Underappreciated & Underrated: Ichiro Suzuki

Seattle Mariners Ichiro Suzuki is a player with much pride and is dedicated to his craft. The man that is just called “Ichiro” is one of the most beloved sons of Japan. He is a Hall of Famer already in Japan, where he played professional in the 90’s. Coming up in 2001 with the Mariners, Ichiro didn’t disappoint. Becoming the first Japanese player ever to become the Rookie of the Year and AL MVP the same year. This was an amazing accomplishment for this unorthodox player.

Ichiro is a player that has his own style. It is something that we haven’t witnessed before. He is a 10-time All-Star in the league and his name doesn’t ring bells to many because of the market to which he plays in. With Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. leaving the Mariners, they were looking for the next superstar and it was Ichiro. At the age of 38 and past his prime, he isn’t looking back. Ichiro goal is to get that 3,000^th hit. Currently he has hit over 2,500 hits and was the fastest to get to that number.

I’ve been thinking about this story really hard in the past month of a person in sports that is a superstar that nobody really notices and that doesn’t get that much press. I guess Ichiro wouldn’t want it any other way. He is a quiet assassin in the M.L.B. When it is all said and done, he will go down as one of the greatest players that we ever witnessed. There are not that many outfielders in the history of the league that we can say were better than Ichiro. He wasn’t known for his power hitting, with low numbers of homers in his career, but this boy can get hits and run those bases. A legend that played in a small market has to get the respect that he deserves before he retires so he can be appreciated while he’s still playing.

I’ve watched many of his games in his career and I can tell you this boy is the real deal guys. I don’t think we are as sports fans will get to see this kind of special talent in baseball for a very long time. Mark my words on that one. Ichiro is an all-around player that can do it all. Everyone show him some love before his time expires on the field. Do you guys think that Ichiro is underappreciate and underrated?