Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki, often referred to mononymously as Ichiro, is a Japanese professional baseball right fielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball. He has spent the bulk of his career with two teams: the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseballin Japan, where he began his professional career, and the Seattle Mariners of MLB in the United States. After playing for the Mariners, he played two and a half seasons in MLB with the New York Yankees. Ichiro has...
NationalityJapanese
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth22 October 1973
CountryJapan
If I'm in a slump, I ask myself for advice.
Some people enjoy taking a light stroll in the morning and that gives them relief and that sort of feeling. That is what I gain by practicing, by swinging the bat.
The Japanese have a strong tendency to suppress their own feelings. That's the Japanese character. They kill their own emotions.
As professionals we have a responsibility of providing a good show for the fans. Getting hits and home runs is what they want to see.
I didn't know I hit that way (.625 with runners in scoring position). Maybe not knowing is my secret. If I chased numbers, maybe I wouldn't have as good results.
I've made far too many mistakes. That's the way I feel.
I love baseball, but being here (in the United States), I've been able to play golf every day. I can't play in Japan because every course has caddies, and the caddies all want autographs and don't want to let me golf.
I'm anxious to face them (major league pitchers) all, but in reality I'm looking forward most to (Boston's) Pedro Martinez. He was with the major league team that came to Japan in 1996, just before he became a superstar. I'm anxious to see how much he's improved. And I'm anxious to see how much I've improved against him.
I played on the 2001 team, the team that won the most games in the history of Major League Baseball and also I played on one of the worst teams of Major League Baseball.
I heard that in the United States the level of baseball was the highest in the world. So it was only natural that I would want to go there, as a baseball player.
You should seek approval from yourself.
People striving for approval from others become phony.
I had a dream. And I made that dream come true.
When I look at the records and see where my place in the history of the game (in Japan with Orix) might be, I guess you could say it was a good decision to come here. It's not just me. Maybe I'll have an effect on others in the international part of the game.