Japanese Baseball Part 2
In the Spring of 2001, I was lucky enough to be going to the University of Washington in Seattle, a city near and dear to my heart. I happened to work in the sports industry, and surrounded myself in the local sports scene. Safeco field had just opened a few years before, and the Mariners were getting a very touted young hitter from Japan. His family name was Suzuki, but most people knew him just by his given name, Ichiro.
Now this wasn't the first time a Japanese player had crossed over from the Japanese Pro League to the Major Leagues, and it wasn't even the first time a very high profile player had made the transition (Hideo Nomo, notably, several years before). It also didn't hurt that 2001 featured another world-beating rookie whose name sounded more like a "potty joke" but has now become synonymous with excellence, Albert Pujols. Regrettably, I didn't really collect cards around this time and have a notable absence in my collection of Ichiro rookies, but I do have a few cards of his.
Interestingly enough, I picked up a couple packs of Japanese baseball cards when I was traveling through Japan in my youth. I didn't know much about the players, but I did save the cards for posterity's sake. It turns out that some of the cards that I saved were Ichiro and Nomo rookie cards, which fit my love of baseball and love of my Japanese heritage quite well. You just never know sometimes.
This year, we've come full circle, and Ichiro has come back for his victory lap with the Mariners after stays in Miami and New York. News has come out about the turbid relationship he had/has with his father, and he has allowed more access to his private life than ever before. Baseball players are generally very good about respecting the history and meaning of the game, and paying reverence to the players that came before them. Before dubbing Ohtani the "Japanese Babe Ruth," we should give some credit to a few of the titans of the Japanese game.
Now this wasn't the first time a Japanese player had crossed over from the Japanese Pro League to the Major Leagues, and it wasn't even the first time a very high profile player had made the transition (Hideo Nomo, notably, several years before). It also didn't hurt that 2001 featured another world-beating rookie whose name sounded more like a "potty joke" but has now become synonymous with excellence, Albert Pujols. Regrettably, I didn't really collect cards around this time and have a notable absence in my collection of Ichiro rookies, but I do have a few cards of his.
Interestingly enough, I picked up a couple packs of Japanese baseball cards when I was traveling through Japan in my youth. I didn't know much about the players, but I did save the cards for posterity's sake. It turns out that some of the cards that I saved were Ichiro and Nomo rookie cards, which fit my love of baseball and love of my Japanese heritage quite well. You just never know sometimes.
This year, we've come full circle, and Ichiro has come back for his victory lap with the Mariners after stays in Miami and New York. News has come out about the turbid relationship he had/has with his father, and he has allowed more access to his private life than ever before. Baseball players are generally very good about respecting the history and meaning of the game, and paying reverence to the players that came before them. Before dubbing Ohtani the "Japanese Babe Ruth," we should give some credit to a few of the titans of the Japanese game.
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