Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

[BRONXBOMBERS1]

I want to see some feedback with this how many out there feel that the last Jeter game in Fenway was Ichirio last game as well if not where do you think he will wind up I feel the Yankees should have kept him at 41 the guy did loose a little edge but not enough to call it still flexible and does come through in games

[emann]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

I was at the final Jeter game and mentioned to my wife that it might end up being Ichiro's last game as well...

That said, I think there is a strong chance he signs somewhere else for 2015, he's not the worst choice for an outfielder by any means yet. He also deserves to retire and have his last game not be overshadowed like it would have been with Jeter. Just a guess—maybe he goes to Tampa or the Cubs?

I want to see some feedback with this how many out there feel that the last Jeter game in Fenway was Ichirio last game as well if not where do you think he will wind up I feel the Yankees should have kept him at 41 the guy did loose a little edge but not enough to call it still flexible and does come through in games

[BRONXBOMBERS1]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

Thanks emann
Yes I too feel the same hopefully he will have the opportunity to return just so he too could go out on top another great player unfortunately like other Japanese players they come here when they are already half way through a career unlike the players here that come up young from the farm team
However yes I too feel he will wind up at one of those teams I could have sworn the Astros or the mets would have grabbed him but I was wrong on both
Congrats to you for being at that last game in Fenway the only way to describe that one is priceless
Have a happy holiday!!
Sal bronxbombers1

[WadeInBmore]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

I hope that he signs with the Orioles!!!! They seem to need the help as they've remained pretty quiet this off season in terms of signing free agents, especially since they "lost" Markakis and Cruz. I surely hope that he gets his day in the sun.

Does he sign a one day contract with the Mariners and retire? I think that is a cool gesture from any team but it still seems like he's got baseball left in the tank.

Wade

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

I think an interesting fit for Suzuki might be a shift to the NL, perhaps COL, ATL or ARI. With the Padres and Dodgers, at some point, being forced to dump OFs, if Ichiro doesn't sign soon, he might be looking at being a 4th OF for a team like Cleveland.

I think it'd be great to see if Suzuki could play to age 50. That said, as he gets older, he may start to become more Japanese in his diet. Playing for a team based close to the Pacific Ocean would allow more access to fresh fish. Oakland might be a nice fit.

Actually, after saying all of that, I think Oakland or SF might be the best bet for Suzuki, if not a return to Seattle. My vote is for the A's.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

10 yrs $32mm. I think that would be a near perfect contract for his skill set, as he should be able to produce more than 4.5 WAR over the rest of his career.

[Roady]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

He had a better year, once again, than Jeter.

[Roady]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

Is his paying time limited because of his age and inability to play every day, the perception of the coach that a 40 year old can't play every day, or just because of platooning in a crowded outfield?

[jake33]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

Ichiro said he not only wanted to play in 2015, but also 2016.

Ichiro loves his statistics and I have heard that he does want to get to 3,000 MLB hits, so 2 part time seasons should cover that, or playing full time next year hitting around .280 should get it next year.

He needs 156 hits for 3000
13 stolen bases to get to 500

Also he needs about 60 more runs to crack the Top 100 runs scored all time.

If he would have had his MLB rookie season at age 20 or 21 (instead of age 27), he would be looking at a very decent chance to being the All Time hits leader in MLB history, especially if he indeed plays through the year 2016.

[Roady]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

Ichiro said he not only wanted to play in 2015, but also 2016.

Ichiro loves his statistics and I have heard that he does want to get to 3,000 MLB hits, so 2 part time seasons should cover that, or playing full time next year hitting around .280 should get it next year.

He needs 156 hits for 3000
13 stolen bases to get to 500

Also he needs about 60 more runs to crack the Top 100 runs scored all time.

If he would have had his MLB rookie season at age 20 or 21 (instead of age 27), he would be looking at a very decent chance to being the All Time hits leader in MLB history, especially if he indeed plays through the year 2016.

He would have been lucky to start at 20 or 21 and most likely would have spent time in the minors as most do and had his first full season at 22 or 23. Also his BA has never been as good in MLB as it was in Japan.
So he probably would not be as close as most think he would.

[emann]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

Thanks emann
Congrats to you for being at that last game in Fenway the only way to describe that one is priceless
Have a happy holiday!!
Sal bronxbombers1

Thanks—that Jeter game was a pretty unique event to be able to attend. There was definitely more Yankees blue in the crowd than normal Red Sox/Yankees games (certainly in the section I was in, about 7 rows from 3rd base side of the field). And as a diehard Sox fan, it was a little surreal openly cheering for Jeter AT FENWAY.

But, worth the price of admission for sure!

. . . and a happy holiday to you too Sal!

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

He would have been lucky to start at 20 or 21 and most likely would have spent time in the minors as most do and had his first full season at 22 or 23. Also his BA has never been as good in MLB as it was in Japan.
So he probably would not be as close as most think he would.

Assuming he wasn't absurdly held back in high-A for a completely unorthodox approach to hitting, he would have made his MLB debut at 19 or 20. Remember, Suzuki would have been coming up in the 90s, when players would regularly move up a full level (none of this weird, six levels of MiLB) per season, sometimes two levels. If he were remotely as successful in MLB as he was in NPB (meaning .280 as opposed to .350), he would have had 1200 hits over his age 20-26 seasons. 170 hits a season is all it would take. I highly doubt he wouldn't be able to post those numbers, given he absolutely destroyed that standard during his time with Seattle. Even accounting for some sort of bias against style holding him back until age 22, he would have five full seasons to add to his total. Let's assume Suzuki pre-27 was somehow only capable of averaging 190 hits per season, that puts him at 3800 for his career. 4000 hits would definitely be within reach. Now, let's be somewhat more realistic and actually track his year by year probables:

1994 - 90 hits (I think this is a safe assumption, given Eric Anthony had 79 games in LF, while batting an abysmal .237)
1995 - 160 hits (with Griffey hurt and an aging Vince Coleman taking actual reps, I could see Suzuki batting leadoff at least 100 games and playing some role in 120 games)
1996 - 185 hits in his first truly full time season
1997 - 210 hits
1998 - 220 hits
1999 - 215 hits
2000 - 210 hits

1994-2000: 1290 hits
2001-pres: 2844 hits
Hypothetical all US career for Suzuki: 4134 hits through age-40 season
123 hits shy of being the "all time hit king" at that point, I could see Suzuki not only breaking Rose's record, but possibly holding on through age-45 in pursuit of 4500 hits for his career. If he managed to beat that pace and get to 4680 by age 46, he might even stick around to get to 5000 hits.

If this were the 70s (or maybe even the 80s), I could see an argument against Suzuki getting much playing time, due to racism in the league among other reasons, but given he started with the Mariners and a progressive league that we have today, I doubt any manager would hold him back just to ensure the record remained in the name of a US born player.

[Roady]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

Name all of the players who played their first MLB games at age 19 during the 90's.

[admin_old]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/9995

[admin_old]

Re: Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Future

That being said, I think Ichiro's debut season made it clear he was more than ready to hit in mlb. How he would have been at 20, 21, 22 is anyone's guess. I personally think he'd be flirting with 4000. Truly an awesome career, I hope he hangs it up sooner than later. Watching a .230 Ichiro would be sad.