Naturally, in a matchup between Seattles current star and its former one, Ichiro singled off Randy Johnson in the bottom of the first. So that was a challenge. After being hampered by injuries in both 2018 and 2019, the Japanese star has now exceeded every expectation as a two-way player, leading the league in home runs (44) and total WAR (7.8) and posting a 3.36 ERA over 21 starts. "Your future has possibilities that you cannot imagine, Ichiro said. For the rest of the year, Ichiro and the Mariners didnt slow down. The Mariners gave already provided a number of exciting moments in the first week of Cactus League play. But he comes to play every day and hes got a looseness to him, and you dont see any argumentative confrontations on the field that you want to cast him as the bad guy, Colborn says. He needed just 15 years to meet a milestone that is pretty much automatic admission to Cooperstown. The Japanese approach to hitting is such a cookie-cutter approachthey all hit the same, Whiting says. With 'beautiful peg' meaning great throw and he got him meaning well, he got him. 1. Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store -- Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, R&B, Latin, Brazil, African, World Music, Avant, Rock, Blues & more LPs, CDs, vinyl . I remember it being almost in slow motion. By the end of the regular season, he led the league in batting average (.350), hits (242), and stolen bases (56), becoming just the second player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. 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. If a player comes to me, we'll talk about it and I'll be able to tell him what I think.. Ichiro received the most votes for the 2001 All-Star Game, the first rookie ever to do so. It read, "Dave Niehaus, 1935-2010." His empty chair and headpones sat in the broadcast booth . 2023 Bonneville International. 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. In his rookie season of 2001, he threw a frozen rope to nail Oaklands Terrence Long trying to go from first to third on a base hit. As Ichiro went, so did the Mariners. Id meet with him somewhere, usually at UCLA, one time we went to Cal State Fullerton, another time to Pepperdine, Colborn says. He used to tell me, Boone, you do not respect your equipment.. He also thanked Mariners ownership for the opportunity to contribute as a special advisor in his post-playing days. A Throw That Made a Phenomenon. "It was the first moment where you saw Ichiro wasnt 'just another guy' and, of course, it was accompanied by one of Niehaus best calls.". He then addressed the current team, which eagerly watched the ceremony from the home dugout rail. One by one, Ichiro shared a message with each, blending in his trademark quick-wit humor with heartfelt respect. The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Most ballplayers, theyd wear polo shirts and golf pants, but hed have baggy jeans and a cap on backwards. The Colossal Legacy of Ichiros Rookie Season, 20 Years Later, Ichiro shot Nissan commercials in the United States, he told National League manager Bobby Valentine. And the qualities that endear those players to fans resemble what resonated about Ichiro in 2001. I'm not sure he threw that ball at an upward angle. 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. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in 1977 until his death after the 2010 season. . Thus, over the next few years, Colborn found it easy to court Ichiro, bringing him jerseys of Griffey Jr., his favorite player. Physics says he had to have put a little arc on it but I'm not sure. Who cares if your glove is clean? SEATTLE (AP) Ichiro Suzuki's otherworldly talents made an early impression on Dave Niehaus, the Hall of Fame voice of the Seattle Mariners. So I've often said that he was the easiest guy I've ever had to manage because all you had to do was tell him what time the game was and you knew he'd be ready and committed to go.". Related: Groz Remembers: Ichiro's 'Star Wars' throw in 2001 2. Dave Parker, Ellis Valentine, Jay (Buhner) when I came here but, boy, that ball had some hop on it., Buhner: You just dont see a guy throw like that all the way in the air, when its cold as hell, when hes been sitting for seven innings., Second baseman Bret Boone: I only heard the ball as it went past my ear. We used to kick their butts. There are a lot of things to like with the new MLB rules for 2023, but Seattle Sports' Mike Salk can't get his mind off the pitch clock. An airport hot dog? he asked Ichiros interpreter. By instigating at the top of the lineup, wreaking havoc on the basepaths, and turning each game into an electric environment, he added an element to our team that really sparked us in many different ways, Bell says. Aug 27, 2022. In 2008, the National Baseball Hall of Fame awarded Niehaus with Among fans nationwide and his peers, Niehaus was . Seattles franchise icon was beginning a 16-minute speech -- which he gave in English -- in conjunction with being enshrined in the Mariners Hall of Fame. ", I'm just gonna leave this here. Nobody had seen a player quite like him. just drops and shakes his head, Ichiro was the only one in the video not surprised by that throw, It was going to take a perfect throw to get me. Scott Servais explains how to help the CF handle it. [Orix executives] would come to the Kingdome and watch games and go to the office during the day, Colborn says, but the real, ultimate goal was for us to have first choice of their players., In 1999, two years before Ichiro hit free agency, Orix expanded its agreement, allowing players to travel to Peoria to join the Mariners for spring training. All rights reserved. At one MLB Japan All-Star Series in 2014, Small remembers U.S. manager John Farrell telling him the entire Japanese national lineup could have made an MLB roster. A year later, Colborns extensive scouting reports and personal relationship with Ichiro convinced Pat Gillick, the Mariners new GM, to make a strong play for him after the 2000 season. the Mariners did not say who would throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. In 1983, Niehaus hired Rizzs to join the Mariners' broadcast team. After making adjustments in spring training, he revised his stance, keeping both feet on the ground to better catch up to fastballs. He was a goddamn special player to watch in his prime, and he was one of the few bright spots when the Mariners churned out forgettable team after . Dave Niehaus, the voice of the Seattle Mariners since the team's inception in 1977, passed away on November 10th at his home in Bellevue, WA. I think Aaron Goldsmith could join them if he sticks around long enough. I both love and confused by it. 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? Honestly, I was scared. The passion with which you welcomed me back touched my heart. Ken Griffey Jr., Jamie Moyer, manager Lou Piniella and broadcaster Dave Niehaus. He stops the ball with the greatest of ease. From Diego Segui's first pitch on April 6, 1977, through the end of the 2010 season, Niehaus called 5,284 of the Mariners' 5,385 games. If I started a game against him, the day before they want to talk to you, after the game they want to talk to you, the next day they want to talk to you, Mulder says. [became] Whos next?, According to Tokyo-based journalist Midori Masujima, Japan long held an inferiority complex when it came to sports. Every day from 3:30 to 7 p.m., Ichiro would hit soft toss and take fungo drills in a nearby park. Yet after narrowly escaping Cleveland in the ALDS, their season ended in the Bronx for the second straight year, with a loss to the Yankees in five games. Ichiro played parts of 14 seasons for the Mariners before his dramatic retirement at age 45 in Tokyo three years ago. Suzuki and the Mariners announced Thursday his 2018 season was over. When I threw a good split down and away, or when I threw a good sinker in, or when I threw a curveball down over the plate, he found a way to hit that ball harder than anyone else that I would face, says Mulder, who gave up 17 hits to Ichiro in 38 career encounters. The Double: The most popular . What are you going to do now?, By then, MLB clubs couldnt afford to not have Pacific Rim scouts navigating both Japan and Korea. #IchiroWeekend pic.twitter.com/Upl1XeSY48, Ichiro Girl reuniting with Ichiro is the most wholesome thing weve ever seen pic.twitter.com/vrM41SHLaB. "When I met Ichiro in Peoria, (Arizona) which is the first time I'd met him face to face, he walked in and had more presence than any other baseball player I'd ever encountered," Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto said. 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. Tom Tango comes up with the idea of fun points based on fan polls to determine which players generate the most fun. He got him. I root for MN where Max Kepler and Byron Buxton wouldn't attempt that throw if they were picking it up while the runner was on second base. The . America's Pastime. I was treated like some kind of guest royalty. You need somebody over there that knows the ins and outs of not only how the games played over there, but the culture, former Cubs general manager Jim Hendry says. In the bottom of the inning, Aaron Sele was inching closer to a shutout when Oakland center fielder Terrence Long led off with a single. Go go go go Ichiro. I was shocked. After superstar CF Julio Rodrguez, who is the Mariners' most important player heading into 2023? ROOT Sports analyst Mike Blowers talked to Bob, Groz and Tom about Lewis and what makes him stand out. Dave Niehaus. Not bad for the first position player to ever make the move from Japan to the majors. HERE COMES JOEY, HERE IS JUNIOR TO THIRD BASE, THEY'RE GOING TO WAVE HIM IN! SEATTLE (AP) Ichiro Suzuki's otherworldly talents made an early impression on Dave Niehaus, the Hall of Fame voice of the Seattle Mariners. While that ended up not being the case, he gave Mariners fans quite the thrill in his last at-bat of the series, drilling a home run to send the crowd into a frenzy. Reid observed for The Washington Post, balancing on one foot before planting his right cleat and exploding his hands through the ball. It was awesome., A few years before shifting became more commonand later, embedded into the fabric of the leagueIchiro forced managers to get creative and devise new defensive tactics to keep him from reaching base. With one out and Oaklands Terrence Long at first base, catcher Ramn Hernndez grounded a single to right field. 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. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, The subreddit for the bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players. And so that's why I feel good about not playing.. In April and May, he was named American League Rookie of the Month, thanks to a 15-game hit streak that ended on April 21 and a 23-game hit streak that started a day later. , & quot ; Dave Niehaus, ichiro the throw dave niehaus & quot ; his empty chair and headpones in! Goldsmith could join them if he sticks around long enough soft toss take... Ichiro would hit soft toss and take fungo drills in a nearby park a. 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