Under Pressure

It's official.

Ichiro Suzuki is a pretty good baseball player.

Though that sounds like a ridiculous understatement now, let's not forget that fifteen months ago there weren't many American baseball fans who would have said it with much conviction. Prior to Opening Day 2001, no one really knew what to expect from Japan's first position player export. True, Suzuki's career statistics from the Japanese Leagues were eye-popping: seven straight batting titles, seven consecutive gold gloves, and a .353 career batting average. However, skeptics wondered aloud how much of the luster of those gaudy stats would be lost by crossing the Pacific. Clearly, he was the best player Japan had to offer since legendary home run king Sadaharu Oh. The question was whether or not that would be enough.

Granted, Suzuki was not the first player from Japan to play in the majors. Dating back to Masanori Murakami's 1964 debut with the San Francisco Giants, Japanese pitchers had already made their mark on the league, the achievements of Hideo Nomo and Kazuhiro Sasaki defining the apex of that lineage. However, pitching is a very specialized talent. That is, pitchers, by and large, are expected to pitch effectively but are not expected to excel at any other facet of the game. If a pitcher does succeed elsewhere on the diamond (i.e., at the plate, on the basepaths, etc.), it is considered a bonus and not a requirement.

On the other hand, a position player is expected to be proficient as a batter, a fielder, and a baserunner. And he is expected to display that proficiency every day and every inning of the season. By being the first position player from Japan to play in America, Suzuki was subject to a different set of metrics than his Japanese pitching counterparts. Those more comprehensive metrics combined with his sizeable reputation made Suzuki's major league debut something akin to a petri dish under the glare of a microscope.

Of course, Ichiro Suzuki was not the first player ever to have lofty expectations placed on him. A new crop of highly touted rookies populates major league baseball rosters every year. Some of these young players deliver on their promise while others do not. Hence, the wheat is separated from the chafe quickly and decisively. Suzuki, however, carried a unique burden. His success or failure would not be measured out in individual terms. Instead, his burden was to define the Japanese position player for American fans. As such, failure would not only mean personal disappointment but would also doom the perception of Japanese ballplayers for a good long while.

So when Suzuki made his major league debut against Tim Hudson and the Oakland A's at Seattle's Safeco Field in April 2001, the pressure cooker was clearly set on "High". Adding to this volatile mix were hordes of intense Japanese media personnel and a nation of equally intense fans watching Suzuki's every move with equal parts hope and fear. For many of the Japanese public, some measure of national pride depended on Ichiro Suzuki's ability to hit a sphere with a cylinder in the U.S. major leagues.

Despite the intense and weighty expectations of nation and peers, Suzuki shrugged off the pressure and quickly established himself as a major league star, hitting, fielding, and running with both exemplary skill and flair. By the end of his highly scrutinized debut season in the major leagues, Suzuki had won a batting title (with a .350 average), an MVP award, and a Gold Glove. He also led his league in stolen bases and finished second in runs scored and made the All-Star team as a starter. His conversion from Japanese League star to major league star proved seamless.

Suzuki's sophomore season in America has proven to be equally productive. He is again among the league leaders in batting average, runs scored, and stolen bases. He's also started his second consecutive All-Star game and is once again playing superb defense. In fact, his consistency despite the unfamiliarity of playing in a different country and under the intense pressure of validating himself and his former league has been remarkable. His career batting average in Japan was .353. Through his first 250 major league games, his batting average is .352. No matter where on the globe he laces up his spikes, put a bat in Ichiro Suzuki's hands and the man will be able to hit a baseball, consistently and relentlessly.

That he has been able to make this seamless transition with the cool of a cat burglar speaks of his intense focus and the iron nerves required for such concentration. The one-name wonder from Japan has answered his critics, rewarded his fans, and brought a new and compelling dimension to major league baseball.

Like I said, this Ichiro Suzuki is a pretty good baseball player.