Much Ichiro! goodness
DMZ · August 22, 2009 at 5:05 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Brad Lefton in the New York Times on Ichiro, technique, infield hits, and flirtation:
“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me,†he said. “I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.â€
Awesome.
Love that guy.
What a stud
Who else walks, talks and exudes “Cool” more than Ichiro!?
I like the way “chicks dig the infield hit” sounds. It’s strange that his best quotes come from trips to Cleveland.
Ichi-pimp strikes again. Also got a flashback to the old commercial where Maddox and Glavine (in their Atlanta glory days) are wondering why chicks don’t dig a low ERA.
Is there anything this man says that isn’t utterly ridiculous and yet profoundly iconic?
I can’t imagine what it would be like to hang out with the guy for an afternoon.
And we won’t ever have to see him put a terrible tattoo of a stripper on his arm.
I wish I knew more about his relationship with the press back in Japan. Did he relax some coming over here, because he wasn’t constantly hounded? Was his “rock star of baseball” image fueled by great quotes like these in Japan?
Now I get to feel cool by connection, because in fact it was Ichiro’s non-long-ball approach that really interested me in baseball for the first time. I am the kind of girl Ichiro likes! That’s what he said!
I’m guessing Valbuena is getting more action tonight.
Ichiro! makes me happy, doing what he does the ways he does (and not even being a jerk while doing it).
I’d wondered why there were still so many infield hits, even though he is still very fast. I have absurd respect for his bat control (I actually saw his “one-bounce” clean single here in Japan in person – after everyone gave a short, incredulous laugh we just shook our heads and smiled for the rest of the inning) but having someone like Inge confirm it’s more than just luck surprises me.
Fans who don’t like watching Ichiro! play, and the idiot grumps who use every dumbhead trick to dis his greatness as a player, are missing out on the single most amazing character of this baseball decade.
By the way:
Ichiro is ranked 14th for VORP for position players.
But he is ranked 1st among American League outfielders. And he is ranked 1st among all right fielders.
And that doesn’t even count defensive statistics.
B-b-but all those infield hits. [fill in blank] says his stats are overrated!
According to the latest expert anal-isis [aka the latest dumbass who wants to TELL us what [fill in stat in question] really means to us mere fans] Ichiro really is just above average, and therefore he’s nothing special, so we shouldn’t enjoy watching him play as much as we do.
What a great article. I know all hitters’ approaches are unique in some sense, but it seems like Ichiro just flat out invented a new way to play the game. Is that just hyperbole? Can anyone think of players who tried to develop a similar technique? Has it been a commonplace approach in Japan for decades and I’ve just been ignorant? Did any dead ball era hitters have similar swings?
Wee Willie Keeler was before moving pictures.
Apparently, Brad Lefton was on the pre-pregame show; it sounds like he might be following the team, as Ichiro! is on the verge of several more career milestones, so we may get some more good Ichi articles.
And he drives the coolest Porsche ever….
I am with Lauren. Ichiro! caught my eye by being sly, fly and unpredictable. Ichiro! made me remember why I loved baseball as a kid. Ichiro Sugoi Yo!
(Please hit 200 on 2 Sept., for Alex Easter Kennedy on his birthday). Sooner works okay, too.
Consider blank filled by none other than Dave’s fellow WSJ writer, Ben Austen.
I’d much rather watch Ichiro play and contribute than a no-defense, high-strikeout, power hitter any day. But that’s just me…
If anyone is still reading this thread, Dave Allen of Fangraphs says this.
I guess your perception of value depends on your POV. IMO the reason an infield hit is more valuable than a walk is this:
Of the 8 possible men-on-base situations (no one on through bases loaded) four have the same result whether a walk or a in-field single (no-one on, man on 1st, man on 1st and 2nd, & bases loaded). The other four will most likely result in a runner moving forward on an infield single but not for a walk (man on 2nd, man on 3rd, man on 1st and 3rd, & man on 2nd and 3rd).
To me this means that the walk, while preferable to an out, is not as valuable as the infield single. Have I missed something here?