Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki

October 1, 2004 Good evening, baseball fans. We have an amazing game tonight. The Seattle Mariners are battling the Texas Rangers. It's the bottom of the third inning. The crowd here in Seattle is on its feet. Everyone has come to see Ichiro Suzuki make history. The count is three balls and two strikes. You can feel the excitement. The Rangers' pitcher winds up. . . he delivers. . . Ichiro hits it up the middle. Holy cow! It's a base hit. . . number 258. Ichiro just broke baseball's all-time record for hits in a single season. The crowd is going wild!

Born to Play Playing baseball is what Ichiro does best. He was born in Japan on October 22, 1973. His father wanted Ichiro to become a great baseball player. He made his son practice up to four hours a day, every day, year round. Sometimes Ichiro practiced when it was too cold to grip the bat.

His father also made his right-handed son bat from the left side of the plate. That way, Ichiro would be closer to first base. Ichiro and his father didn't always get along, but Ichiro still worked hard. Ichiro, which means “ first boy, " learned well. In high school, he woke up at 3: 00 A. M. to do his chores. He wanted to make sure he had enough time to play ball and study. All that hard work paid off. When Ichiro was eighteen, the Blue Wave baseball team chose Ichiro to play for them.

Japan's Favorite Player Ichiro played for seven years with the Blue Wave in Japan. He led the team to its first championship in 1996. Ichiro also led the league in hits seven years in a row. He played in seven straight all-star games. In time, he became one of the most famous people in the country.

Ichiro's fans couldn't get enough of him. They saw him on TV. They saw him in ads. They liked his hair and the way he dressed. Ichiro wore sunglasses and a backward baseball cap. He played catch with fans. Ichiro was so popular that his father built a museum. The museum holds thousands of things from Ichiro's life. These include his report cards, clothes, and video games.