Ichiro came up throwing, and no one who saw it or heard Dave Niehaus' memorable call will ever forget it. In 2001, Ichiro Suzuki made his MLB debut for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro, charging, fields a single cleanly, takes an abbreviated crow-hop and launches an absolute laser that never gets more than 10 feet off the ground, never takes a bounce and never forces third baseman David Bell to move his glove, other than to apply the tag to a stunned Long. The Japanese sensation would go on to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP that same season . His first signature highlight came on April 11 in Oakland. I want our players to know that I am with you in your fight to be the best. Niehaus died at his home in suburban Bellevue, according to his family. MLB.com features a stable of club beat reporters and award-winning national columnists, the largest contingent of baseball reporters under one roof, who deliver over 100 original articles every day. Before catching a flight back to Seattle, they grabbed hot dogs and leaned against the Phoenix airports high-top tables to discuss their trip. That unconventional homer helped him become the second Mariners player to win the All-Star Game MVP award, following in the footsteps of Griffey. Do you know who had the second highest? He became an All-Star in his first season and played for two other teams before leaving MLB in 2012. Inside the Tokyo Dome as a Mariners employee, Id be the only scout there, he says. He really didnt have time to fit into group dynamics.. Every day we present the best quotes! Reflecting on his overall legacy, which will likely include an enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame when hes first eligible in 2025, Ichiro spoke with closure. I wasn't ready for 116 kisses from the manager.\n\nHe also thanked Mariners ownership for the opportunity to contribute as a special advisor in his post-playing days.\n\nMost days, I still wear the Mariners uniform, and I do so proudly, Ichiro said. Among fans nationwide and his peers, Niehaus was . Fukudome might not have had the reputation that Ichiro had, but he was a really good hitter, and I think there was more of a comfort zone that even though he wasnt going to be a big power guy, everyone thought he was going to hit for a high average and hit for average power and play great defense in right field, which he did, Hendry says. Holy shit. There was never a point in my career that I could have said that this was going to happen, so Im definitely grateful, Ichiro said Friday, through interpreter Allen Turner, who was his translator when he arrived in 2001. Its what makes him a superstar, what makes him such a great player., Along with winning MVP and Rookie of the Year honors, Ichiro reimagined baseball stardom. . "I recorded [the 2001 All-Star Game] on VHS and watched it at least six or seven times as a kid, so Ichiro leading off by beating Randy to the bag stands out to me a lot," Ty said. Nobody had seen a player quite like him. In the bottom of the inning, he replaced Anthony Sanders in right field and proceeded to show what set him apart. In this outtake clip from Janis Joplin: Little Girl Blue . That was the difference. He swatted away those stigmas with an AL MVP Award, 242 hits and a Gold Glove Award in his rookie season. From 2001-2010, Ichiro set a Major League record with 10 consecutive seasons of 200 or more hits. Ichiro, whose arm could throw lasers "like something out of 'Star Wars,'" as late Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus famously said, retires as the active leader in outfield assists (123). He got him. Ichiro set the single-season record for most hits (262) in a season in 2004, breaking Hall of . The first Japanese-born position player to make the majors also filled the Mariners celebrity void left by Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., and Randy Johnson, all of whom had recently departed Seattle. Baseball will forever be my soul, and my mission is to keep helping both players and fans appreciate this special game., Just a few legends hangin' out on #IchiroWeekend. Whos most important on the Mariners besides Julio Rodrguez? Visit MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.comSubscribe to MLB.TV: mlb.tvDownload MLB.com At Bat: http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/atbatGet tickets: http://mlb.mlb.com/ticketsOfficial MLB Merchandise: http://mlb.mlb.com/shop Join the conversation!Twitter: http://twitter.com/mlbFacebook: http://facebook.com/mlbInstagram: http://instagram.com/mlbGoogle+: https://plus.google.com/+MLBTumblr: http://drawntomlb.com/Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/MLBAM Ichiro had the April 11 game off against Oakland left-hander Mark Mulder, replaced by Anthony Young, who played all of nine games in his Seattle career. The Mariners gave already provided a number of exciting moments in the first week of Cactus League play. Of course, when I still run and do things, I feel like I can still play. Facing Randy Johnson, another famous former No. Or maybe at this age what I can do is prepare myself, train and see what I can do and the work I put in, see what happens to my body and performance," Suzuki said. Niehaus died at his . [People] would pick up the newspaper and see Ichiro got two hits, and then several paragraphs down youd find out Seattle lost the game, he says. When hes working, hes almost always in full uniform and going at maximum physical effort, whether running the bases, shagging fly balls or everything in between. Colborn smiled. Whiting says this stance initially got him in a lot of trouble with minor league manager Shozo Doi, who opposed Ichiros leg kick and kept him on the farm team for the 1992 Orix BlueWave. The version on MLB's YouTube channel doesn't have it, and it's too bad. Enfranchised in 1977, the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League.Safeco Field, now T-Mobile Park has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July 1999.From their 1977 inception until June 1999, the club's home park was the Kingdome. All rights reserved. Everything was just precise. On road trips, Ichiro distinguished himself by carrying his bat in a violin-case humidor and stowing it in the overhead compartment instead of the planes belly; on the field, he always made sure his glove was unharmed. Check out http://m.mlb.com/video for our full archive of v. Not long after signing, Ichiro and his wife, Yumiko, visited Seattle, where the Mariners set up a private workout inside Safeco Field. About an hour later, Ichiro led off the game by hitting Browns fourth pitch 400 feet and depositing it into the right-field bleachers. Who cares if your glove is clean? America's Pastime. Seattle Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus, who passes away Wednesday, poses at the old Yankee Stadium before Game 2 of the American League Championship Series in Oct. 2000. David Arnold Niehaus (February 19, 1935 - November 10, 2010) was an American sportscaster. "Looking back on it now, now understanding the context and symbolism of a former Mariners icon facing a new one, on national television, in Seattle of all places, it's a pretty special moment.". [Nobuyuki] wrote in one of his books that [Ichiro] had six hours a year to play with his friends and the rest was practicing baseball, Whiting says. SEATTLE (AP) Dave Niehaus, the Hall of Fame broadcaster who called Seattle Mariners' games from their first season through this year, has died of a heart attack. I was looking to take it on the hop and it never hopped.. Ichiro is famously baseball-obsessed with the entire process of getting ready to play the sport. THE MARINERS ARE GOING TO PLAY FOR THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP! Much like David Bells reaction when he caught Ichiros original Star Wars throw, the look on current Mariners third baseman Ryon Healys face tells the story. That doesn't happen in Japan. talent - Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro Suzuki - with no World Series to show for it. I saw this angle 20 years ago and have been looking for it ever since. Ichiro Suzuki had a .244 BA after an 0-2 count, 20 points higher than any other player in our database (min. When I returned in 2018, it was as if I never left. But the way my career ended in Japan at the Tokyo Dome, and how the fans embrace me there, that is what makes this an easier exit. The Japanese sensation would go on to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP that same season, but all of that came after this laser beam. They dont allow for individual differences. New Seattle Mariner player Ichiro Suzuki answers questions from Seattle fans through team scout and translator Hide Sueyoshi while team announcer. Thus was there a craving for approval from overseas, for a vindication of Japan itself, that attached itself to the athletes who made their way across the Pacific., Its a sentiment Masujima explored in a 2002 magazine essay while writing about the transformative power of stars like Nomo and Ichiro. ", Let's not forget this one either. We used to kick their butts. For many, Ichiro wasnt just a baseball player; he was a transcendent figure who demanded to be seen in person. That is absurd. pic.twitter.com/NHiJ6PWM4P. And so that's why I feel good about not playing.. Go go go go Ichiro. Naturally, in a matchup between Seattles current star and its former one, Ichiro singled off Randy Johnson in the bottom of the first. Rounding third and heading for home. With MLBs newly established posting system (which negated much of Colborns and the Mariners groundwork), Gillick leaned on ownershipparticularly principal owner Hiroshi Yamauchi, a Nintendo chairman who loved watching Ichiro play in Japanto make a competitive offer. Aaron Judge led the majors in 2022 in fun points per PA. But emotionally because I was able to finish the way I was able to finish, that kind of beats out all the other things; it just makes it so that I'm at peace.. Seriously, who does that? https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dave_Niehaus&oldid=1131339054, College basketball announcers in the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2008, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Owner: Baseball Club of Seattle, LP, represented by CEO, This page was last edited on 3 January 2023, at 18:27. He was 75. Off Ichiro. SEATTLE -- It began like an outdoor concert for an iconic rock star, and in many ways, Ichiro Suzuki carries that reputation in these parts. Hes a thin, frail-looking guy. "His whole day, his whole night, everything he thought about, was about the next day's game and being prepared for it, from the way he works out to the routine that he's on. He forced mistakes., Bret Boone, the Mariners second baseman from 2001 to 2005, says it was 50-50 whether Ichiro beat out a run-of-the-mill grounder in the infield. Remember, we won 116 games that year. We thought we had a leadoff hitter, we thought we had a guy that could play right field, so we just went after it, Gillick says. One by one, Ichiro shared a message with each, blending in his trademark quick-wit humor with heartfelt respect. But with the game scoreless in the eighth and righty Jim Mecir on in relief for the As, Mariners manager Lou Piniella pinch-hit Ichiro to start the inning, and he delivered a bloop base hit to start a three-run rally. It was stuff like that that I could pass on to help convince them, Colborn says of the Seattle execs. MLB.com also provides an array of mobile apps for fans to choose from, including At Bat, the highest-grossing iOS sports app of all-time. Its harder to get a handle on it from your own chair in Chicago or your own domestic scouts. Colborn could attest, and after spending seven years as an MLB pitching coach, he returned to Japan in 2008 as the Rangers Pacific Rim scouting coordinator. He also addressed Piniella. [became] Whos next?, According to Tokyo-based journalist Midori Masujima, Japan long held an inferiority complex when it came to sports. Ichiro is the first member added since 2015, and he joined an exclusive group that includes nine other members (in order of induction): Alvin Davis, Dave Niehaus, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Dan Wilson, Ken Griffey Jr., Lou Piniella and Jamie Moyer, with all in attendance except Johnson and Piniella. Niehaus was the fans' choice to throw out the first pitch in Safeco Field history. A laser beam, barely 10 feet off the ground, reached third baseman David Bell on the fly with Long a good five feet from the bag. It just kept carrying, and youre waiting for it to bounce, and it just never did., Thats one of the greatest throws Ive ever seen in my life, Rizzs says. I could never imagine my career in America would last 19 seasons and that I would still be in Seattle today.","type":"markdown"},{"__typename":"ExternalEmbed","data":{"__typename":"ExternalEmbedContent","html":", What is your favorite Ichiro moment? With Ichiros playing career having come to a close, lets look at the most memorable moments provided by an all-time great. Im anonymous here.. He charged the ball and he threw a bullet to home plate and I did a double take. Five highlights of Dave Niehaus' career with the Mariners. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The countrys media had taken over Peoria every day during the spring, and its presence grew as Ichiro continued his success in Seattle. Hes going to beat you., McLaren laughs when thinking about how opponents shifted to account for Ichiros spray chart. And his unique approach to hittinghis on-deck stretches, circular bat warmup, and distinct scamper out of the boxdefied all baseball norms. All of them got their chance after Suzuki smashed the stereotypes that surrounded Japanese hitters. "I'm here to tell you, Ichiro threw something out of Star Wars down there at third base," Niehaus said. Thus, over the next few years, Colborn found it easy to court Ichiro, bringing him jerseys of Griffey Jr., his favorite player. The 6 stages that come with each of his starts, Ichiro's April 11, 2001 throw in Oakland was the first of his many memorable defensive plays. SEATTLE On Saturday night, the Mariners will honor one of their own when they induct outfielder Ichiro Suzuki into the team's Hall of Fame before a scheduled game against . Ichiro came up throwing, and no one who saw it or heard Dave Niehaus memorable call will ever forget it. It's grand sa-lami time! 2023 Bonneville International. Beats the throw. Hes funny in that way., We just wanted to see that in a game, Piniella later told the media, a statement that Seattle Times reporter Bob Sherwin interpreted the next day: Everyone can now take a deep breath.. He was the lead playbyplay announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in 1977 until his death after the 2010 season. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. I think Japans athletes can inspire such hope in the Japanese people, Masujima wrote. Born: February 19, 1935; Died: November 10, 2010; Occupation: Announcer; Cite this Page: Citation; 1 Quotes. Mike Trout I saw this angle 20 years ago and have been looking for it ever since. In 2004, he broke a then-84 year record, logging 262 hits in a single season and surpassing George . Ichiro played parts of 14 seasons for the Mariners before his dramatic retirement at age 45 in Tokyo three years ago. It also helped that the Mariners and Orix had a working agreement in which Seattle shared commercial and marketing ideas in exchange for info about NPB players. Life Sports Mariners. It lasted an incredible 84 years until Ichiro came along. Former Mariners Alvin Davis, Jay Buhner, and team announcer Dave Niehaus of the Seattle Mariners throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the game on. America's Pastime. The single-season hit record. I mean Forslund is already loved by the hockey community, I don't see how he doesn't succeed as our play by play. Thank you for posting! Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. that is the most lazer-like throw i've ever seen. But because he wasnt a large, lumbering power hitter like Barry Bonds, and because he was capable of slapping hits in every direction, Ichiro made it nearly impossible to predict where was going to put the ball in play. SEATTLE King's Court will be back in session this summer. Theyd let me sit in the lower field-level seats behind plexiglass windows with their scouts and their media people. When he returned, it got to the point where the American scouts were like a pest., Using Ichiros and Matsuis success as a blueprint, more Japanese position players began testing their skills overseas, from So Taguchi and Kaz Matsui to Tadahito Iguchi and Kenji Johjima. Youve got to be really, really good to break that mold., As Orixs pitching coach between 1990 and 1993, Jim Colborn remembers hearing Ichiros name echoing constantly throughout the organization. David Arnold Niehaus (February 19, 1935 - November 10, 2010) was an American sportscaster. The reality of being 44 years old, being unable to consistently catch up to 95 mph fastballs, being a step or two slower trying to beat out an infield single. (Simmons/News) Years earlier, at Nobuyukis urging, Colborn had promised to take care of Ichiro in his transition to the U.S.; ever the scout, Colborn warned Ichiro about that nights Dodgers starting pitcher, and then made a prediction. 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