Ichiro Suzki, OF
Hits:Left Throws: Right
Height: 5-11
Weight: 172
Age: 38
2010 salary: $17 million
2010 stats: Batted .316 in 162 games, with 214 hits, 42 stolen bases and a .359 on-base percentage.
2010 highlights
Tenth consecutive All-Star season, 10th consecutive 200-hits-plus season, 10th consecutive .300-plus season … “There’s Nothing he can’t do – still,” scout Ken Compton said. “I don’t understand the criticism he takes. He still has a great arm, can still go get the ball, hasn’t lost a step yet. He’s a guy who’s an example – how he prepares, how he’s totally into getting on base and scoring runs – that’s his leadership.”
2010 lowlights
Ichiro’s 74 runs scored were the lowest of his career and just the second time he hadn’t scored at least 100. With little offense behind him, there were times he pressed on the base paths. Still, he was on base 262 times …
Summing up Ichiro’s 2010
A tough season, emotionally, for a man who doesn’t show his feelings. Teammate and close friend Ken Griffey Jr. departed without a goodbye in June, and for the second time in three years the Mariners lost 101 games. “When you play to win, when you expect to win, losing so many times seems impossible,’ he said late in the year. It wasn’t, but it took a toll on the right fielder.
Looking to 2011
Now 38, Ichiro doesn’t appear to have lost much of his speed – he led the American League again with 59 infield singles last year. “He’s a wonder, no question,” Mets scout Harry Minor said. “You’d never pick a kid who hit like this, but he controls the bat even as he’s running out of the box, and he never seems to hit the ball right at anyone.” Ichiro’s speed, at the plate or on base, remains a factor other teams change their defense for. A Gold Glove defender, a .331 career hitter with a .378 lifetime on-base percentage who collects 200 hit’s a season? If Ichiro drops off a little with age, he’d likely remain an All-Star-caliber player.
Ichiro revived my love of this great game.
The man is a wonder indeed. His dedication and craft are unparalleled. I love how you can pencil this guy in for 200+ hits, great baserunning, and GG defense. There are flash-in-the-pans who can grab a great year or two but then in many cases they can’t repeat their success. 10 straight years is flatout mindboggling.
And we know nobody can match Ichiro for hits, but his 10 consecutive seasons of hitting .300 and stealing 25 bases are also only matched by Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Tris Speaker. That’s some good company!
I really am thankful that I can watch this slam dunk future Hall of Fame player ply his craft for my team almost every single game. And Ichiro is like my own Field of Dreams, in that it’s like he evokes the ghosts of the great players from the mists of baseball’s golden age.
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Great post Tom. Icihiro is amazing to watch. I cannot stand all the criticism for him not being a “Leader”. Who cares? Would you rather not have his 200 hits and him being on base almost 300 times a year? Leadership is not for everyone and just because you are good at something, it does not make you a leader.
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Ichiro is 37, not 38. Born Oct. ’73.
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I notice base stealing wasn’t discussed. The only “pressing” I saw him doing last season on the basepads, was keeping his foot firmly pressed onto first base. He could steal like Henderson if he wanted to. Create the havoc on the bases like Figgens used to do. 214 hits: 42 stolen bases. That number should be doubled.
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He stole 42 bases and is 37 years old. How many did Henderson steal when he was 37? I can answer that, he stole 53. Only 4 times in his career did he steal more than 84 bases which you wanted Ichiro to steal at 37. And Ricky was the greatest base stealer of all time and that was his main talent. It’s easy to make statements like that when you don’t know what the he11 you’re talking about.
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