At age seven, Ichiro joined his first baseball team and asked his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki (Suzuki Nobuyuki), to teach him to be a better player. The two began a daily routine which included throwing 50 pitches, hitting 200 pitches from Nobuyuki, fielding 50 infield balls and 50 outfield balls, and hitting 250–300 pitches from a machine. Ichiro Suzuki, all-time single-season hits leader in Major League Baseball.As a Little Leaguer, Ichiro had the word "concentration" (??, shuchu?) written on his glove. By age 12, he had set professional baseball as his goal and, while he apparently shared his father's vision, he did not enjoy their training sessions. Nobuyuki claimed, "Baseball was fun for both of us," but Ichiro later said, "It might have been fun for him, but for me it was a lot like Star of the Giants," a popular Japanese manga and anime series that told of a young boy's difficult road to success as a professional baseball player, with rigorous training demanded by the father. According to Ichiro, "It bordered on hazing and I suffered a lot." When Ichiro joined his high school baseball team, his father told the coach, "No matter how good Ichiro is, don't ever praise him. We have to make him spiritually strong."[citation needed] When he was ready to enter high school, Ichiro was selected by a school with a prestigious baseball program, Nagoya's Aikodai Meiden Koko, where, unlike as a professional, Ichiro was primarily a pitcher instead of an outfielder, owing to his exceptionally strong arm. While in high school, his cumulative batting average was .505, and his cumulative home run total was 19. Among the strength drills he performed in training there were hurling car tires and hitting wiffle balls with a heavy shovel. These exercises helped develop his wrists and hips, adding power and endurance to his thin frame. Yet, despite the production of outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the professional draft in November 1991, because many teams were put off by his small size of 5' 9" and 124 pounds. [1] [edit] Career in Japan Career Hits & Avg in Japan Season Hits Avg 1992 24 .253 1993 12 .188 1994 210* .385 1995 179 .342 1996 193 .356 1997 185 .345 1998 181 .358 1999 141 .343 2000 153 .387 Total 1278 .353 *Japan Single-Season Record Ichiro made his Pacific League debut in 1992 at the age of 18, but he spent most of his first two seasons in the farm system because of his manager's refusal to accept Ichiro's unorthodox swing. The swing, nicknamed 'pendulum' because of the pendulum-like motion of his leg, shifting the weight forward as he swung the bat, was considered to go against conventional hitting theory. Even though he hit a home run off Hideo Nomo, who later won the rookie of the year award in the majors leagues as a Dodger, Ichiro was sent back to the farm system on that very day. In 1994, he benefited from the arrival of a new manager who played him every day in the second spot of the lineup. He was eventually moved to the leadoff spot for the Blue Wave, where his immediate productivity dissolved any misgivings about his uncoventional swing. He set a Japanese single-season record with 210 hits in 130 games for a then-Pacific League record .385 batting average and won the first of a record seven consecutive batting titles. He also hit 13 home runs and had 29 stolen bases, helping him to earn his first of three straight Pacific League MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards. It was during the 1994 season that he began to use his given name, "Ichiro" instead of his family name, "Suzuki" on the back of his uniform. Suzuki is the second most common family name in Japan, and his manager introduced the idea as a publicity stunt to help create a new image for what had been a relatively weak team, as well as a way to distinguish their rising star. Initially, Ichiro disliked the practice and was embarrassed by it; "Ichiro" was a household name by the end of the season and he was flooded with endorsement offers. In 1995 Ichiro led the Blue Wave to their first Pacific League pennant in 12 years. In addition to his second batting title, he led the league with 80 RBI, hit 25 home runs, and stole 49 bases. By this time, the Japanese press had begun calling him the "Human Batting Machine." The following year, with Ichiro winning his third straight MVP award, the team defeated the Central League champion, Yomiuri Giants, in the Japan Series. Following the 1996 season, playing in an exhibition series against a visiting team of Major League All-Stars kindled Ichiro's desire to travel to the United States to play in the Major Leagues. In 2000, Ichiro was still a year away from being eligible for free agency, but the Blue Wave were no longer among Japan's best teams. They would probably not be able to afford to keep him and would lose him without compensation in another year, and allowed him to negotiate with Major League clubs. Ichiro used the posting system, and the Seattle Mariners won the right to negotiate with him with a bid of around $13 million.[2] Ichiro signed a three-year, $14 million contract with the Mariners and became the first Japanese position player in the Major Leagues. In his nine seasons in Japan, Ichiro had 1,278 hits, a .353 career batting average, and in addition to his hitting achievements, won seven Gold Glove Awards. In January 2006, Ichiro played himself in Furuhata Ninzaburo, a Japanese Columbo-like TV drama that he loves. In the drama, he kills a person and is arrested. [edit] Career in Major League Baseball Career Hits & Avg in MLB Statistics as of July 26, 2008 Season Hits Avg 2001 242 .350 2002 208 .321 2003 212 .312 2004 262* .372 2005 206 .303 2006 224 .322 2007 238 .351 2008 126 .295 Total 1,718 .330 *MLB Single-Season Record Ichiro rounding the bases during a game against the Los Angeles Angels, 22 Sep 2007On November 9, 2000, Ichiro was acquired by the Seattle Mariners for a contract worth roughly $14 million. Ichiro's move to the United States was viewed with great interest because he was the first Japanese position player to play regularly for a Major League Baseball team. Up to that point, only pitchers from Japan had been playing in the United States and, in the same way that many Japanese teams had considered the 18-year-old Ichiro too small to draft in 1992, many in the US believed he was too frail to succeed against Major League pitching or endure the longer 162-game season. Ichiro made an auspicious debut his first week in the MLB, and revealed his tremendous throwing arm, by gunning down at third base the Oakland Athletics' Terrence Long, who had tried to advance from first to third after a teammate's base hit to right field. That play would be later remembered as "The Throw".[3] Ichiro wears the number 51 which he was issued by the Mariners as he had no preference for a number when he joined the club. He was initially hesitant when he was issued the number. To avoid insulting its former owner, Randy Johnson, Ichiro forwarded a personal message to the Big Unit promising not to “bring shame” to the uniform. Not only did he prove he belonged, Ichiro had a remarkable 2001 season, accumulating 242 hits (the most by any player since 1930 as well as a rookie record) and leading the league with a .350 batting average and 56 stolen bases. By mid-season, he had produced hitting streaks of 15 and 23 games, been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and created a media storm on both sides of the Pacific. 2001 was also an exceptionally successful regular season for the Seattle Mariners as a team, as they matched the 1906 Chicago Cubs' Major League record of 116 wins.[4] In Seattle, ticket sales (and wins) were higher than ever, fans from Japan were taking $2,000 baseball tours to see the games, more than 150 Japanese reporters and photographers were clamoring for access, and "Ichirolls" were being sold at sushi stands in the ballpark. Flight agencies also benefited from Ichiro, as many Ichiro fans were flying in and out of the country just to see him play.[5] Aided by Major League Baseball's decision to allow All-Star voting in Japan, Ichiro was the first rookie to lead all players in voting for the All-Star Game. At season's end, he won the American League Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year awards, becoming only the second player in MLB history (after Fred Lynn) to receive both honors in the same season. In addition to being a seven-time Gold Glove winner, Ichiro is also a eight-time All-Star selection from 2001 to 2008. His success has opened the door for other Japanese players like former Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui and former Seibu Lions infielder Kazuo Matsui to enter the Major Leagues. During one 56-game stretch in 2004, Ichiro batted over .450. By comparison, Joe DiMaggio batted .408 during his record-setting 56-game hitting streak. Ichiro batted over .400 against lefties in 2004. Ichiro is noted for his work ethic in arriving early for his team's games, and for his calisthenic stretching exercises to stay limber even during the middle of the game. Continuing the custom he began in Japan, he uses his given name on the back of his uniform instead of his family name, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball to do so since Vida Blue. In addition these unique aspects of the Japanese baseball icon, Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz and 2008 MLB Home Run Durby Champion, Justin Morneau has only recently revealed that Ichiro knows more English words than his foreign impression leads on. During every All-Star game right after the manager's pre-game speech, Ichiro would proceed, in English, to what seems to be his version of pre-game speech in hope to lift any nervousness. This pre-game speech has become more or less a pre-game ritual that some may believe have helped in the American League consecutive wins. Ichiro's career is followed closely in Japan, with national television news programs covering each of his at bats, and with special tour packages arranged for Japanese fans to visit the United States to view his games. Between 2001 and 2004, Ichiro amassed more hits (924) than anyone in history over any four-year period. Bill Terry held the old record of 918. He would later surpass his own mark by putting up 930 hits from 2004-2007. [6] Ichiro resides with his wife Yumiko in nearby Medina, an affluent suburb across Lake Washington from Seattle (same neighborhood as Bill Gates). He is in the process of building a new home there