When mlb's new season opener kicked off at the Tokyo Dome, legendary Japanese baseball star Ichiro Suzuki drew a tidal wave of cheers from the people of his homeland at this real home. On this day, the 45-year-old veteran officially announced his retirement, ending his brilliant career.
Since his debut in the Japan Professional Baseball League (NPB) in 1992, Ichiro Suzuki has been playing in the baseball arena for 27 years. In these 27 years, he has written countless legends and records, leaving many wonderful stories for fans.
"He's a magician with a bat"
Ichiro Suzuki joined the NPB Orix in 1992 and has been selected for the Star Game seven times, the Strike King seven times, the Hitter King five times, and the Most Valuable Player Award three times, making him the most popular superstar in the Japanese baseball world. Nine years later, the NPB had nothing left to chase, and MLB, the highest temple in baseball, opened its doors to him.
In 2001, Ichiro Suzuki joined the MLB Seattle Mariners for a $28 million transfer fee. Although the Americans had doubts about Ichiro Suzuki, Ichiro Suzuki used his own strength to crush all prejudices.
In his rookie season, Ichiro Suzuki played 157 games, playing a .350 homer and stealing 56 bases, both of which led the entire American League. The last person to do this was Jackie Robinson in 1949. He won the league's Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and was named to the All-Star Team.
It is worth mentioning that in the rookie season, Ichiro Suzuki hit a special hit. The pitcher threw the ball and bounced to the ground before reaching home base, but even so, Ichiro Suzuki completed the hit and successfully attacked the first base.
The next day, reporters called Mariners general manager Pat Gillick to ask him how he felt about such a level of hitting. Girrick's response at the time became classic: "Oh, I've seen him hit like this in Japan, he used to practice hitting bouncing baseball." He can do it, he's a magician with a bat in his hand. ”
King of amphibious, best outfield
Ichiro Suzuki hit 1,278 hits in nine seasons with NPB and 3,089 hits in 19 seasons during mlb, making a total of 4,367 hits in the world professional baseball record. During his time in major leagues, he held the record for a maximum of 262 hits in a single season and more than 200 hits in 11 consecutive seasons.
On the defensive end, Ichiro Suzuki is also quite well known. The right field he was in charge of became the most reassuring area of the team. From 2001 to 2010 he won ten pairs of gold gloves in a row (the league's best defensive award in his position), and there are only a few in the entire league history that has been able to do this. His impregnable defense led Mariners fans to refer to the home right field as "Area 51" — both a synonym for the U.S. Air Force's Edwards Base and a jersey number for Ichiro Suzuki.
2017 MLB Regular Season: Ichiro Suzuki celebrates the 3000 hit milestone
However, not winning a championship trophy is undoubtedly the biggest regret of Suzuki's career. His bad luck at MLB, the golden years of his career with the sinking Sailors, played only two playoffs, stopped in the American League Finals, and even failed to reach the World Series. There is no doubt that before deciding to leave, he was already recognized as a Hall of Fame, and the absence of a ring would not affect his great status.
At the national team level, Ichiro Suzuki also left two heavy strokes. In the first and second WBC World Baseball Classics in 2006 and 2009, the Japanese team led by Ichiro Suzuki achieved consecutive championships, worthy of the heroic legend of Japanese baseball.
"Frozen age" comes from extreme self-discipline
One season is nothing short of stunning, and ten consecutive years of brilliance are admirable. At the age of 27, he landed in major leagues, what made Ichiro Suzuki maintain such a high competitive state for so long?
As a professional player, Ichiro Suzuki has a very tight schedule, and his schedule is even accurate to the second: a simple meal 30 minutes before training; butter bread is microwaved for 8 seconds; eating a slice takes 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and the second slice is 1 minute and 30 seconds.
On rest days, he never trains on his own. Every morning, Ichiro Suzuki completes his punching practice. Everyone in the team he plays for knows this. He takes good care of the bats he uses, and he protects them in special bags, especially when traveling away from home. You'll never see him ruin his bat because he's too angry. He explained it this way: "[The bat] is my tool for playing, and you'll never see a great carpenter throw away his hammer. I care a lot about my bat. ”
But the years eventually eroded the legend's body. He couldn't find the team before the start of last season, and finally because the Seattle Mariners faced a wave of injuries and the shortage of fielders, Ichiro had the opportunity to renew the frontier with his old club. As the injured soldiers in the Mariners' lineup gradually returned to the team, Ichiro Suzuki withdrew from the team roster and accompanied the team as a special adviser.
The opening match of the new season of MLB, it can be said that the symbolic significance of Ichiro Suzuki's appearance is greater than the actual combat significance, standing in front of his hometown father and elder, he will take this as his own curtain battle.
Eighteen years ago, the Seattle Mariners gave the No. 51 to Ichiro Suzuki. As a newcomer to Asia, knowing that the number once belonged to the team's legendary pitcher Randy Johnson, Suzuki sent a text message to the latter with trepidation, promising not to "shame" the jersey. Now, when Ichiro Suzuki retires, he can proudly send another message to Randy: This number that is great by you has become greater because of me.