Talk:Ichiro Suzuki

Lowest hit total of career

Ichiro has had less than 206 hits in a season, so "lowest total of his career" was changed to "lowest total of his career to date". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.14.17.129 (talk) 15:39, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

Criticism of "rookie" status

Some sportswriters criticized his official "rookie" status, saying that his years of experience in the Japanese "major leagues" gave him an unfair advantage over other rookie players who had little or no prior major league experience.

I don't know if I actually object to this (the statement is true, I suppose), or if I just hate seeing it. Other winners include: Jackie Robinson (1947; the first RotY award, also known as the Jackie Robinson Award), Don Newcombe (1949), Sam Jethroe (1950), Willie Mays (1951), Joe Black (1952), and Jim Gilliam (1953) all had years of Negro League experience, and Hideo Nomo (1995) and Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000) were both veterans of the Japanese league. In Major League Baseball, "rookie" refers *only* to MLB experience, and someone with experience in other leagues winning the MLB RotY award isn't a new precedent.

Delete? Counter? Cite? Demong 02:42, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Is this true?

Continuing the custom he began in Japan, he uses his given name on the back of his uniform, becoming the first and so far only player in Major League Baseball to do so.

Is that true? I'm sure I've seen it before. I have no idea why I would remember this, but I'm almost certain Vida Blue had his first name on his jersey. Adam Bishop 17:38, 2 Oct 2004 (UTC)

My understanding of this was that he is a pitchman for Nissan in Japan, and since Suzuki is a competitor of Nissan, he decided to play under his given name only. John

No, it was because of the number of Suzukis on his NPB team. Suzuki is as common a surname in Japan as Brown or Jones is here.

I know he's the only player whom MLB has approved using his first name. It's possible Vida wore his first name (as a Charlie Finley stunt), but I don't think it was for very long. I know Finley tried to get Blue to change his first name to True.

Wnalyd 05:40, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I totally agree with Wnalyd.Hrkoew 10:04, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

---

This article lists a number of players, including Blue, who have had their first name, nickname, hometown, etc. on their back. (The corpulent John Kruk used to say he had his picture on his back; he was number 8.)

Can we document the MLB approval for "Ichiro"? Rdikeman 13:09, Oct 12, 2004 (UTC)

Vida Blue had his firt name on is back when playing for the Giants

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Deleted some redundant words for clarity

Ichiro

I don't know a lot about baseball, but is it really a good idea to make "Ichiro" redirect here? A simple search for the word would reveal that it is not a particularly rare Japanese male given name (Ichirō Hatoyama, for example)...elvenscout742 13:49, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

I've turned the redirect into a disambiguation page. —Lowellian (reply) 04:40, August 31, 2005 (UTC)

The childhood section seems ridiculous. Is there any significance to it?

I can see how; it explains his rigorous practice schedule and how he got to be the ballplayer he is. 69.4.200.122 00:18, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

Poor grammar and not completely unbiased

"Because of the incorrect interpretation ("I want to beat South Korea so badly, that the South Koreans won't want to play Japan for another 30 years." [1]), the Korean media criticized Ichiro for reportedly saying before the tournament."

This sentance(s) really needs some grammar and syntax work. Also the citation (and other sources) offer no support for the claim that the statement was interpreted incorrectly. I have rephrased the statement to give it a more neutral POV and to reflect the citation better.

Kyobonitsuki 09:40, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

It was an incorrect interpretation. ESPN did a terrible job with translations. If you've seen the video he's joking about things with his tongue in cheek.

「戦った相手が『向こう３０年は日本に手は出せないな』という感じで勝ちたいと思う」

Roughly it translates to...

"I would like to win in ways to make our opponents think, 'we got 30 years before we catch up to Japan'."

And he said that while laughing.

Ichiro's alleged hitting problems in 2006

I removed the whole section:

==2006 Hitting Problems== After starting the season 1-5 (.200), Ichiro rebounded and was batting .353 after the first 4 games of the season. However, Ichiro struggled and was batting .177 by April 18th. He finished April with a .287 average. His average dipped to .260 on May 5th, but two 4 hit games in May and 1 in April brought his average up to .327 by May 28th. It has turned out (by May 28th) to be an up and down season for Ichiro.

The problem with this is that having a section gives the idea that there is something particularly bad about this season; however, if you look at his stats (which typically go up and down as a season progresses anyway), he is actually doing pretty well, and well en-route to finishing with stats just as good as his rookie year and certainly 2005. Currently his .335 BA is 5th in the AL, and his OBP is also good.

The section also contains and encourages speculation. After the season is over and we reflect on his year, it may turn out that his performance was his worst so far, in which case we can make a note of it, but certainly not an entire section unless he turns out to really stink the rest of the year. --C S (Talk) 12:48, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree with this. No need to guess at history before it unfolds. Saw another Ichiro record on ESPN.com today (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6615) where it reads "Player News from ROTOWIRE --

Jul. 26 -- News: Suzuki recorded his 1,275th career hit Tuesday, the most hits in any six-year period of anyone in major league history." This is not one of his most notable records, maybe it deserves inclusion?

I saw an article in the Seattle PI on that and Ichiro commented that breaking Wade Boggs record (prior record holder for most hits in six consecutive years in MLB) "is a very big deal"[1]. Now, of course, baseball is infamous for many meaningless records, but this one made the news and Ichiro, who is not in the habit of exaggerating his accomplishments, considers it important. So I think it should be ok to include. --C S (Talk) 21:13, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Right field or center field?

Which is it? The opening paragraph says center field but the box at the right says right field. I didn't realize he switched from right to center late in the season. Is that a permanent move?

He switched so Snelling could play right field. It appears that Ichiro is ok with playing center next year and Hargrove wants it too [2]. But who knows? It will depend on what the team will look like. I would say it's safe to say center for now, but I wouldn't say it's really official until next year. --C S (Talk) 18:29, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

I've switch the info in the infobox and categories from "right fielder" to "center fielder" as for a while now, all the articles I read about Mariners has him mentioned as playing center for the coming season. Also, the roster moves and acquisitions pretty much cement this. --C S (Talk) 22:53, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Another person has changed it back to right fielder twice. This is ridiculous. Anybody that actually follows the Mariners would know he is the center fielder. Any sports article nowadays that mentions Ichiro's position describes him as center fielder, for example, [3] [4]. Jose Guillen is the right fielder now. --C S (Talk) 16:30, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

I'll stop with one more ref [5]. This one has several paragraphs talking about Ibanez and Guillen having to adjust to Ichiro in center field. --C S (Talk) 09:42, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, I guess I can't stop as an anonymous editor insists on changing the position again to RF. This time s/he cites Ichiro's ESPN profile as evidence. Obviously, to anybody that has read anything I wrote above, the clear conclusion is that the profile is outdated. Nonetheless, in the hope that the anon actually is reading the talk page, let me point out that the Seattle Mariners official MLB site has Ichiro listed as CF in his profile. The evidence is clear; one outdated ESPN profile cannot change that. Additionally, given the lack of discussion, I am going to revert all such changes, as continuing to change valid information without discussion can only be regarded as an effort to compromise Wikipedia, i.e. vandalism. --C S (Talk) 18:58, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Ichiro's personal scandals

The Whiting book also documents the scandal reported widely in the Japanese press (but almost completely ignored in the U.S.) of Ichiro being secretly recorded "cavorting" with a woman-other-than-his-wife in a hotel room in San Francisco several years ago. It was a major story in Japan and was reportedly a major factor in why Ichiro's relationship with the media, especially the Japanese media, isn't so harmonious. Shouldn't mention of this be in the article? Cla68 02:02, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Probably. But there isn't much about his personal life, so it's possible that this one incident could be given undue weight. I would suggest writing more about him first, before mentioning any such scandals. --C S (Talk) 19:13, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

The incident was very widely reported on in Japan, and has significantly affected Ichiro's relationship with the media, which, in turn, affects his public image, which is significant because he's a celebrity. If I get ahold of the Whiting book that talks about it, I may add a mention of it to the article while keeping in mind the undue weight rule. Cla68 03:25, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Fangraphs

This is part of a larger discussion, which I do not mean to start here, but just as an fyi (since I have been asked to explain) and not as a request for action the reason that I have sought to have Fangraphs included here is that it has unique categories of information. Specifically, Fangraphs, uniquely, has hitters' 1B, BB%, K%, BB/K, ISO, BABIP, RC, RC/27, GB/FB, GB%, FB%, IFFB%, HR/FB, IFH%, BUH%, GB, FB, LD, IFFB, Balls, Strikes, Pitches, IFH, BU, BUH, WPA, -WPA, +WPA, BRAA, REW, pLI, phLI, PH, WPA.LI, and Clutch. Fangraphs also provides some spring training stats, and Bill James, CHONE, Marcel, and ZIPS projections. It has a game log, play log, compare players feature, news articles, and unique graphical presentations. --Epeefleche 07:45, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Statistics in Japan

The Statistics in Japan section was deleted and then reverted; before there are any more I just wanted to comment: I agree with the revert and think it should stand. An encyclopedia article about a baseball player who first played professionally in Japan, not to mention played there for nine seasons (over half his career so far), should include statistics from that part of his career. Removing them is very US-chauvinist. — Demong _talk 07:41, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

• This has nothing to do with being "chauvinistic" (which doesn't apply here). Statistics are mentioned specifically in WP:EL. I created the template for Japanbaseball, so i can confirm that the site does indeed have that information. //Tecmobowl 11:11, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Chauvinism means "zealous or excessive patriotism"; it is not synonymous with male-chauvinism. What I meant is that this is an article about Ichiro, not about Ichiro in America.

However, I see your point now. His US statistics are not listed either. If Neier feels that the Japanese awards should be in the article, he should integrate them into the Career in Japan section. — Demong _talk 21:20, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

• • I reverted it, and did so again, because the external linked site does not have the information which was deleted. Namely, there is nothing about his gold gloves, best-nine, or other awards. Neier 13:34, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

• Just to clarify, I did understand the comment regarding chauvinism and it had nothing to do with my edits. Quite simply, statistics for athletes, when used in this manner, do not belong in wiki. His japanese awards and career are VERY important and deserve proper attention in the content portions of the article. //Tecmobowl 15:05, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

• Tecmo Banned Indefinitely. FYI--Tecmo has been banned indefinitely for repeated violations of Wiki policy.--Epeefleche 01:30, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

I've reverted your striking through of his remarks. This is not accepted practice. The reasons for banning are not related to this article or this discussion. In any case, Tecmobowl was making some good points here and the whole matter was resolved amicably, so there was no need to bring this up here. --C S (Talk) 09:19, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Pagemove Ichiro Suzuki -> Ichiro (baseball player)

I don't agree with this change at all. His name is Ichiro Suzuki. It's a common name, but there are no articles on anyone else named Ichiro Suzuki, and if there were it would make more sense for the article to be named Ichiro Suzuki (baseball player). The edit summary says "Because he is normally referred to as Ichiro", which I don't think is a good reason. Should the Louis Armstrong article be renamed Satchmo? Anyone have a compelling reason why I shouldn't change it back? — Demong _talk 21:04, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

I don't agree with it either. The only rationale for keeping this page at Ichiro (baseball player) is that this is the common name for him. While that is true, perhaps a comparison is helpful here. "A-Rod" is also the common name for Alex Rodriguez, but A-Rod redirects to Alex Rodriguez. A good reason for not having these players nicknames used as the article name and location is that they are just as commonly known by their legal names. Most media like newspapers, magazines, and online media (e.g. ESPN.com) will in fact often refer to Ichiro as "Ichiro Suzuki" or "Suzuki" (e.g. [6] [7]) and A-Rod as "Alex Rodriguez" or "Rodriguez" (e.g. [[8]]). There are some exceptional cases that have their articles at their nicknames, e.g. Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth. But the reason these are exceptions is that they are always referred to this way. Many people don't even know Babe Ruth's real name (it's not too hard to guess Jackie Robinson's name).

One thing to keep in mind is that we are an encyclopedia. Sure, fans like to use nicknames, and sportswriters will often follow suit. But there should be a very compelling reason to name an article like a fan would, rather than using the official name. Such a compelling reason would be, as in the case of Babe Ruth, to avoid confusion to the reader and save editors trouble with linking to the article. Such a reason does not exist here. Nobody will be confused, and having worked on baseball articles here and observed what goes on, I don't think anybody finds it hard to keep in mind that links should go to Alex Rodriguez or Ichiro Suzuki. --C S (Talk) 03:29, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure whether the change was good or bad, but it should have at least been discussed first. I mean, I'm all for being bold. However, a consensus on this first would have been a good idea. I was sorely tempted to undo the move, on general principles, but figured that would be like the original move, so let it be. For what that's worth -Ebyabe 15:53, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

I was a bit bolder than Ebyabe and tried to move it back; except, since the original move was to "Ichiro (Baseball Player)", the subsequent redirect that corrected the case made it impossible to revert back without an admin, and probably requires WP:RM. The current page name is against the policy in Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)#Single name, so, the (re)correction may be speediable; but, I doubt it. Neier 16:31, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Irrelevant and misleading episode

The episode in which Ichiro mentioned "Korea smells like garlic" is cited in the story about the World Baseball Classic (WBC), and is used to explain the anger of Korean players against Ichiro. However, this episode is being misunderstood, relevant to neither the WBC nor Ichiro's career, and therefore should not be placed here whether or not Korean players actually became angry about it.

Firstly, the Ichiro's remark does not refer to Koreans and it is hard to believe that Ichiro had any intention to disrespect Koreans. Rather, it is natural to take the comment as it plainly and objectively explained the smell of public spaces in Korea - possibly at an airport where he arrived. As Westerners who visit Japan notice the smell of miso especially in confined public spaces, it is also true that Korea has its unique smell originating from kimchi and garlic.

Secondly, it lacks any evidence that Ichiro said it. The only source is the Korean article ([9]), which itself refers to what Korean mass medium/media believed Ichiro had said. Without a citation, there is little reason that the comment, which must have been mentioned in Japanese if Ichiro actually had said it, still conveys the original meaning and his intentions. In fact, there is not a single Japanese primary source that tells this story.

Thirdly, from both aforementioned reasons, the response by Korean players cannot justify itself. It can be safely said that Korean players, or before that, the Korean public including mass media, invented or interpreted the comment without having reasons to do so in such a manner. Additionally, the comment was said to have been made in 1997, according to Source [9]. It is nine years before the WBC took place. The Wikipedia article explains this in a misleading manner saying that "Ichiro also commented prior to the first game." All in all, the Korean reaction is off-the-context, not justifiable, and not more than resentment based on the rumor spreading prior to the WBC.

I propose that the whole description relating to the remark "Korea smells like garlic" be deleted from the Ichiro Suzuki page unless an evidence about the remark is found and Ichiro's intention becomes clear. Otherwise, the possibility that the remark, claimed to have been stated by Ichiro, has been distorted and misunderstood should be fairly explained. Hrkoew 09:54, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

I removed the line. It was uncited. Cla68 20:50, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

That stuff was pretty pointless. Good riddance. --C S (Talk) 16:06, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Ichiro.jpg

How about a less effeminate picture there? Maybe you think that's stupid, and that it's just a natural early part of a throwing motion, but come on, he's a pro baseball player, he deserves a more manly pose.

If you are mentioning about the second picture, isn't he doing calisthenic stretching? Hrkoew 23:44, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

As an Ms fan who has watched Ichiro play since he started playing on this continent: that's a perfectly good picture of Ichiro. — Demong _talk 03:14, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Ichiro --> Suzuki?

Per the recent discussion on moving this page to another name, I believe discussion should take place before being bold and systematically changing "Ichiro" to "Suzuki" in the article. This will undoubtedly be somewhat contentious. --C S (Talk) 15:04, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

It should stay "Ichiro", not "Suzuki". The name of the article is Ichiro Suzuki, because the name of the subject is Ichiro Suzuki; but within the article, use the name by which he is most commonly referred to.67.40.31.115 00:02, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

The odd away-team sportscaster calls him Suzuki, but 99% of the time he's Ichiro (when normally a surname only might be used). — Demong _talk 05:09, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Better picture

Could we find a better picture of Ichiro? This one doesn't look very good and the color is off. --Aquagreen (talk) 21:48, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

name on jersey

Why does Ichiro wear Ichiro on his jersey instead of Suzuki? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.164.215.130 (talk) 08:47, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

Taken straight from the article, "It was during the 1994 season that he began to use his given name, "Ichiro" instead of his family name, "Suzuki" on the back of his uniform. Suzuki is the second most common family name in Japan, and his manager introduced the idea as a publicity stunt to help create a new image for what had been a relatively weak team, as well as a way to distinguish their rising star. Initially, Ichiro disliked the practice and was embarrassed by it; "Ichiro" was a household name by the end of the season and he was flooded with endorsement offers." Jackal4 (talk) 19:07, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

3000 hit "record"

It says in the 2008 season that Ichiro became the youngest player to reach 3000 hits combined. However, the record that he allegedly broke was 34 years, 8 months, 1 day (as stated on the page), yet Ichiro was 34 years, 9 months, 7 days old when he reached 3000 hits, so he didn't break the record at all. Why is this listed as a record when the same information on this page clearly contradicts that claim? 129.78.64.102 (talk) 22:51, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

He will get his 4,000 combined hit sometime in the 2012 season. He has 1278 hits in japan baseball and 2,606 in MLB. His total going into the season is 3,884. He only needs 116 hits for number 4,000 a feat that will happen in June or July 2013. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.253.155.86 (talk) 03:20, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Career Stats

There is one column missing...the totals don't add up. For exemple, it says career batting average is .378, but it's .333. The .378 is the On-base average. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.82.41.50 (talk) 10:48, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

Ejected

He was just ejected against the Jays, this has to be a first. It was also the first Mariners ejection of the season. Worth inserting into article?

Wait why is his number 51?

The article used to say that he wanted the same number that he had in Japan, and that he wrote a letter to Randy Johnson to ask if he could have it. Now the article says he had no preference and that the M's just randomly issued him 51, which I seriously doubt. I think the original seems more likely, does any one actually know which it is? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hasleberry (talk • contribs) 04:05, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

His orginal number was 51 from his tenture in Japan. When he arrived in the US, the Mariners offered him 51, but Ichiro was pressured to wear because he knew 51 belonged to another Mariners great, Randy Johnson. Ichiro eventually worn the uniform, but offered to call Johnson saying he won't "disowned" or bring shame to his number.Karatemanchan37 (talk • contribs) 22:02, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

He will be wearing 15 for the Yankees. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.60.168.132 (talk) 22:33, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

#15 is retired by the Yankees, so this is inaccurate. – Muboshgu (talk) 23:52, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

Lede needs ref for trade

However, with so many edits going on, someone should wait to add that methinks. - Penwhale | ^{dance in the air and follow his steps} 23:41, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

The lead does not need a reference to the trade. Leads are supposed to be reference-free as a matter of course, as the lead summarizes the body, and the body should contain the reference. – Muboshgu (talk) 23:51, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

Agree. Leads should summarize the teams (and corresponding years if desired) a player played with a team. They do not need to provide specifics about a trade, intricacies of a draft, etc. unless it was something vital to understanding the subject article. The details of any trades should be provided in the body. And yes, there are lots of edits going on -- but only info. from good sources should be used, and used at the appropriate time. Zepppep (talk) 00:05, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

Ichiro as a Nintendo Item Programmer

Something needs to be said about Ichiro's career in Nintendo's Mario Kart Item Programming. He's there in a lot of Mario Karts. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.208.51.247 (talk) 19:40, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Ichiro's birthplace and hometown

In Japan, Ichiro is nationwdely well known as a native of Town of Toyoyama, Aichi, a relatively small town outside City of Nagoya where he lived since birth until he joined Aikodai Meiden High school (he left parents and moved to Meiden's dormitory in Nagoya). Ichiro went elementary and junior high school in Toyoyama, played as a member of boys team of Toyoyama and went to national tournament when he was at 6th grade. There are hundreds of references which tells Ichiro is from Toyoyama and his activities there in Japanese Language, just like from Mayor of Toyoyama, Japanese WP of Ichiro, Toyoyama, and junior high school of Toyoyama, and some information in English like from Aichi Prefecture Government Office, NY Times and Seattle Times. Ichiro is the honored chairman of Ichiro Cup tournament held in Toyoyama supported by private Ichiro fun club by his hometown people in Toyoyama.
I was so surprised when I find this Ichiro's English WP says his birthplace is City of Kasugai, a neighboring municipality of Toyoyama, and also official player profile of Yankees on mlb.com, and other media like ESPN or CNNSI, and many books published in US and so on. I believe all those references in English are derivatives of official information on Mariners and mlb.com, but there are no way to confirm it. On the other hand, it is too strange that I found there are ZERO reference written in Japanese language which says he was born in Kasugai. All of those Japanese references say Ichiro is from Toyoyama, many of them says he was born in Toyoyama. All references of "Ichiro is born in Kasugai" come from US, even it's a local matter in that area of Japan.
My first guess was that he might be born somewhere outside Town of Toyoyama, which has only 14000 population and doesn't have good hospital for delivery, and Kasugai has ones as it's enough big city where more than 300,000 people lives. My second guess was that Ichiro (and his parents) cannot tell Japanese media and Japanese people publicly that he was born outside of Toyoyama, for the honor of the hometown, as Toyoyama is so famous (almost only) by Ichiro and old Nagoya Airfield. He might asked "Where did you born?" by Mariners when he joined the ballclub and might replied the location of the hospital where he was born. I don't have any way to confirm it.
Anyhow, Town of Toyoyama is Ichiro's hometown, no question for that, then I had added some description on his WP in Early and Personal Life section. Kasugai might be his birthplace but definitely not his hometown, so his profile page on CBSsports.com has wrong information. But as far as now, I cannot find any referenceable information which tells exactly about the birthplace hospital and it's name/location in any language. The book I have for Ichiro's childhood story, written by his father Nobuyuki, does not tell about it (it only talks about baseball story when Ichiro was a kid). If anybody knows any good reference for it, please let me know. Thank you in advance.--Earthhpr (talk) 01:57, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

I would recommend using the city a majority of sources list as his birthplace—if there is one—and footnoting the minority viewpoint. If it is inconclusive whether his birthplace is Kasugai or Toyoyama, we could just say is he from Aichi Prefecture (similar to a province/state) and footnote that sources conflict regarding the actual city. As for English sources, most list Kasugai as being his birthplace over Toyoyama. Can someone identify the specific Japanese sources that list his birthplace as Toyoyama and not that it was his hometown or he grew up there?—Bagumba (talk) 02:26, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

I think it should not be decided by majority of numbers of third-party sources, because there should be one and only simple fact for Ichiro's birthplace (hospital) location, as he is a living person and it's the matter of just 38 years ago, it is very easy to identify if there's *RIGHT* sources. There should be background reasons why this kind of clear separation of origination of information sources between Japan(Toyoyama)-US(Kasugai). There's also a concern per WP:BLP, Ichiro's birthplace (hospital) information might be part of his privacy which is not disclosed by himself. Even though we have sources including MLB.com and Aichi Prefecture, they are all all third-party information, not sourced by himself.
I can list some reliable Japanese sources for "Toyoyama the birthplace", but in that view point I should bring up one of most reliable one - a book "Catch Ball - Ichiro Meet you" co-authored by Ichiro himself with Shigesato Itoi (ISBN 978-4-83-560933-1 ) , and it clearly writes "Ichiro is born in Town of Toyoyama in 1973" as *author's biography". There are so many books in Japan and US about Ichiro but no book written all by himself. But this is precious one that writes up the full transcript of the conversation between Ichiro, Itoi and 212 fans on the TV show in 2004, and Ichiro is listed as one of the authors because it's precise transcript of what he actually said in front of 212 fans on TV.
As the situation now stands, I like your safe idea of just saying Ichiro's birthplace is Aichi Prefecture, which is 100% sure, and footnote the conflict of sources.--Earthhpr (talk) 07:36, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Agreed that a more reliable source (i.e. a direct quote, an autobiography, etc) would have greater weight if one was identified.—Bagumba (talk) 18:26, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Here is some list of player profile pages from major Japanese newspapers/portal sites, sorted by birthplace/hometown. Those are Japanese equivalent of ESPN, CNNSI, USA Today etc in US.
Birthplace - Toyoyama: Sanspo.com
Hometown - Toyoyama: Yahoo! Japan Sports (note: Yahoo! Japan is contractor of mlb.com and if you click 日本語 on left upper corner of mlb.com you will be redirected to Yahoo! Japan MLB page powered by Gyao)
Hometown - Aichi Prefecture: Nikkan Sports, Sponichi, Yomiuri
Note that no one says Kaasugai is his birthplace/hometown.
There is also a website for Ichiro quotes and there is the description writes "Ichiro is born on October 22th, 1973 in Town of Toyoyama. He was 4,280 gram on delivery and relatively big baby." I will ask the author of this website which reference he used for this description.--Earthhpr (talk) 09:01, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

I will also post the link to "Ichiro timeline" article on Seattle Times, published on July 23, 2012 (on the day Ichiro was traded from Mariners to Yankees), which clearly says "Oct. 22, 1973 — Ichiro born in Toyoyama, Aichi prefecture". Thanks to Bagumba.--Earthhpr (talk) 09:59, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Note: Notice of this discussion has also been placed at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Japan.—Bagumba (talk) 02:36, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Batted? Threw?

Why are those past-tense in the info box? He is still an active player. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.160.130.14 (talk) 00:40, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

I fixed that. Giving a "last played in" date for the NPB made the template think he's retired, hence the past tense. – Muboshgu (talk) 12:44, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

Position in infobox

I'm opening a discussion over what position should be listed in the infobox. According to Baseball-Reference, Ichiro has started or appeared in 1,824 MLB games in right field, 291 in center, and 53 in left. I think that the dominant position should be the one to appear in the infobox, and the secondary ones can appear in the lead or elsewhere. Looking for input. Trut-h-urts man (T • C) 17:45, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

I tend to believe that if they have played more than one outfield position they should simply be listed as outfielder... as the positions are not as defined as say infield spots... what position did he play in Japan? B-ref just lists him as OF for his Japanese playing days. Spanneraol (talk) 18:09, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Couldn't find anything about his fielding in Japan - the external link for his NPB stats (http://japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=28) is unavailable. Regarding the position, what is the point at which we should generalize to outfielder? The vast majority of his games have been in right. For example, Ted Williams' infobox says left fielder. His BR page has 1,982 games in left, and 169 games in right. Hank Aaron has right fielder in his infobox (2,174 in right, 315 in left, 308 in center). By comparison, Babe Ruth's infobox has him at outfielder (and pitcher). His splits are 1,132 in right, 1,050 in left, and 74 in center. I think that, where the split is as extreme as it is for Ichiro, Williams, and Aaron, the infobox should list the position they play or played most often. Where the difference is much closer (Ruth's), outfielder would be the most correct. Trut-h-urts man (T • C) 18:55, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

At a more generic level, when should we include any position—outfield or not—which a player has spent some time at? Is this based on % in a season, career, other?—Bagumba (talk) 20:53, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

This is just my opinion, but I think it should be the % of games played at a position in a player's career. Should probably be high (75-80%+) to avoid conflicts like the one going on now. 84.1% of Ichiro's outfield career is in right, which I would say is enough to warrant using right fielder over outfielder. Trut-h-urts man (T • C) 22:10, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Not sure if we'll ever have a perfect formula. Hanley Ramirez would have to play in the OF for the next 5-6 seasons to even reach 50% for his career. Lacking a general rule, we might have to rely on common sense in some cases.—Bagumba (talk) 23:10, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Once he starts playing there on a regular basis it should be able to be added.. but once the career is over its best to choose the most played positions. Spanneraol (talk) 23:19, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

What if we were to include an infield and outfield position in cases like that? The Red Sox intend to use him in left field, but listing him as an LF right now is incorrect IMO, and should be changed back to shortstop with a bit in the lead somewhere to show that Boston wants him in LF. After opening day, LF would be the outfield position that he has the most experience with, so his infobox would list Shortstop/Left fielder. Trut-h-urts man (T • C) 23:21, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Ichiro should just be outfielder for now. I think it has to be addressed on a case by case basis. - Bossanoven (talk) 23:29, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Can I ask why you think he should be listed as outfielder rather than right fielder? Trut-h-urts man (T • C) 23:31, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Whoops, I misread and thought it had stated somewhere that they plan to use him in left. If he's still playing predominantly right, then it should state right fielder. After all, he predominantly is. - Bossanoven (talk) 23:37, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

In my opinion, given the importance of the right field position at the major league level, I would tend to favor the use of right fielder. In the little leagues, the right field position is usually occupied by the worst player. In the major leagues, it's just the opposite, with a strong throwing arm being paramount to keep baserunners from advancing to third base.Orsoni (talk) 00:33, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

If a player is playing more then one postition on the field, then either go by the position he plays the most or list every position. VegasCasinoKid (talk) 09:52, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

Does Wikipedia really want to claim that Ichiro passed Ty Cobb in hits ?

This is so incorrect. He ranks 38th with 2,916 hits not second. Secondly, if Suzuki did actually pass Ty Cobb, he would have done it two hits earlier, not with 4,192. Cobb is credited with 4,189. Look it up. When Rose passed him in 1985, Cobb was credited with two too many hits. The record books were all corrected years later and every source lists Cobb with 4,189 hits. SCSRdotorg (talk) 00:19, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia isn't claiming it: reliable sources are.[9] – Muboshgu (talk) 00:30, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

One sportswriter for the Miami Herald is a "reliable source" for an encyclopedic fact? Ummm....seriously? I believe that there are firmly established and indisputably recognized major league baseball record keepers. One is Baseball-Reference.com. Others that might qualify are Elias Sports Bureau and baseball-almanac.com. But a Miami sportswriter? I'll leave it to those more qualified to evaluate this comment and reconsider the earlier commenter's contention. (or its snarky rebuttal)76.185.10.9 (talk) 16:01, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

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Officially a mariner

Made an official announcement and everything, please update. Liebgod (talk) 20:50, 7 March 2018 (UTC)

Miscellaneous cleanup

Inserted "MLB" to Frank Robinson passage in the 2016 section.

Inserted his age on June 25, 2017 in the 2017 section. Softened [my] perceived overapplication of the word "albeit" in the sentence that follows; grammatical gurus might choose to revert that one.

Very strong suggestion for improvement: remove the final paragraph from 2013 section, regarding total professional career hits. I gather that total professional career hits includes minor league statistics. If so, total professional career hits would be an obscure (some might even argue contrived) statistic; I would strongly argue that that's just too "trivial" for encyclopedic consideration. The article as it stands is already reaching when it speaks of total "top-tier professional leagues" hits (i.e. including Japanese major league play), though I believe that that satisfies an "above the bar" ruling for inclusion here, alongside MLB records; but including minor leagues should be "below the bar" for inclusion.

I leave the last suggestion up to others to decide if it merits action.76.185.10.9 (talk) 15:38, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

As far as I know Ichiro has always played in "Top tier professional baseball leagues " such as MLB and NPB, never any minor league affiliates. Though combining statistics from both careers isn't officially recognized. It's still seen as unofficially legitimate by some, even by sportswriters. It probably should still be mentioned as long as it mentions their combined totals are unofficial. Persistent Corvid (talk) 01:01, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

Also, it's generally understood that minor league stats aren't counted at the MLB level.Persistent Corvid (talk) 01:06, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

Then how about saying "total major league career hits" because minor league players are paid professionals. Obviously minor league statistics are generally not combined with MLB numbers - that is, for totals; a baseball card or reference would show each line item. However the quite odd terminology "total professional career hits" implies inclusion.76.185.10.9 (talk) 18:12, 25 August 2018 (UTC)

I do understand your point, but the usage of "professional" is probably the better choice in order to combine hits from both the Japan league and MLB, considering that when someone sees "major league" they automatically think exclusively "MLB." Also, while the minor league players are indeed professionals, in the sense that they are paid, the minors are seen more as developmental leagues for the professional level. The rookie league, A and AA leagues are hardly professional level competition, most players on those teams will never make it to the majors, and the MLB players are usually sent there only for temporary rehab assignments. Persistent Corvid (talk) 03:41, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

World hit king at 4367 hits

As Ichiro is not the hit king of NPB at 1278 or MLB at 3089 but combined at the top levels of baseball of two country's (Japan and the USA) with 4367 hits. He should be considered world hit king. This would take nothing away from Isao Harimoto who has NPB record for hits with 3,085 or Pete Rose with 4,256 hits in MLB.

Pete Rose made a reasonable claim that his own minor league hits ought to be counted in this particular context of top-level "professional" hits. This would put Rose at 4,683 hits. WHPratt (talk) 15:28, 10 July 2022 (UTC)

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Outdated Source

The section "Playing Style" states that Ichiro's total times reaching base in 2004 is the 58th most in a season and cites

Hoffman, Benjamin (10 July 2011). "With Suzuki, There's Less Than Meets the Eye". The New York Times. p. SP5. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2017

This article was published in 2011 and since then Joey Votto has reached base more than Ichiro's 315 total three times (2013, 2015, 2017) which makes Ichiro's 2004 total tied in 61st instead of 58th place. You can verify this fact here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/TOB_season.shtml — Preceding unsigned comment added by Baseballfanatic33 (talk • contribs) 19:39, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

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• Ichiro Scoreboard Presentation.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 00:05, 21 April 2021 (UTC)

"Ichiro" vs. "Suzuki"

It seems odd to me that this article uses "Suzuki" rather than "Ichiro", as he is often known by his first name in English-language sources. I want to change each instance of "Suzuki" (other than "Ichiro Suzuki") to "Ichiro", but I want to determine if there is support for this before I do it. – Muboshgu (talk) 20:42, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

I would have been more compelled if The New York Times, which has strict standards, used "Ichiro", but this 2015 article uses "Suzuki". Brittanica also uses "Suzuki".[10] To be consistent, I'd think an RM should agree to change the page title to plain Ichiro first before deciding on the page content. —Bagumba (talk) 00:43, 12 November 2023 (UTC)