Ichiro Suzuki: Japan's Secret Slugger? l Baseball Bits
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
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Ichiro Suzuki is Japan's greatest baseball player. The future Hall of Famer has broken record after record between the NPB and MLB, but there is an underlying secret. Although he is known as a singles hitter, Ichiro Suzuki home runs could be much more common if he took a different approach. In this episode of Baseball Bits, Foolish Baseball wants to talk about Ichiro power! The question is simple. Is Ichiro Suzuki secretly a great home run hitter? How many home runs could he have hit if he changed his approach? We'll answer that question and much more. We'll explore the Ichiro Mariners times all the way through the Ichiro Marlins era. With a 27 year body of work, there's no shortage of stats, events, and anecdotes to choose from. You'll even get to see Ichiro NPB (Nippon Pro Baseball) footage, specifically with the Orix Blue Wave. Don't worry, there's also plenty of comparison to Shohei Ohtani, who makes his Baseball Bits debut. We conclude with a clip of Ichiro's home run against Mariano Rivera.
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NPB Home Runs: • Video
Mariners BP: • Ichiro Hitting Homerun...
Marlins BP: • Ichiro Suzuki Batting ...
The Ringer - Should Ichiro Have Hit Homers?: www.theringer.com/2016/7/28/1...
Baseball Bits Playlist: • Baseball Bits - Sport
So you're saying we should put Ichiro in the HR Derby this year?
I’ll have my people call your people.
Yu
You people better
Can 2019 please be "the year of the Ichiro"? Super pretty please. Put him in the derby. Due us all and yourself the greatest favor since American joined WWII
Please do, us Mariner Fans need something going for us
Ichiro should be in the HR Derby
I always wanted that.
So did I. Ichiro is one of my favorite players of all time and I was always wondering if they'd ever let him do the derby to prove to everyone he could do it, but, alas...
True. It would have been cool to see him in it, especially if he could win it as well.
I can remember a couple of prominent players at the time (can't remember exactly who, but Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds ring some bells) saying that Ichiro woukd win the HR derby if he took part in it.
I agree.
respects lmaooo the fact you looked up for those clips in japanese
I‘m basically fluent now
@@FoolishBaseball honestly though dude, your content is amazing. its obvious you put in a lot of work in all your videos, excited for what other videos you got in store for us :)
イチローホームラン😂😂😂
If you stay statcast 3 times Joey Gallo will appear behind you
He will appear and proceed to hit directly into the shift.
>implying Joey Gallo would ever hit a ground ball
>implying Joey Gallo would make contact
Lmfao
@@buttdisease he has like a 253 avg this year.... A ton better than last year.
I laughed out loud when Barry Bonds was revealed
"Ichiro is this generation's Ty Cobb"
Except everyone loved Ichiro.
Everyone loves him except for angels probably Yankees and his npb team
To be fair, everything regarding Ty Cobb about his racism and overall character was a myth and exaggeration
Tim Polidor that is true a lot of people that have played against and with have dismissed those allegations
sorry to say it but i love cobbs grittiness and toughness but ik he was stupid and careless.
Blane Fisherman none were f us had ever said that and we all love that about him
I saw a video of Ichiro's BP when he was with the Japan national team for WBC, he hit 10 or so consecutive HRs (I tried looking for the video again for you, can't find it anymore, sorry). You can here the ooohs and woahs, he was putting a show on purpose. The mic caught him saying something like "okay that's enough, let me practice" then proceeded to hit line drives. Somebody said "you don't like homeruns?" He said something like "hitting the ball pass the fence is easy, hitting them in a particular spot is more interesting." Or maybe he said "more challenging"? Sorry, my memory is messing with me.
I also saw a video, I think he was being interviewed by Kazuhiro Sasaki (a former teammate in Seattle who became a news reporter after retirement), he said his job as a lead-off hitter is to get on base, but he can easily hit more homeruns if he wanted to.
Thanks for sharing! I wish that video was still out there! Ichiro has honestly been decently open about his power potential.
Yeah I've heard him say similar things, and he's not wrong when you watch some of the most power exclusive power hitters like Adam Dunn, you see how a sub
.250 BA can still produce a ton of bases, just swing the bat really hard and keep good form. I see tons of guys who have crazy power but can't do it if they have to. The way Ichiro played was a result of his High School training, he woke up at 4 went to bed at 10 and spent all his time playing baseball or studying and swung the bat like 500 times a day every day. I also hear he used a shovel to get better at keep his swing balanced which is hilarious.
@@matthewlaird4009 I didn't know about the shovel. But I think it's true he didn't miss a day without training, his father was 100% supportive and they said all they talk about was baseball. I was in grade school when I first heard about Ichiro, (he was a pitcher in high school in Aichi), but it was very rare. At the time Japan media was more focused on high school phenom Hideki Matsui. Even after getting drafted by Orix (4th round pick), I think it took him 2 or so years before he got a break. Matsui and Ohtani are huge and physically gifted athletes, but Ichiro is the perfect example of "hard work pays off."
God, I remember that video. I hope it turns up on CZcams again someday.
it's funny. you're comment reminded me of him taking bp at Angels stadium around 2008 or 2009. He launched 4 or 5 in a row. What stood out was the ease of the swing he was taking. He looked to be swinging at 50 to 70 percent power. The balls were landing way beyond the elevated rf fence. I can only compare the visual to a pro golfer at the driving range when they launch the ball with minimal effort like an Ernie Els or Fred Couples swing. That will always be a great memory and privilege watching him take bp!
The walk off against Rivera was my favorite. He got ahold of that one. I always felt if ichiro wanted he could have averaged 20-30 homers in the MLB. He probably woulda only hit .275-.300 rather than his typical .300-.330.
Anthony Jackson I agree
Love seeing the Yankees lose in any fashion, but that was spectacular
Oh yeah? You think so? You mean you didn’t just watch a video that suggests the same idea...cool brah
Surely with a runner on second his normal approach would've been better suited just needing a run to tie.
Anthony Jackson that’s why he isn’t an all time great, in Albert Pujols prime he was hitting 40 HR and batting .330 a year. I mean he has a career .300 average and over 600 home runs.
I love that there is finally a well edited and interesting baseball channel here on CZcams
I don't know anything about baseball, but yet I still watch them. I have no idea why but damn they are interesting.
*Ahhhh. The closer*
That‘s from an old Mariners commercial. Loved that I was able to use it.
@@FoolishBaseball Can you link to that commercial please?
@@burningphoneix czcams.com/video/MzBVZmLgIqM/video.html
Foolish Baseball was an awesome addition
The Mariners have the greatest commercials LMAO I had forgotten about this one. I love the Ichiro-Griffey one where Griffey glues Ichiro to a chair lol
So Ichiro could bend the game itself to his will? Got it
I mean yeah, basically
Yes, that‘s Chase Field. Hey, they don‘t call it Foolish Baseball for nothin‘. Also, the Orix Blue Wave played in Kobe, which is in Hyogo prefecture. The team they eventually merged with played in Osaka prefecture, not that I really know what that means.
great channel.....can you do a historical league?
Can you show how to set up an accurate league frome say 1970 with all the real coaches, owners, logos, jerseys, player pics (no face gen!!), ballparks
Even better real historical league starting in 1970 with your own expansion. But imported rookies still go to there own teams.
Even better, how to start in 1970 but have a few players edited so that when they enter the league or you restart a league they have the same edits.
It is impossible to combine a historical league (complete with minors) with your own expansion and minors
What if Sandy Koufax was born righty?
What if Clemente didn't die
What if there was no astroturf
The team merged with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2004 to create the Orix Buffaloes. That same year the Rakuten Golden Eagles was created, which Masahiro Tanaka debuted with.
Kobe and Osaka are part of the same metropolitan area (along with Kyoto), even though they're in different prefectures, similar to the Bay Area, Dallas-Fort Worth, and particularly how we group DC, Baltimore, Northern Virginia into the DMV.
@@vodhozk Awesome, thanks for sharing.
Where did the playoff video go?Love your vids!
Up here in Seattle, there is a unabashed love for his skill set. I feel as though were he just another slugger, the excitement he brought would not have been to the level it is today. Sure, chicks dig the long ball, but his style of play and especially after his rookie/mvp season, the attendance spiked in 2002 3.5 million at Safeco. As fun as Homeruns are to most other folks, isn't the saying true that nothing is more exciting than the triple? Not that he had tons but his 3,000th was a triple, which is pretty damn sweet. (yes, he ranks 175th in triples with Joe Morgan, but that name doesn't suck either, right)? I guess after my babble, I would have to say that his style increased attendance and captivated an audience that was subjected to the constant deluge of HR's of the mid to late nineties. That or I'm just lame.
I think you've hit the nail right on the head. There will never be another player quite like him.
E CHE ROW
Homers are ruining baseball. There’s needs to be more Ichiros who trying to slap singles. Baseball is 10x more exciting with men on base. So MLB needs to encourage bigger ballparks, so guys like Ichiro, Dee Gordon, and Billy Hamilton appear more often
@Timothy Justin Lamar - enjoy Mallex Smith. I miss him already. I bet you and the rest of the Mariners' fans enjoyed simultaneously getting rid of Zunino and acquiring Smith. Zunino has struck out once for every 2.7 PA during his entire career to go along with his abysmal .207 batting average. I know he's a good defensive catcher, but does that really matter at this point?
I went to see Ichiro play in his first spring training against the Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. I swear to god he threw a line drive strike to third base from foul territory in the right field corner. That's when I knew the legend was real.
The Ty Cobb comparison is so on point with what you are saying. This video just reminded me of Ty Cobb's middle finger to people that said he couldn't hit long balls like Ruth. On May 5-6 1925 against the St Louis Browns Cobb went off. In those two games he went 9 for 12 with 5 homeruns a double and 8 RBIs in two games. IIRC he called it ahead of time, and then after just went back to bunt singling his way on base. You can check the box scores on baseball reference.
Yeah there's a lot of parallels to be drawn there for sure.
Best memory of him is him hitting the walkoff on Rivera. Getting Felix that win.
Facts:
1. Ichiro averaged more hits per game in his first 12 MLB seasons covering 1911 games than he did in his 951 NPB games (1.364 vs 1.344)
2. Ichiro played 130-135 games max in NPB seasons (shorter seasons in Japan)
3. Ichiro would have easily surpassed his 1278 NPB hit total if he had started his career in the majors (due mostly to batting leadoff)
It pretty reasonable to conclude that Ichiro surpasses Pete Rose as the hit king. His NPB hit totals are already heavily discounted by the much shorter season and the fact that he was getting less hits per game over there.
DThomas4Christ
Fact: Pete’s hits in minor league baseball don’t get counted in this theory, which is the equivalent of ichiro’s japan hits. Pete was getting paid to play just the same but everyone is so quick to pretend that Rose isn’t the greatest hitter in history. MAD props to Ichiro, love his career, but he doesn’t tip Charlie Hustle.
@@jeremylewellen Rose isnt the greatest hitter, Barry Bonds was. Rose had a career OPS of .784. Barry Bonds had a career OPS of 1.051. Hell Jeter had a career OPS of .817, so you could even argue that Jeter was a better hitter than Rose. Rose had a long career and hit a lot of singles
Jeremy Lewellen he came into the league at 27. It’s a fact he would hav passed Pete rose give those 5-7 seasons
@@nicholasbrown4109
If we’re talking OPS, Bonds is the best, but OPS is a combination of slugging and on base % and we have to remember Barry Bonds walked a lot, almost 2000 more times that Ichiro, and about 1000 times more than Rose, his walks can add anywhere from .100 to .250 to his OBP which heavily boosts his OPS. This should be taken into consideration because, while his walks demonstrate incredible plate discipline, they don’t actually help him hit, but they still increase the stat you are using to determine how good a hitter is.
@@sportsfaniguess154 Taking walks is a part of hitting. Knowing when not to swing is just as important as knowing when. But if you dont want to take into account walks, fine. Bonds is still a way better hitter. His slugging percentage is around 200 points higher than Rose's, .607 vs .409. Even if you want to compare batting average, Rose is only slightly better, .303 vs .298. There really is no debate who was a better hitter. Unless you think that .005 in batting average matters more than over 600 more home runs hit.
Came across your videos a few weeks ago. I’m loving them! Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much Coach Madden!
Foolish Baseball Thank you for providing this very interesting baseball content! Your channel is gonna blow up this year!
イチローさん 第2の野球人生
You just copy and paste above sentence(Japanese!!)
You’ ll be surprised !
He is 47 years old, but hit home-run easily in front of others....... !!!
I don't even follow baseball, and these videos are excellent to watch!
An in the ⚾ community that's a compliment, especially since the culture supposedly is dying. This should be a hint 2 MLB. Awesome content for sure 👍👍 thanks for sharing. It's a home run for the win
I'm a Tigers fan, but my two all-time favorite baseball players are Ken Griffey Jr, and Ichiro. Great video once again!
It's crazy that Ichiro played until 2019...I remember going to Oakland A's games as a kid and seeing him play when we played the Mariners. The crazy part comes with me not watching or following baseball for a good 12+ years, being 27 now, and him still playing. Salute to one of the all-time greats!
Edit: I remember one game during warm-ups prior to the game, my friends and I yelled for Ichiro to throw us a ball (we were sitting in the first couple rows of the outfield bleachers). Ichiro was in very shallow outfield and he somehow heard us and threw a LASER literally right to my glove. Sad part was that my friend knocked the ball from my glove and another fan got the souvenir, but moral of my story is dude had one of the most accurate cannons I've ever seen live.
The only two people who didn't seem surprised at that outcome were Mo and Ichiro. Ichiro just runs around the bases like it's another day and Mo walks off with a smile that says "That SOB did that shit on purpose!".
the Carlton Fisk bit LOL
OMG, that had me laughing out loud... had to pause the video just to write this
'Ah, the closer' is the greatest and most hilarious thing I've seen.
That is pretty much Ichiro to a T, he loved picking on the closer.
If you stay statcast 3 times Joey Gallo will appear behind you
Ichiro is one of my favorite ballplayers of all time. Thanks for this.
Just need to point this out: In 2011, NPB changed the ball used in games. This drastically lowered the amount of home runs in the NPB to the point that the NPB's average PA/HR is now 34.5, less homers than the MLB's 29.6 (I think that's probably wrong, though). Perhaps that's why Ohtani can keep up with the home run pace, since his entire career is after the ball change.
Didn't know that, thanks for sharing!
Cool stat. Let's also not forget that MLB teams also encourage their guys to swing for the fences more than ever before.
That ball only being used those couple seasons around that time, way after ichiro went to usa
Awesome video. That transition and styling is really unique and nostalgically captivating. I hope this one gets into the millions and that sub list grows. That amount of effort and craft deserves some reward. Thanks.
I really appreciate your thoughtful comment. I think having a consistent, but unique presentation style has been key for this series.
@@FoolishBaseball yeah along with the research, editing and dialogue. You make excellent decisions in all different areas. You're the best content creator I've ever stumbled across without a really large audience, and you make a sport I have never followed interesting enough to watch the whole thing and leave a comment. Looking forward to the next one.
michael hall the fact that this isn’t a million sub channel is a travesty tbh. The amount of work this takes is so crazy. I have tried editing audio and thinking of doing all of this for video format is exhausting to me lol
Ichiro. My favorite player of all time. What a man. What a player.
9:37 lmao
TheGMonster my god, that background song
Came for Ichiro, stayed for Actraiser.
It is impossible not to love Ichiro as he so much more than a player. Roberto Clemente comes to mind. Another great soul.
Oh shit. Actraiser for the sound track. You're a legend bro
My favorite series on CZcams !
That‘s what I love to hear!
Calling Ichiro a legend is an understatement!
His approach, work ethic, swing, play style, mentality, is why he’s my all time fav player. He also inspires me being only 5’9 150lbs playing the game we all love. Gotta love that goat 🐐
Might be one of the most beloved players in the game too.
Another Masterpiece.
Much appreciated
Ichiro signed a minor league contract for the 2019 season with the Seattle Mariner organization and will be at spring training with the Mariners. Everything is running late. He started his major league career at 27 and will try to play at age 45. With a lifetime of delayed milestones, he probably will live to 112.
He'll also be playing in the Japan series.
his over all major leage carrer (Japan included) he started, for the main pro team, fresh out of High school.
I got to attend the workout day / Home Run Derby in Safeco Field back in 2001. I spent most of the day hanging out in the centerfield landing next to the ESPN stage, and got to speak with a few ESPN personalities. More than a couple were confident Ichiro could win the derby, if he was entered.
Having been to a ton of Mariners games, Ichiro's BP legend is real. Even at that workout day prior to the Home Run Derby as a 27 yr old rookie, his first turn in the cage produced 8 straight laser homeruns, ten rows deep into the right field seats. I have no doubts he could've won a few HR Derby titles.
Thank you for this! I was also at that workout, and I'm sure people assume I'm wildly exaggerating when I tell them he hit 8 straight homers, and that they were so tightly bunched that a single fan grabbed 4 of them.
It's more impressive to be a consistent hitter and have over 3000 hits and .317 avg.
Also it's more exciting in general to watch an inning rally where it's a string of singles, doubles, and triples.
Always thought he could hit way more. When he got a hold of one it was special.
Some of the shots in the video are just clobbered, especially the NPB homers and the one off Aaron Nola.
I was at the Home Run Derby in 2009 in St. Louis. Before the derby when the all stars were just messing around and taking some BP, Ichiro was absolutely crushing the ball out of the park. I mean it was crazy, he went deep on every single swing.
Ken Griffey witnessed Ichiro's power displayed in BP and he said that is when he put on a HR show.
Any way you slice it, that man was amazing at the plate. His durability and productivity were incredible. His MLB numbers alone were HOF worthy, but when you include his time in Japan he's one of the greats of all time.
Man I am so glad I was recommended one of your videos. This is my new favorite channel.
You are, hands down, my new favorite channel. You're the perfect thing to come across during the offseason. Keep up the good work m8, always looking forward to more content from you.
Really you should do a video on how Greg Maddux was having one of the best seasons for a pitcher in MLB history when the 1994 strike happened. His ERA for his last 6 games in 94 was 0.86. He was actually getting better as the season went on.
That whole season was crazy, Tony Gwynn was batting .394 with about 55 games left and Matt William's and Ken Griffey Jr. were both on pace for about 60 home runs. But the bigger story was the 94 Expos. Because they lost about 30 home games the team was broke and had to break up the juggernaut. The let Larry Walker walk. Traded Marquis Grissom, John Wetteland and Ken Hill, not to mention losing many more stars in the following year or three, including Moises Alou, Pedro Martinez, Cliff Floyd, Rondell White, Wil Cordero, Darrin Fletcher, Mike Lansing, Sean Berry, Mel Rojas, Jeff Fassero, Kirk Rueter and Jeff Shaw. They had a franchise record winning percentage and were set up for the next decade until they were forced to pull a Florida Marlins. It's a shame because the strike begat a fire sale which begat a terrible team which begat the team becoming the Washington Nationals. Poor people of Montreal got fucked by a strike between millionaires against billionaires. Its always the little guy and Canadians that get screwed.
@@chriskoumoulis431 The Expos were so fuckin dope.
Ichiro- One of the greatest ball players ever!
Best baseball channel on youtube by far. Absolutely love your content. Keep up the great work!
I first watched this video when it came out at the beginning of the year, and decided to watch it now as a "rerun". It turned out to be just as fun as before. So, thanks, and keep up the stellar work!
who's Homer Simpsons favorite baseball player?
ichiro Suzuki, because he gets on base a lot and doesn't hit a lot of homers
This seems forced
@@paulk6399 you seem forced
@@nickslay23 no you seem forced
Heyo!
Been watching foolish baseball videos like crazy now, but this one is my favorite yet for sure!
April 19th, 2017. Miami at Seattle. 9th inning, everyone was assuming it would be the last time Ichiro would play at safeco field, albeit as a marlin. Most hardcore mariner fans at that game including myself were crying, although most wouldn’t admit it. What ichiro did that night I will never forget. Ichiro comes out with probably the biggest applause I’ve heard in that ballpark, and smacks a ball deep right straight out of the ballpark, right past me sitting along the first base line. He was crying, I was crying, hell everyone was crying as he ran around those bases one last time. Not even witnessing Felix’s perfect game in person was more magical than that moment.
I remember my dad took my brother & I to both 2006 and 2008 all star games and we watched Ichiro do batting practice. We were just in complete awe at how far he was hitting these dingers it was insane...he also stretched for like an hour
I saw ichiro beat Stanton in a mini hr derby. I had infield access then, and it was on July 18 2017. Mark my words
Your production quality is honestly great
this is the vid that i stumbled upon one night at 1 in the morning that got me obsessed with your account and helped launch my baseball stat and random fact obsession so thank you youtube recommended
This should have more views
It‘s been up 89 minutes! Thank you though! I appreciate the sentiment.
Still true though.
@@FoolishBaseball I feel like this channel is going to end up being pretty big, keep up the good work dude
Good production value. Will keep watching weird baseball videos as long as you make them.
i saw ichiro play live, and it was something i'll never forget.
.
i saw foolish baseball's ichiro video, it was something i'll remember forever.
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ichiro and ken griffey jr. and randy johnson are three of my 4 favorite baseball players of all time, and that's coming from a mets fan. ichiro is sneaky good at everything. long live ichiro!
Keep it up man, easily my new favorite baseball page
5:07 that's the D back's park, not the Marlin's.
So what you’re saying is Ichiro was a good ball player above all else because he put the needs of his team before personal glory.
Your video style is awesome, attention to detail top notch, please keep up the hard work!
As I’m trying to become a student of the game of baseball and apply some lessons from the greats in my own routines and practices, I’ve stumbled upon your channel and I love the content man! I never knew some of these guys were so legendary and Ichiro is a prime example of a name that I always heard, but then I look up his pro stats and see he had over 4000 hits across the NPB and MLB? Impressive stuff fr , only a legend could put up crazy numbers like that
Could you make a video about Joey Votto or Rickey henderson? I always feel as though I know all the cool things about my favorite players like them and the game itself and that I’ve seen all the interesting statistical anomaly videos and stuff until I see a new video from you or Jon bois or something. I love your videos! And I feel that those players both have interesting stat lines and career moments and are interesting people in interviews with lots of stories. Thank you!
I love Rickey especially. It‘s bound to happen if I keep making videos.
He had 262 hits in 1 year... how?
He's definitely one of the greatest ever, regardless of nationality.
Minnesota Fatz ngl you had us in the first half
@@pierceyoung5902 weird statement.
He's the greatest Asian hitting king...regardless of race...
It’s has nothing to do with nationality, he’s one of the greatest to ever do it
@@nicholassegarra1161 I literally said "regardless of nationality"
This is still a great video, but it’s crazy to watch your old stuff and see how much you’ve improved as a creator over the last few years
I am really enjoying your content, please continue making these fun episodes!
I have a really weird relationship with Baseball. I have never seen a baseball game in full. However, for some reason I really like Baseball media. Major League is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I am particularly fond of baseball manga/anime (of which there is a lot, favorites being Cross Game, One-Outs and Rookies). Despite not watching Baseball and only passingly familiar with names of actual real life baseball players, I really love your series. Gives me a lot of appreciation for the sport and the what-if scenario in this one is particularly interesting, even though I have no idea what the stat line means other than the number of Homeruns :)
In any case, great series and looking forward to the next one.
Glad to hear that. I think we can both agree that baseball is both romantic and an important part of American culture. You can still get wistful feelings from it, even if you aren't a fan.
I would suggest watching some playoff games next season. Baseball is an amazing game that only gets better the more that you understand all of the naunces of it.
I'm surprised that Ichiro Suzuki managed to have such a long career.
If a player gets 200 hits a year for a decade, that's Hall of Fame worthy.
Yet there are those who still debate his candidacy.
The sabermetricians consider him marginal at best.
They rank him only 629th in career on-base percentage and of course, his slugging percentage is low.
He can run, get on base and play defense. And he's criticized for it.
It's like going to the Sistine Chapel and saying the paint job is nice but the building is too small.
Dude was a defensive God, a reliable bat, great base runner, was literally the best lead off hitter for a decade straight. HOF voters are shit big pappi got in before Edgar.
@@victorunger big pappi is not in the hall of fame good sir
@@gex4042 Well, he is now…
Dude, you keep putting on a show with every vid. Great job!
I recall that Ichiro himself had stated that he can not be a HR hitter in a Japanese interview. In order for him to hit a homerun, he has to go for the bigger swing, different trajectory, pitch selection; while some other sluggers will go for solid contact for single, or even try to stay alive with the pitch, and the balls end up going out of the fence.
Ichiro could've hit 30 jacks a year if he swung like today's batters. Of course, he'd also strike out 100+ times a season and he wouldn't win batting titles.
BTW, about Shohei Otani's HR rate going up in MLB, I think that's largely a function that 1) MLB franchises are encouraging everyone to swing for the fences and 2) Otani is still so young that his career is upwardly trending. Otherwise, historically most guys' HR rates fall when they go from Japan to MLB.
I'm not an Ichiro fan, but I think it'd be nice if more guys took his approach at the plate and didn't just go all-or-nothing with HR's and strikeouts. Not everyone is cut out to be a guy who can hit 25 HR's and still have a good OBP. However, a lot of hyper-athletic guys could probably hit 15 HR's a year and spray hits to all fields and cause havoc on the basepaths. Those sluggardly sluggers are a lot more dangerous when there's a man standing on second or third base.
There have also been plenty of cases where good hitters, even ones who hit for some power, ultimately discovered that launch angle shenanigans weren’t for them. Matt Carpenter is a good example. Freddie Freeman also says he tries to swing with more of a downward plane than anything.
Fam that's Chase Field not Marlins Park. Other than that, it's a great video!
OH NOOOOO
Love the video especially the video clips of a young Ichiro. Job well done
Great work. Keep the videos coming!
Anyone else here after watching the SBNation video?
Ichiro: the Anti-Judge
Awesome video, love Ichiro and it's a topic I've been thinking of sometimes. Greetings from Croatia!
Most impressive batting practice I've ever seen in person was Ichiro both times I saw him, once on the Mariners in Toronto and once with the Yankees in New York. Both times he absolutely ripped balls to the right field seats.
I love my angels since 1979, but if Shohei is gonna be a HoF one day it wont happen in Anaheim. Trouts locked for life, and for better or worse too much rests on trout alone. With a below average pitching staff, new Skipper and injured line up atm. I barley see a wild card this year. Also pitching and batting in the AL is wasted. If Shohei insists on staying 2 way for at least 5 years he has to go to a big market National club. Now if they convince him to stay , which i doubt( money talks) they need to him to learn RF or SS.
Of course i could be wrong but ya know
Sir , I really appreciate for your video to talk about this topic, I want to know it's possible or not that Ichiro could pass Pete Rose hits record if he had came to big league earlier ?
If he came to big league about 22 yrs old , could he be a qualified big league player?
Thanks you if you read this😀
There's so many ways to look at this question. It was well-publicized when Ichiro "broke" Rose's record by recording more NPB and MLB hits than Rose's MLB numbers alone. I'm imagining in this scenario that Ichiro leaves at age 22 on a posting deal similar to Ohtani, which already eliminates about 400 professional hits from ages 18-21 (ouch). Of course, he would have the added benefit of playing an additional 30 games per season that he isn't getting in Japan, and I have no doubt he could play in almost all of them due to his freaky durability and conditioning. Maybe if you get him over to the states at age 20 I like his chances better, but he also wouldn't be a wanted commodity at that point.
I'm actually of the opinion that there is a perfect storm scenario where he is able to break Pete Rose's record, and the games played per season make a huge difference. Ichiro's first 5 seasons in NPB had hit totals of 210, 179, 193, 185, 181. Compare that to his MLB totals, which went 242, 208, 212, 262, 206. That's a real boost. It's just a question of whether (A) Ichiro would still be the same player if he spent less time honing his skills in Japan and if (B) An MLB team would appreciate his talent and actually make him a full-time player at the young age of 20 or 21.
It's also worth noting that he probably could have played more the last few years if he was interested in doing some record-chasing, which actually seems against his overall M.O. I'm sorry I can't give a concrete answer, but I'll tell you this much. I do consider Ichiro to be baseball's "hit king," no offense to Rose. The fact that Ichiro holds the single-season record certainly boosts his case.
no doubt ichiro begins mlb career at 22 thats an extra 1000 base hits minimum
Rose acknowledges Ichiro’s record
Something I really appreciate about your videos is that they are always a celebration of the featured players. Even episodes where you talk about declining players, you always give them their due credit.
Great work as usual dude, love these
Can you make a Barry bonds video
Never heard of him
@@FoolishBaseball 😂😂
Foolish Baseball fantastic reply
Foolish Baseball it’s the marlins hitting coach 😂
Foolish Baseball you’ve never heard of that asshole? The biggest dick in the history of modern baseball? Also, the greatest player to have ever put on a baseball glove?
*Proceeds to besmirch FoolishBB’s good name in the comments section with false accusations*
first of all how dare you
@@abrother9821 "What"
@@abrother9821 what is secondly!
Great video as always my dude keep it up!!
I was at batting practice when the mariners were the visiting team at Minute Maid park and caught 3 balls in a row by standing in the second deck in right field. His batting practice is insane to watch
Foolish baseball is a candidate to dethrone Jon bois
Better yet, a collaboration.
If Ichiro had been a power hitter, he wouldn't have stood out, he would have just been another baseball player
"Just another baseball player" is harsh, but I otherwise agree. I always suspected that Ichiro didn't want to be a run-of-the-mill All-Star, but he knew he could be a multiple-time batting champ and accrue a mad number of hits, so he decided to sacrifice walks and extra-base hits for infield hits and gork shots. There were even reports from around the end of his tenure with the Mariners that Ichiro was trying to pad his stats.
www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3609799
bleacherreport.com/articles/465808-ichiro-suzuki-and-the-infield-hit-selfish-stat-padding-or-revolutionary-tactic
Would Ichiro be the same folk legend for being a consistent 7-WAR player of career 162 averages of .289/.380/.450 22 HR's? Probably not. But say he had 10 consecutive seasons of 200 hits, single season hit record, second most professional hits (or the most, depending if you want to count Pete Rose' minor league tenure), bunch of batting titles, and he stands out to the average, and non SABR-loving, fan.
Dude I just found your channel and it is so good. Combining my favorite sport (in this case my favorite team too) with classic video game soundtracks is a match made in heaven for me. I look forward to your next video!
Thank you!
Your content quality is phenomenal. Keep it up.
As a mariners fan I've been waiting for someone to make this video forever. Really appreciate it :]
Best baseball videos on CZcams, bar none. In fact these are just some of the best videos on CZcams in general. I'm only subscribed to about three channels, and your one of them.
great videos man. also love the classic 8 bit style
Caught ichiro bp home run balls with my little league friends in Arlington in 2004. Can’t say if he did it all the time but he hit more home runs in bp that day than anyone else. And it wasn’t close.
Great video. Just stumbled on your channel and loving it! 👍🏼
This is such a great channel.
Great content as always
These videos are gold man keep it up
Great video as always
Another great video as always! I love the retro feel of the videos and the content is always super interesting and thought provoking.
Glad you enjoyed it. They definitely take some time, but I really enjoy working on these.
I can tell, the effort really shows in the quality of the final product. I love watching these videos. Hands down my favorite CZcams channel!