcher on our team.

Sigh...

Can we trade outfields with you? (Bigbie, Matos, Sosa, Surhoff for Matsui, Williams, Sheffield, Sierra)... Yeah, I know, it's not even fair...

So what do you think about watching NPB.. simply not the same.. right?

[Edgartohof]

Well, last night, Ichiro went 2-5 last night with a double. While he did not score a run, he did have 2 RBI!

So he has had a multilple hits in all but one game this year so far.

[Ichiro51]

(Ichiro wear the number 51 in honor of Bernie)

What? Are there any website that says this because I was about to rotflmao when I saw this, while Bernie is a good player, I didn't know Ichiro would wear a numer in honor of someone who's still playing today instead of some hall of famer.

[Gaijin]

What? Are there any website that says this because I was about to rotflmao when I saw this, while Bernie is a good player, I didn't know Ichiro would wear a numer in honor of someone who's still playing today instead of some hall of famer.

It appears that I may have been mistaken. This may have been an urban legend. I googled it found this: Link (http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2003/07/ichiro-ichiro.html)
I seem to remember hearing it on TV. And there are various instances of this rumor floating around the Internet like this:
Link (http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:Kc3Pjej5wEcJ:blog.seattlepi.nwsourc e.com/baseball/archives/002701.html+why+ichiro+wears+51&hl=en) (scroll down about halfway)

But I guess I was just repeating hearsay.

[Gaijin]

After going 0 for 4 Ichiro's 400 cushion is down to 0. His batting average stands at .406. :ughh

Guess he'll just have to go 4 for 5 tomorrow. :gt

[Be The Reds!]

After going 0 for 4 Ichiro's 400 cushion is down to 0. His batting average stands at .406. :ughh

Guess he'll just have to go 4 for 5 tomorrow. :gt


Wouldn't 2 for 5 be okay?

[Gaijin]

Wouldn't 2 for 5 be okay?

That would keep him above 400 of course but his 400 cushion would remain 0. And a cushion of 0 is no cushion at all. He had it up as high as 6 earlier. So it's like savings for a rainy day, because it is inevitable that he will have some hitless days as well.

Today he managed to raise it by 1 after going 2 for 4. He also scored his 8th run, stole his 4th base and was issued his 4th walk of the season (3rd IBB).
His current line is: .417/.475/.472

[Edgartohof]

Well, it is off to the races for him again. He has stayed above .400 so far this season (9 games), which is impressive just alone, but not an all-time feat, but for Ichiro, it now just seems like normal.

2 hits a day is expected. Now of course, there are going to be days out there where he only gets 1, or even goes hitless, but they will certainly be in the minority. But hitting is just one facet of his game, as he is also picking it up on the bases (like Grover told us he would), so I again will say that his own "56" (stolen bases) will fall to him this year. Ichiro is still showing us his old form out in the field, where he is continuing his GG performance from the past 4 years (plus his years in Japan).

Whether he ever hits .400 or not, it is just enough (or almost enough) that people are actually talking about him having a shot at it. Not many people have had that honor bestowed upon them.


As a sidenote, as I was perusing through MLB.com, I noticed in their milestone tracker section, that they have Richie Sexson as coming up on his 1000th hit (he's at around 841), yet Ichiro who is at 939 hits is nowhere on that list... I know that it doesn't mean anything, but someone has their priorities mixed up - one is about a month away from his milestone, and the other won't reach his until at least the end of the season (if not until next year).

[Yankees]

Well, Ichiro is hitting at exactly .400 right now, after his subpar 1-4 night...

16-40 overall, so without a cushion (I guess the batting gloves have to be abandoned)


Sorry about the terrible joke,
Yankees

[Ichi Ro]

Season is still early.
My best photo shows just how perfect his swing really is.....

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/1224691-md.jpg

[Yankees]

Great photo, Ichi Ro... I wonder who took it, and who played with the colour, if not the same?

Edit:
Here is another
http://www.photofile.com/Photos/Albums/Whats_Hot_Page/MLB/Multi_X/Images/Ichiro_MultiX_jpg_jpg.jpg

[Ichiro51]

Cool pics ya'll, keep them coming.

[Ichi Ro]

I think you missed my comment, "My" best photo.
I took it.

[Ichi Ro]

Here is a small version of the original.
http://gallery.photo.net/photo/1152555-lg.jpg

[Ichi Ro]

Same day......
http://gallery.photo.net/photo/1426256-lg.jpg
http://gallery.photo.net/photo/1232112-lg.jpg

[Yankees]

Ah, thought you meant "My" as in from my collection... I like the ones with b&w the best, you did a great job with them.

[Yankees]

And today Ichiro is currently 2/3, with (in order of occurance) a single, a flyout and another single.

[Yankees]

Now 3/4, with a triple on fan interference! Game over, btw.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro has continued to keep his Batting Average above .400, I wonder if he can keep it that way for the whole season - never have his BA drop below the "double" mendoza line.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro, who is an amazing hitter any way you look at it, also happens to hit better agains left handed pitchers! Anyways, as I was looking at the splits so far, he is doing OK against RHP, but he is just CLOBBERING left handed pitchers!

G...AB...R...H...2B..3B...RBI...TB...BB...SO...SB. ..CS....OBP....Slg.....BA
10..13...2...9....1....1....2.....12...1.....0.... .1......0 .....714....923...692
11..31...8...10..1.....0....1....11....3....3..... .3......1......382...355...323


Now, .323 is still quite good, but compared to what he is doing against LHP, it is nothing. Of course, this is only 9 games into the season, so numbers are skewed for lots of players in lots of areas, but I just found this interesting.

[Gaijin]

Ichiro's 400 cushion is back up to 3.

There's a great page that has all Ichiro's splits:

Here (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/players/6615/career_by_all_batting_splits.html)

His career batting average is .032 higher against lefties, so it's no suprise that his average is higher against lefies this year, although the small sample size is really out of whack.

An interesting thing to note on his splits are his batting averages by count.
When he puts the ball in play on the first or second pitch his average is over .400. This is for his career, so it is not just a quirk due to small sample size.
0-0: .421
0-1: .438
1-0: .414

By the way, his batting average has already dipped below .400, although during a game, not after the end of any game.

Those are great pictures Ichi Ro, Photoshop?

[Ichi Ro]

Ah, thought you meant "My" as in from my collection... I like the ones with b&w the best, you did a great job with them.
Thanks for the compliment.

[Sweet Lou]

Ichiro started things off on the second pitch of the game with his first HR of the season. He went 2/3 with an intentional walk, and had 2 stolen bases. I was at The Cell on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, the unruly WhiteSox Fans were actually very well behaved, and Everyday Eddie gave us a bit to be nervous about in the 9th, but all's well that ends well. :)

BTW, VERY nice pics, Ich Ro. Where do you sit in the stands? Those looked like you were in the Press Dugout. Please, keep sharing! :)

Sweet Lou

[Edgartohof]

The hits just keep on coming don't they!

he is 2nd in BA, 3rd in runs, tied for 1st in SB's, and 10th in Slg, with .596 (let's see how long that one lasts :laugh )

Oh, did I mention, the Mariner's won as well?

[Gaijin]

400 cushion up to 5. :cool:
.447/.500/.596 :cool:

In the AL, Ichiro is currently:
Tied for 1st in stolen bases and IBBs
2nd (but not for long I expect) in AL batting average, OBP and hits
3rd in Runs scored
5th in OPS
Tied for 9th in Total bases
10th in Slugging (how long can that last?)

Brian Roberts is white hot right now, leading or almost leading in virtually every category there is. Eventually he will cool off, although he still may be in for a great season.

(Edgartohof: I guess great minds think alike. I didn't see your post while I was composing mine. :laugh )

[Edgartohof]

I guess great minds think alike.

I tend to think so ;)

[Yankees]

And another game set to begin in a few minutes... With this post, there are now 4,001 views to this thread, as an aside.

[Yankees]

0-5 Tonight (strictly speaking, last night).

[Yankees]

After his 1-3 night, Ichiro's is now even at .400

[Ichi Ro]

Ichiro started things off on the second pitch of the game with his first HR of the season. He went 2/3 with an intentional walk, and had 2 stolen bases. I was at The Cell on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, the unruly WhiteSox Fans were actually very well behaved, and Everyday Eddie gave us a bit to be nervous about in the 9th, but all's well that ends well. :)

BTW, VERY nice pics, Ich Ro. Where do you sit in the stands? Those looked like you were in the Press Dugout. Please, keep sharing! :)

Sweet Lou

That was a trip to Anaheim in 2002, one game. I snuck down there and nobody told me to move. Was sold out, last game of the year, the year they won the WS. First row next to the Anaheim on deck circle. I was actually sitting in the row set aside for Gene Autry's family (It was his birthday), but most of them were in the press box. I got an extra ticket stub from on of the people sitting next to me, and it says on it, "COMP $0.00 C AUTRY".
Best part was getting that picture signed by Ichiro the next year through former Mariners Ryan Anderson. Actually Ryan's dad did it for me. :dance

[Gaijin]

Here is his speech that Ichiro gave yesterday after receiving the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award:

“I am honored to received this award,” Ichiro said. “Breaking the hits record here at Safeco Field in front of the Seattle fans is the greatest moment of my baseball career. First, I must thank George Sisler. I was able to experience that great moment only because he made such an impressive record.

“Without George Sisler, I never could have reached this level of emotion. I am honored to have broken this prestigious record. I also want to thank my wife, Yumiko, my teammates, the fans in Japan and most of all, Seattle fans. You give me great inspiration. Thank you.”

Unfortunately, he was so worried about giving a speech in English that he went hitless, or at least that's how the Japanese media see it. But he's still doing a lot better than he was in April of last year. He heated up in May of last year and cooled down again in June, and then was on fire for the rest of the year. He has yet to have a really big game this year with 4 or 5 hits.

[Gaijin]

Since April 18 Ichiro has gone 6 for 34 (.176), bringing his BA down to .333. His 400 cushion is at -13, meaning he would need 9 hits in a row to get back to .400. With .500 hitting he would need 26 hits in 52 at bats, or about 11 games (a very hot streak).

The good news is April has historically been his worst month for batting average, while May has been his best. He's still almost 80 points higher than in April last year.

Hopefully he'll get out of this mini-slump soon. Perhaps starting tomorrow. :cool:

[Sweet Lou]

Unfortunately, he was so worried about giving a speech in English that he went hitless, or at least that's how the Japanese media see it.

Since April 18 Ichiro has gone 6 for 34 (.176), bringing his BA down to .333...
Hopefully he'll get out of this mini-slump soon. Perhaps starting tomorrow.

Maybe he shouldn't ever speak English again...I'd be comfortable with that!

[Edgartohof]

Well last night, Ichiro went 2-4 with a double and a solo HR, 1 Run and 1 RBI

It's been over a week since he has stolen a base, so look out for him in the next couple days to give it a couple attempts.

[Edgartohof]

Through 4 innings so far tonight, Ichiro is 2-3 with a triple, 1 Run, and 2 RBI!!!

So he appears to be picking it up again!

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro added one more hit, with a one out 9th inning single.

[Gaijin]

This was the 23rd game of the season, which is exactly 1/7 of 161, the number of games Ichiro appeared in last season. This is also shaping up to be Ichiro's best April yet. I believe he hit .336 in 2001 and only .255 last year.
So, projecting his current pace out to a full year (161 games) he's on pace for the following season so far:

665 AB, 126 runs, 238 hits, 35 doubles, 14 triples, 14 HR, 70 Rbis, 343 total bases, 56 BBs, 49 K, 49 SB, 7 CS, .875 SB%, .358/.408/.516

That would be a really great year for anyone, and probably even better than Ichiro's 2001 MVP season. And of course, April has historically always been his worst month, so if he gets even hotter than this and April turns out to be his worst month this year too, he could be in for a truly historic year. He's hitting more extra base hits so far this year, and .516 would be quite a bit higher than he has slugged in the past. All in all, I think it's an April that Ichiro fans should be quite excited about.

:cool:

(edited to fix arithmetic errors)

[Ichiro51]

What a slick catch he made climbing that wall out in Safeco!

[Gaijin]

That was an awesome catch. Anyone who hasn't seen it already can see it on MLB.com. That catch should help in Ichiro's quest for his fifth straight gold glove. Although he probably already almost has a lock on it by reputation alone. Of course he acted completely nonchalant about it, not even a pump of the fist. I like that about him.

:cool:

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro has been slumping as of late, but he faired well in tonight's double-header.

(both games combined)

3-7, 3 runs, 2 stolen bases, and 2 walks (1 was an IBB)

Ichiro is still leading the league in IBB's, with 6

[Edgartohof]

When Ichiro going 2-3 with 3 Runs 1 SB and 1 IBB, isn't your best player that night, then you are having a good game :D

[papa~smurf]

I'm so glad were getting our bats back, we sorely need them without our pitching. I'm hoping our starting pitching gets better then its been recently, cause with this lineup and our bullpen doing so well, this is a very tough team.

[Edgartohof]

When Ichiro going 2-3 with 3 Runs 1 SB and 1 IBB, isn't your best player that night, then you are having a good game :D

Let's add a triple and an RBI to that through 6!

Could he get another at bat???

[leecemark]

--I was at tonights game and had the good fortune to have some some corporate tickets instead the usual best I can afford single game seats. Sat 3 rows back behind homeplate and no more than 15 feet from the Mariner's ondeck circle. Ichiro looks alot more impressive up close and in person than on TV or from 100 feet away. Still a small man, but he has a very imposing presence.
--My boss's wife was sitting next to me and mentioned after his first two hits (a ground ball to 1st :eek: that he beat out and a grounder through the left side of the infield) didn't he didn't seem that impressive (he was the only Mariner she had heard of). Baseball genius that I am, I said he gets alot of hits, but most don't go that far. Naturally he hits a frozen rope into the gap on the next pitch for a triple. Well, sometimes he does hit it pretty far.
--The other highlight for me was Adrian Beltre's HR off John Halama. The M's have two guys on and Gonzalez is struggling. Francona goes to the pen, which seemed smart enough. Except he calls for the lefty and that lefty is our old friend John Halama. Why bring in an extremely untalented LHP to face Beltre in a close game I ask myself. To the guy sitting next to me I say Francona must be a freaking idiot, Beltre will murder this bum. This bit of commentary makes me look a little smarter than my Ichiro gem as Beltre hit the first pitch 440 feet off the LCF scoreboard for a 3 run HR. About as hard and far as I've ever seen a ball hit (inperson anyway).
--Great seats, great game and for one day anyway I can be happy about the M's season.

[Ichiro51]

Which team would you pull for if it's between the Tigers/Mariners? Tough one eh?

[Gaijin]

I think he's heating up. 6 hits in the last two games and a 7-game hit streak now.

Hope Beltre is starting to get it going too. If Ichiro and Beltre both get in a groove and Winn and Sexson stay at least as hot as they've been, then watch out.

I also think Wiki earn a little more playing time with his performance today, and Olivo's dismal slump.

[leecemark]

Ichiro51, I'm a Mariners fan for the most part. I've lived in Washington for 10 years now and watch the M's most every day. Haven't lived in Michigan for over 20 years and the Tigers haven't exactly been easy to follow from a distance. Tiger fan mostly from a historical perpective and I do most of my posting on the history thread so thats why the Tigers avatar.
--Gaijin, Wiki looked like he has a pretty good approach at the plate. Oliva has looked so lost I think the M's have to give Gonzalez most of the playing time until he cools off or Oliva gets his act together.
--The one down side from this game is Pinero looked awfull. He only hit 90 a couple times, had lousy command and very little movement. He can't be healthy and he isn't going to be getting alot of major league hitters out with the stuff he had last night. I really don't have conifdence in any of our starters at this point. Meche is the only one we can reasonably even hope to be above average.

[Ichiro51]

I like the avatar because it switches around.

[Ichiro51]

WTF...Ichiro was safe from Mirabelli's tag as the ball never touched him, Ichiro slided early and knew he didn't beat it out and was smart enough and jump over to touch the home plate...I can't believe the idiot ump still called him out, oh well, official blew calls here and there every game in every event.

[Edgartohof]

After an amazing april, Ichiro fell quite a bit in May, only hitting .288, but that is nothing compared to his June so far, where he is only hitting .167 and has yet to have an XBH or a SB! :noidea :grouchy

One thing I have noticed is that he has been slumping more and more, the closer he gets to 1000 hits. Now this could just be a total coincidence, but who knows. If that is true, then maybe the opposite will be true: the further past 1000 hits, the better he will play? Well he should be able to get that one more hit in his next game, which will be tomorrow as the team has today off.

[Astro]

Taking away last year's stats, Suzuki has been on a steady decline, average wise, since his rookie campaign

[Zito75]

One thing's for sure... He's killing my keeper team! :grouchy

[Edgartohof]

Yesterday, Ichiro had his 1,000th hit in the Major Leagues!

Maybe now that he does not have that pressure, he will start to pick it up (so he will actually be hitting over .300).

[Edgartohof]

It could just be a coincidence, but now that the pressure for Ichiro to get to his 1,000th hit (again) is off, he has begun to pick it up.

he has hit 2 HR's in the last 3 days, and in the last two (yesterday and tonight), he is 5-9 with 1 Run, 4 RBI, and 1 SB (it had been nearly 3 weeks since his last one).

So congrats, and keep it up. :clapping

[Gaijin]

One thing's for sure... He's killing my keeper team! :grouchy

Wanna trade for Helton? :D

Ichiro is having a bad drought lately. It happens. I have faith he'll get out of it and come back to have a respectable season eventually. The way it appears to me is that he's watching too many pitches and going too deep in the count, because Ichiro actually hits better when he's a free swinger. His career batting average is above .400 when he puts either the first or second pitch in play. And the deeper in the count he goes, the further his batting average drops.

[Edgartohof]

I go away for a little while, and look what happens. This thread was almost lost in the depths of the BB-fever archives - just couldn't let that happen, so here are some thoughts.


Ichiro now has 5 consectutive years with 200 hits only two (?) others have accomplished that same feat. Admitedly, he cut it close, and halfway through the season, I wasn't so sure that he could (although I never lost faith). But due to the increase in power (Sexson), He was able to pick his Run total back up to 111 again - So if Beltre improves (I know i'm being a little pesimisstic here), I would expect better results next year.

He showed a little more pop this year, with 15 home runs, and even legged out a MLB career high in triples (12).

His overall popularity remained high, and along with a good first half (due to his 1st month), he attended his 5th (consecutive) all-star game, and just recently was awarded his 5th Gold Glove.

So sure, he didn't win a batting title, but he still did his job - get lots of hits and score lots of runs.

Along with a good bit of baserunning (another year of 30+ SB - 80% success rate), and good defense, I wasn't disappointed.

Here's to next year!

[Zito75]

Wanna trade for Helton? :D



LOL.

Done. Assuming we can keep the league going, I'll make the deal.

[Edgartohof]

Well, it's official, Ichiro will be playing for Japan in the WBC. Pretty much everyone figured he would, but he was just waiting for a "formal invitation".

[Edgartohof]

Does anyone know what the Japanese lineup will look like?

1. Ichiro
2.
3.
.
.
?

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro is having a decent start to the WBC, with 4 runs, 2 SB's, and a first inning, leadoff HR in today's US vs. Japan game. It's good to see him coming along, although his BA is a little low, but this is a small sample size, so that doesn't worry me. I like to see him aggressive on the bases, and would love to see him steal more this year, he may be losing some speed, but he is a smart runner, and he still is fast, so he needs to use his smarts AND speed to help us out in that department.

[Rennie Stennett]

Ichiro is playing great. Too bad they got that bad call against them. I'm not saying the Japanese would have won the game, but you never know. You don't like to see a game decided by a bum call.

[papa~smurf]

*cough* *cough* *SUPERBOWLXL* *cough*

[Williamsburg2599]

You had to feel bad for Ichiro last night,even though it meant the USA advanced, when they showed him after the loss.

[papa~smurf]

He's not done yet, Mexico beats USA, so Japan advances...:confused: . Well Japan needs to start hitting against Korea's pitching if they want to get to the finals.

[Edgartohof]

So far in this tournament, Ichiro is batting .292 with 7 hits, 1 HR, 3 walks, and 2 SB's (0 CS). Here's hoping he will pick it up - not that he'd doing bad.


As a side note, everyone was saying they wanted to see the US vs. Cuba (as I did too), but I also wanted to see the US vs. Japan, and I did, and aside from that one bad call, it was a great game, but I haven't really heard anyone say they want to see Cuba vs. Japan.

Really, I think that would be a great game. Cuba's team is very highly touted, and Japan has a great league to pull from itself, so I guess we shall see if it comes to be.

[godzilla]

well here we go - Japan vs Cuba is the final matchup

[Rennie Stennett]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/g_ichiro_195.jpg
When Ichiro first came over to the Mariners from the Orix BlueWave in Japan, there was talk that he hit third much of his career in Japan. The thought is interesting. Is Ichiro a slugger ? The idea came up again when, against Korea in the semi's of the WBC, Oh had Ichiro hit in the three hole. Ichiro went 3-5 and had a nice two out RBI.

During his career with the BlueWave and hitting (#3), Ichiro averaged (124) games per year, and hit (.353). He averaged (92) runs, (74) RBI's, (177) hits, (29) doubles, and (16) homers per year. In addition, he averaged (28) stolen bases per year and had a slugging percentage of (.522) These were his averages for when he played fulltime his last (7)years with Orix.

In Ichiro's five years in the bigs, and hitting leadoff, he averaged (159) games played, (112) runs, (226) hits, (27) doubles, (10) home runs, (62) RBI's, and (38) stolen bases a year. He's slugged (.442) and averaged (.332).

My biggest disappointment as a fan of both Ichiro and the M's is that it seems Ichiro gets stranded down on 1st base, much of the time. The M's have tried a few guys (Cirillo, ect) out in the two hole, but have never really found a guy that can give himself up and go the other way, when Ichiro is on first. Randy Wynn did good, but it seemed half the time he hit way back in the order and Wynn is a slow starter with his hitting. You think it would be a batter's dream to have the rightside open half the time you are up to bat with #51 sitting down there at first base.

This topic might deserve it's own thread and this might be the wrong place for this, but what the hell. What do you think ? Should Ichiro hit in the three (3) hole for the M's ???

[Edgartohof]

This topic might deserve it's own thread and this might be the wrong place for this, but what the hell. What do you think ? Should Ichiro hit in the three (3) hole for the M's ???

With some work, I believe that he could be a good 3 hole hitter, but the problem with that is, it's easier to find a good 3 hole guy than it is to find a great leadoff hitter, so we would be sacrificing that. If we could pick up a decent leadoff hitter, I would love to see Ichiro hit regularly at the #3 spot, but until then, I'd keep him at the top of the order.

[Rennie Stennett]

Interesting story about Akiri Ogi, Ichiro's Manager in Japan.

http://ww1.baywell.ne.jp/fpweb/drlatham/manager/blue.htm

[Edgartohof]

Interesting story about Akiri Ogi, Ichiro's Manager in Japan.

http://ww1.baywell.ne.jp/fpweb/drlatham/manager/blue.htm

Thanks for sharing that, it was a good read.

[Rennie Stennett]

Oh San keeps Ichiro in the three hole and Japan wins !

[Williamsburg2599]

“ If there's anything I can bring back from America to Japan, I would say that I think the players have more passion in America than the Japanese players do. I don't see anybody who is cool about it, and I had to work hard to catch up to those guys who are really passionate about the game of baseball. ”
— Ichiro
I find that very interesting,as most baseball experts are saying America has the least passion of all the WBC teams.What do my fellow Ichiroest think about this?

[Rennie Stennett]

Ichiro led off in six of his eight Classic games, but he batted in the third position in Japan's lineup in the other two games, including the final.

Mariners manager Mike Hargrove has been asked since the winter if he would consider hitting Ichiro in that spot, and while Hargrove admits that he's pondered the situation, a move is "not on the radar" and would have to be discussed with Ichiro first.

Ichiro said Thursday that he didn't necessarily have a preference.

"It's hard to say," Ichiro said. "I like hitting first, but it's really about what the team needs from me. I want to do whatever is best for the team.

[Rennie Stennett]

I know it's early, but is Ichiro in mid season form ?

[Rennie Stennett]

Most of the time, Ichiro gets 5 AB's per game. Do you think this helps him if he goes on a long hit streak ? Ichiro can get hits in bunches, but can he stretch it out to 56 games ?

[Williamsburg2599]

Most of the time, Ichiro gets 5 AB's per game. Do you think this helps him if he goes on a long hit streak ? Ichiro can get hits in bunches, but can he stretch it out to 56 games ?
He deffently is a likely canidate to break it, if anyone does, but I'm not so sure anyone can break that record.

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro is off to a slow start this season, but nothing to worry about yet, though his .176 BA might suggest so, but while he only has 6 hits, he has scored 5 runs, and he should only be getting better as time goes on.

In fact, as I am writing this, the Mariners are playing, and Ichiro has just walked and scored a run - the offense that was so desparately needed against Oakland is starting to rear its little head here against Cleveland.

Also, as, Johjima has been off to an excellent start, with 2 HR's, in his first 2 games, and a 3 RBI double so far today, along with everything else, he has probably earned his own thread.

[Edgartohof]

Well, at the conclusion of the game tonight, Ichiro seemed in great form, going 3-4, with 1 walk, 1 SB, and 4 Runs. So he is doing his job, by getting his hits, stealing bases, and ultimately scoring runs.

So, while his season numbers still don't look great, they are slightly better after tonight, and look like:

9 hits in 38 AB, 4 BB, 3 SB, 9 runs(!!!), .237/.302/.263 (up from .176/.263/.206).

I know it's early, but I'm glad to see that he is being agressive on the bases (he really made the pitchers work tonight, with his stolen base, and forced an error out of the pitcher on a pickoff attempt by the pitcher, which allowed him to go to second base - he would have stolen the base anyways though).

[TheKingofKings]

Ichiro is badly struggling this year only batting .185 in 54 AB !!!

[Williamsburg2599]

Ichiro is badly struggling this year only batting .185 in 54 AB !!!
The one year i FINNALY got him on my fantasy team....:confused: :(

[Mariner Fan]

Ichiro is the best leadoff hitter period. Yes he can hit the long ball but his game is to slap the ball and get on base. Wow, how nice is that? :D

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Maybe a mod can sticky this, after all, Ichiro is THE franchise player.

[skeletor]

he'll have another good year..as long as he stays injury free, mentally
alert...heck, even his 'off' year, a lot of players would like to have..

all in all, he's been a great addition to seattle baseball..

[Rennie Stennett]

I have heard, (probably here) that in the M's organization, Ichiro is untouchable, as well as Bettancourt and King Felix, but is Ichiro really untouchable ? He (Ichiro) doesn't lke Hargrove and he doesn't like losing. could we lose him when his contract is over and he becomes a free agent ? You know the Yankees would scoop him up in a heartbeat.

Is leadoff the best place for Ichiro ? In Japan, Ichiro's Manager changed the batting order everyday depending on how players hit a particular pitcher, with the exception of Ichiro, who usually hit third in the order. Now, Ichiro seems like the best leadoff hitter in the league, with his steady 200 hits per year and a (.330) lifetime average in the Bigs, but could he better be used in the three hole ? Ichiro only walks (45) times per year. Ad this to his BA and he has a lifetime OBP of (.377) in the Bigs. Ichiro is a contact guy. He puts the ball in play. His average with runners on base and with the bases loaded is incredible. Most of the time, Ichiro comes to the plate with no one on base. Could he better be used in the three hole, so that he could hit with guys on base ? With a guy on First, it would open up the right side of the infield and with the talent he has with the bat, he could bang balls through the right side. The M's could hit and run; they could first and third the opposition to death. He is not a big homerun guy, but do we need him to hit homeruns even if he's hitting third ? A single here, a double there should be good enough. Let the big boppers like Sexton hit the long ball. Sexton might get better protection with Ichiro hitting in front of him and ditto for Ichiro. So now is Ichiro our next #3 hitter ?

[Edgartohof]

Well, after his extremely slow start, and hitting only .177 on April 18th, he has since hit .435, and has had multiple hit games in 6 of his last 7.

So now he has 33 hits, 4 doubles, 1 HR, and 8 SB's, and his batting a decent .287, and will soon (next week to week and a half), be hitting .300+, and who knows from there.

I will say that I am glad to see him still running the bases well, and hopefully he'll keep that up the whole season.

[Rennie Stennett]

1. Betancourt SS
2. Lopez 2B
3. Ichiro RF
4. Sexton 1B
5. Ibanez LF
6. Beltre 3B
7. Everett DH
8. Jojima C
9. Bloomquist CF

You can flip flop Bloomquist and Betancourt between the one (1) and (9) spot, depending on who's pitching, and to take the pressure of both of them hitting #1 everyday. Johjima seems more comfortable hitting back in the order. It might be two early to put Betancourt in the lead off spot, but he will eventually be there, of course, I'm not the Manager, Hargrove is. Lopez seems like a natural (2) hole guy. He has shown he can hit the other way, and is somewhat patient at the plate. I think Ichiro (3) and Sexton (4) is a slam dunk. Sexton will see more fastballs and they will have to pitch to Ichiro in tough spots. Would you walk Ichiro, with a base open to get to Sexton ? Sexton has not got into one of his tears where he crushes everything thrown at him. Of course, it is still early May. Farther on down the order, I continued Hargrove's right - left theme.
I think these guys have a chance to be a good hitting team. They need some guys to get hot, because hitting is contagious. Hargrove basically has all the slugs (RBI guys) in the middle of the order with the speed guys around them. It's time for me to step down off my soapbox.

[papa~smurf]

I think that the order is fine with Ichiro leading off.

Sexson got his 1000th hit today, a home run too, which might help him get back on track. I am hoping that Beltre is coming around too. Our starting pitching has been doing well, and with the exception of Guardado, our Bullpen has been lights out. If Ichiro, Lopez, Ibanez, and Everett keep their hitting up, and if Beltre and Sexson can pick their game up, we have a very formidable team.

[Edgartohof]

I think that the order is fine with Ichiro leading off.

Sexson got his 1000th hit today, a home run too, which might help him get back on track. I am hoping that Beltre is coming around too. Our starting pitching has been doing well, and with the exception of Guardado, our Bullpen has been lights out. If Ichiro, Lopez, Ibanez, and Everett keep their hitting up, and if Beltre and Sexson can pick their game up, we have a very formidable team.

I think so too. I am sure Sexson will come around (Ichiro seems to be as well), and if Beltre can at least be consistent, maybe on par with Ibanez, that would be just fine with me (.290/20/90), maybe not worth the money, but since I can't change that, I'll take what I can get

[ichiro262]

yeah...at this point i'm just hoping for a slightly above average season from beltre. i have to say i was really big on him before this season because of his crazy wbc performance, but what are you gonna do? anyway, i'm just hoping he can shut up all of those people crying steroids and get his average up. when that comes up, i bet his power will too -- you have to crawl before you can walk

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro just notched his 200th SB in his MLB career, and his next one will be #400 for his professional career (Japan and MLB)

[Edgartohof]

Well, I always said it, Ichiro is finally hitting over .300 for the season. It did take longer than expected, but after going on a now 12 game hitting streak, during which he has hit .431 (22-51), and is third in the league in hits with 55, behind Vernon Wells (56), and Miguel Tejada (58), so he should soon pass them and it shouldn't be too hard for him to keep the lead from them.

He is also remaining agressive on the bases, going 6 for 6 this month, and 14 for 16 for the season.

At least there is one more bright spot on the Mariner's, and hopefully now that Ichiro is back on track, the Mariner's themselves can do so as well.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro now has a 16 game hit streak going, with 29 hits in the last 16 games, and has a .426 BA during this stint, bringing up his BA from the .260 that it was before the streak, to the .320 that it is at now, good for 14th in the league, and is 2nd in hits with 62, behind only Michael Young who has 63.

He is also leading the team in Runs with 33 for the season, good for 12th in the league, and with the ever growing Jose Lopez behind him, he should continue to shoot up that list.

He is coming off of a couple good games, with 5 hits, 4 runs, and 1 walk in the last 2 games. So to all of you doubters out there - HA! I told you so! :D

[Edgartohof]

With Ichiro's double today, he now has an 18 game hit streak going, and he has raised his BA to .322 (up from .262, before the streak).

Give him a couple more days and he'll have hit 4th 20+ game hit streak of his career (US only), and we'll see how far he goes after that. Ichiro is also coming off of 3 consecutive multi hit games, and he should be able to get a couple more at bats in tonights game to have a shot at another hit.

[Ichi Ro]

Ichiro rules, just wish we were winning.

[Rennie Stennett]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/0007fad8.jpg

check out these cool links: hot zone and player hit chart.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/playerHotZone?categoryId=85348

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/playerHitChart?categoryId=85348

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro just finished off a good month, going 3-5 with 1 BB, 3 runs and 1 SB. That put him at .371 for the month with 46 hits (to bad he got off to a bad start, otherwise he had a shot at 50+), including an 18 game hit streak, and a perfect 9 stolen bases, with no CS. He hit 90 points higher in May than in April, raising his BA to a respectable .332 (exactly MLB career average for him), and with the way he is hitting right now, I'd expect to see it go towards .350 soon, and who knows from there, even something close to that is fine, I guess we shall have to wait and see.

I will admit I am as biased an Ichiro fan as anyone, but I've seen the guy hit over .400 for half a season (.429 for the second half of the '04 season), have 56 hits in a month, (while hitting .463/.492/.636), and hit and incredible 262 hit in a season, so I always expect him to do the "impossible", whatever that may be (something along the lines of .400 or so).

Just look at me. The guy has one good month, putting him back at his own "average", and I start with the crazy talk. I apologize for it, since to hit .400, Ichiro would need 274 hits in his projected 683 AB's (or more walks to get down the AB's), which would mean another 199 hits in his next 107 games (1.86 hits/game), since he averaged only 1.62 in '04 for his incredible 262 hits. So, pretty much out of the picture, but a guy can dream can't he?

In other news, Ichiro is still great defensively, still getting good jumps on balls, running them down, and scaring people with his arm, even without using it half the time - the threat of him throwing has saved our team many runners advancing a base (be it to second, third, or home). He is also staying somewhat agressive on the bases, on pace for 50 SB's this season, which would be his second best showing, and should keep up hit roll of not being out of the top 10 in SB's each year he has been in the league.

So he is now 6th in the league with a .332 BA, and 6th in runs scored with 41 (leader with only a slight lead at 46), is tied for 2nd in triples with 4, and is tied for 4th in SB's with 17 (though he has only 2 CS), and only one other in the top 5 has a better success rate (18-19 compared to Ichiro's 17-19). Ichiro already has a sizeable lead in hit with 77 in only 55 games (on pace for 227), with second place with only 70 (on pace for 206).

[Edgartohof]

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but Ichiro just became the Mariner's Ironman, playing in his 294th consecutive game (the old record of 293 was held by Edgar Martinez).

This streak came close to ending early, just last season (or the year before?), when he got hit in the head during a game, and was supposed to sit out the next day, but luckily the game ended up being a rainout, so no one played and he later made it up with the team.

Also, I must advise all Ichiro and Mariner's fans to start voting for him for the All-Star game, as he is currently sitting at number four on the Outfield list - though we shouldn't have to worry as the ballots in Asia just recently opened, so he should easily make it, but still, vote for him anyways.

I also want to see a good showing for our double play combo - Lopez and Betancourt, and our catcher Kenji Johjima. I don't expect to get much support for the others on our team (well, maybe Felix, even without him performing that well.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro started off the month of June with a 2 hit performance, with a late inning run, off of a Jose Lopez 2-RBI double. So now he is leading the league with 79 hits, with 2nd place, still 8 hits behind with 71. He has also raised his Batting Average to .335, good for 5th in the American League, and rising - quickly I might add.

[Rennie Stennett]

Ichiro started off the month of June with a 2 hit performance, with a late inning run, off of a Jose Lopez 2-RBI double. So now he is leading the league with 79 hits, with 2nd place, still 8 hits behind with 71. He has also raised his Batting Average to .335, good for 5th in the American League, and rising - quickly I might add.

Whenever Ichiro goes into one of his Ichi-slumps (only hit .275) you hear from certain quarters, that the league has figured out how to get him out. "The third baseman plays in and takes away many hits," They say. "He can't handle the inside pitch," another will say. "He's not happy in the States." You hear this all, but yet the guy fiqures it out and adjusts. Bust him inside too much and he'll pull the ball and drive it. Take away the slappy up the third base line, and he'll start hitting line drives to third. Ichiro will make you play defense and make you make decisions. This is why he is so dangerous with men on base, and with the sacks full. This makes him a monster #3 hitter, which he played most of his time in Japan. We'll probably never see this, Ichiro hitting third. Even if it's the right thing to do, hargrove won't do it. He is a by the book kind of manager. If you always go with the status quo or by the book you can't get second guessed. I think a look at the numbers will show that Ichiro would be a monster #3 hitter. His seven years in Japan, he hit #3 all the time.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro has been on a hot streak since May 5th, and hasn't slowed down since.

He was a homerun shy of the cycle tonight, scoring a couple of the teams 11 runs throughout the night, and adding an RBI late in the game. He also recorded his 18th SB (on pace for 51 - very respectable), and took a walk for good measure. In the process, he raised his BA to .342 for the season, which will only JUST keep him in 5th (Hillenbrand - .343, is 4th), though I suspect he will be passing a few of them soon.

For the season, Ichiro has 82 hits, is in the top 10 in runs (44), tied for the leauge lead in triples (5) with teammate Jose Lopez, and is solidly in the top five in SB's with 18 (6th place only has 13).

Since May 5th, and the ensuing 18 game hitting streak and thereafter, Ichiro has hit .426/.476/.513, with 49 hits. Ichiro also has 4 consecutive multi-hit games to play off, and has had 2 or more hits in 6 of his last 7 games.

[Edgartohof]

Ichiro went 2-4 tonight with a double, and now has a 6 game hit streak, and has had multiple hit games in 7 of his last 9.

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro is continuing to be himself at the plate.

He has a line of: .358/.408/.446

He now has 93 hits (1st in the league - on pace for 247), 47 runs (6th), 5 triples (T-1st), 18 SB's (5th)

He is also 2nd in the league in BA, and 11th in OBP.

[Edgartohof]

What else is there to say? He got another 3 hits today, bringing his total to 96 for the season.

He now is hitting: .361/.411/.449, and is on pace for 251 hits, which is something that we all know that he can do. He is hitting an AMAZING .576/.588/.788 with 19 hits in only 33AB's, and is hitting a torrid .466 over the last 30 days (and yet that's not the best he has done - he went 70/124 - .565 over another 30 day period in 2004, from July 20th to August 18th, so we know he can keep up this pace).

Also, with the 3 hits he collected today, he now has 125 games in his MLB career with 3 or more hits, that's a 162 game average of 24 games of 3 or more hits per season. Let's just compare this to a few HOF'ers (and one future one).

Player.....3+ Hit Games.....Games Played.....162 Game Avg
Gywnn.....288.................2440................ .19
Carew......301.................2469............... ..20
Boggs......283.................2440............... ..19
Ichiro......125.................858............... .....24

Gwynn leads all 4 of them in 5 hit games (he also has one 6 hit game), with 8 (Carew - 7, Boggs - 3), though Ichiro has 4 in considerably less time, so extrapolated out to similar playing time, he would beat all of them easily . Boggs has the most 4 hit games with 59 (Carew - 51, Gwynn - 35), though again, Ichiro has 25 so far, in nearly 1/3 the time, so if you extrapolate his playing time, to 2400 games, he beats them all soundly.

[Rennie Stennett]

Hey could one of you numbers guys fiqure out what Ichiro would have to do to hit (.400) ?

I know he would have to go a little better than (2-5) the rest of the way to do it. Could he do it, even with only walking 50 times per year ? Break it down and share it with us Ichiro Fans. thx.

[Edgartohof]

I'll see what I can do about that.

[Jake83]

Tonight's game Ichiro smashed a clean single off the 1st pitch.

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro so far is on pace for 692 At Bats, if we assume he walks at the same rate (without going into specifics - at least not yet). So in 692 AB's, in order to hit .400, he needs to have 277 hits (!!!!!).

So, as he has 96 hits in his first 62 games, he would need another 181 hits in his next 100 games, or 1.81 hits/games!!!!

That would be an absolutely crazy clip to hold up for the whole year - and though it has yet to be done, and I am as biased as anyone (in fact, moreso), I still see it as possible - maybe not probable, but possible.

I see it as possible, as in this model, he would need another 181 hits over the next 100 games, which is around 427 AB's for him, which equates to a .423 BA for him for the rest of the season. Need I remind you that he carried a .429 BA for the second half of the 2004 season, so this is not THAT outlandish (okay, so maybe a little).

Of course, I have not factored in the 2 hits he has gotten already in the first 3 innings of the game tonight, so let's see what he gets tonight, and let's see how that changes it.

[Rennie Stennett]

Say, Ichiro is so smokin' hot that steam is coming off his bat and he gets over the .400 mark in say, late August and all of a sudden, the pitchers start giving him four wide ones every at bat ? Okay, I'm getting crazy here. thx for your work.

[Edgartohof]

Which would you prefer for him to do? Break 262 hits in a season, or hit .400 (though if he does one, the other is probably not too far behind)?

[Rennie Stennett]

I would like to see him hit (.400).

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro ended up giong 2-4 tonight, with his second hit being a double (he later scored on it). But he also had 2 SB's, one after each of his hits.

So he now is at 98 hits for the season, is batting: .364/.412/.454

And is hitting .568/.579/.784 in June, and has a 10 game hit streak going, with 2 or more hits in 9 of them, including the last 5 games all being multi-hit games.

So he is on pace for:

162 - G
692 - AB
252 - H
123 - R
21 - 2B
13 - 3B
5 - HR
46 - RBI
314 - TB
46 - BB
69 - SO
51 - SB
5 - CS
(91%)
.364/.412/.454/.866

[Edgartohof]

I'm sorry that this is late, but Ichiro now has surpassed 2500 hits in his professional career - 2506 to be exact.

This includes 1228 in the MLB and 1278 in Japan.

Now I would like to see someone tell me that he would not have been able to accomplish this same feat in the same time if he had played solely in the US. In fact, if he had started at the same time, he would have reached this number faster, due to the longer schedules here.

This would put him at 81st on the All-Time Hits list, and 5th on the list among active players (by FAR the youngest).

[csh19792001]

Which would you prefer for him to do? Break 262 hits in a season, or hit .400 (though if he does one, the other is probably not too far behind)?

.400, by far. It's become mythical in its significance and historical stature.

[Rennie Stennett]

with a couple of hits tonight, Ichiro has a 11 game hit streak going. he don't walk much and he gets 5 AB's per game. Is this the year to break Joe D's 56 game hit streak ? Ichiro has done everything else, except hit in 56 and hit .400.

My Oh My !

[Edgartohof]

Well, Ichiro just added another hit tonight - a nice 3-Run Home Run! And he may still get another At Bat in this game - one can only hope.

[Edgartohof]

Well, he ended up going 3-6 tonight (though he did reach base in his final at bat due to an error). As mentioned above, he added a 7th inning 3 run HR to his previous 2 hits, and had 3 Runs and 3 RBI for the evening.

So he now has 101 hits, 51 Runs, 8 doubles, 5 triples, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 20 SB (90%), and is batting: .367/.414/.465

He is also batting .558/.568/.813 so far in June, and with 24 hits so far, is on pace for 69 hits this month - a record I believe!!!

He also has an 11 game hitting streak, with multiple hits in each of his last 6 games, and 12 of his last 14.

Ichiro has been hitting .464/.496/.592 the last 30 days as well, including 58 hits!


Though while his .367 BA is QUITE impressive, it is being overshadowed by the young-gun on the Twins - Mauer, who is hitting a nearly unthinkable .388, though unlike Ichiro, I tend to wonder when he will suddenly crash (many others think this as well), and come back to earth.

So as soon as Mauer gets off the hot, HOT streak he is on, and reverts back to the norm, Ichiro will quickly pass him, and in all probability, not give up the lead (at least not to Mauer).

With the 101 hits he now has, Ichiro is on pace for 256 hits for the season - yet that now almost seems "normal" for him, and I would agree, a race for .400 would be exciting right now (heck, even it it is Mauer who chases it...as long as Ichiro is in the hunt as well).

[Edgartohof]

With Ichiro being really hot lately, I happened to forget to check on something I was meaning to. A little while ago (a couple months back), anothe poster put together a couple lists of players totals since 2000.

On those lists was the top 10 MLB leaders in hits. Ichiro happened to be second on that list, despite not starting in the MLB until 2001 - he was a full season behind the others, yet was only a few hits behind the leader!

The list at the time (before the season started) looked like:

1 Todd Helton 1157
2 Ichiro Suzuki 1130
3 Derek Jeter 1129
4 Miguel Tejada 1116
5 Alex Rodriguez 1110
6 Johnny Damon 1109
7 Vlad Guerrero 1088
8 Garret Anderson 1071
9 Bobby Abreu 1042
10 Juan Pierre 1040

But it now looks like:

1. Ichiro Suzuki - 1231
T-2. Derek Jeter - 1202
T-2. Todd Helton - 1202
4. Miguel Tejada - 1200
5. Johnny Damon - 1180