TheAmazingIchiro

t was the sorta play that is seen in tennis all the time, the ball zooming at a player's knees, a quick turn of the hand, the ball redirected to the opposite direction. Except this particular moment occurred at Yankee Stadium on April 26th, and Ichiro Suzuki wielded not a wide - faced tennis racket, but one of the thin barraled bats that Ichiro carries in a black case.
Mike Mussina had thrown an 81 - mile - an - hour curveball that spun at Ichiro's legs, a nasty pitch with nasty placement. Left - handed - hitters like Ichiro swing over the ball but Ichiro somehow drew his hands and the bat into the ball's flight path and smashed a hit between Mussina and SS Derek Jeter. To Mussina and other Yankee's it was evidence of exceptional eye - hand coordination, an instant of uncommon greatness.
Ichiro, who is known by his first name, has played in only 43 games in the MLB, after leaving Japan to play for Seattle, but his evident skills have convinced many in his small sample that he is a super - star -- not merely a good player -- and that his 23 - game hitting streak which ended Saturday, will be followed by other long ones.
Opponents will inevitably make adjustments in pitching to Ichiro, and he will have bad days, as all players do. Be he is so good in so many aspects - his efficient swing, his remarkable speed, his wide range in right field, his strong throwing arm - that the question of whether he can adjust to the style of play here is answered.
"Yeah, us Americans were going to knock the bat out of his hands, wernt we>" said the Yankee's Scott Brosius, laughing at the haughty conventional wisdom that preceded Ichiro's emergence here.
Seattle General Maneger Pat Gullick, like most executives in baseball, saw Ichiro for the first time on videotape. What the executives saw was a hitter with an appreach common in Japan : a high kick with the front foot. Last year, despit his mis many batting titles, Ichiro changed his swing.
He reduced the life in his from foot and found that he could still drive the ball, as he explained through an interprerter the other day. His head moves forward as he strides, but on a level plane. Gillick and Mariners Maneger Lou Pinella find Ichiro's minimal head movement remarkable. "If you look at a tape of him hitting," Gillick said, "you'll see that his head is always even with the ball when he hits it."
Ichrio is what is known as a front - foot hitter. His weight shifts forward and his hands are held back. He waits, in position to react very late to the speed and trajectory of a pitch. Gillick says he is similar to Wade Boggs in this respect. Most hitters grip the handle of the bat just above the knob but, Ichiro has the knob tucked into the palm of his right palm. Seattle slugger Edgar Martinez, considered one of the best right - handed hittersin baseball, holds his bat similarly. Martinez says it allow Ichiro and him a bit more looseness, providing additional milliseconds to wait for the pitch.
When Ichiro swings, he keeps the head of his bat in the hitting zone for an unusually long period, his movements well timed. As Piniella explained, some hitters draw their bats through the hitting zone for such a short time that it is almost coincidental when they hit the ball. It is difference between someone who is typically running late to catch the 7 a.m bus and someone who is always standing at the bus stop 10 minutes early.
Ichiro is an extreamly aggressice hitter, averaging about 3.3 pitches an at - bat, but he puts the ball in play consistently, usually with the fat part of the bat, the pitch is inches off the ground. He hit a shoelace - hight pitch for a double against Toronto recently. He mostly hits ground balls -- 3.4 for every fly ball -- and at last cound had broken only 4 bats this season because of his ability to hit the ball solidly; some hitters break four bats in one series.
"His hand - eye coordination has to be unbelievable," Martinez said. Like Boggs, Ichiro is a singles hitter with deceptive power. He will sometimes end batting practice by smashing drives deep into the right - field stands, the ball leaping off his bat. Unlike Boggs, however, Ichiro is very fast following through his swing by stepping toward first base and motering down the line, his head steady. The Yankees' hitting coach, Gary Denbo, said Ichiro seemed in control of everything he did.
Yankee SS Derek Jeter said he had never seen anyone go faster from home to first. Ichiro's speed forces the infielders to move two or three steps closer to home plate because if they field a grounder at normal depth, Ichiro can beat the throw to first. The fielder's concession comes at a price : Ichiro is able to punch past medium speed grounders past infielders playing shallow.
An infielder must first set himself and turn before he throws, Ichiro has a good chance to beat out a hit. When Robert Perez, the Yankees reserve outfielder played with Ichiro in Japan two years ago, Ichiro asked about general tendencies of MLB pitchers. Ichiro studied videotapes this year to learn the repertory of specific pitchers. He discovering more subtle traits through experince. While pitcher are sure to try different tactics against Ichiro -- jamming him with fastballs for instance -- he figures to make his own adjustments. "The main point is that I have to learn the pitchers while I'm facing them now," Ichiro said.
The Mets' Bobby Valentine managed against him in Japan. "Idont think we've see him be as good as he can be," Valentine said. "He's changed his style a bit. Its more of a defensive now. He'll be better with time. He's got great power. Once he learns the pitchers, he'll be even better." Ichiro is the sorta player that is liked by other players, respected even though a rookie like Boston SS Nomar Garciaparra or the Yankee's Tino Martinez. He is serious on everything he does, but is steady in his humor (He gets that from team mate Mike Cameron). The first time that Ichiro walked towards the plate at Yankee Stadium, he turned to catcher Jorge Posada and asked, "Como Estas?" - How are you in Spanish. Posada, surprised, bursted out laughing.
In the first game of this series on Friday, Ichiro singled in the second inning, stole second, stole third and scored. e singled to drive in a run and scored in the fifth, ran down a long fly ball in the seventh, and doubled and drove in another run in the seventh. He bent over at second base, and Jeter strolled by. "Take it easy, man" Jeter said, "Thats enough." Nope sorry Jeter. There's more to come.