Word: ichiro
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...best record at 63-24, are sending eight players, a full quarter of the squad and the most since the 1960 Pirates. Seattle fans, voting early and often, elected four of them - first baseman John Olerud, second baseman Bret Boone, designated hitter Edgar Martinez and straight-from-Japan outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who received the most votes of any player - to start...
...lesson of this year's All-Star Game seems to be that the stars weren't the heart of their team after all. Yes, there's "Ichiro," the better-than-anybody-expected Japanese import who's not only leading the team but putting countless fannies in the Safeco seats (and drawing big ratings in Japan for the Mariners' 4 a.m.-in-Tokyo satellite feeds...
...Ichiro is also quick to utter such dandies as "chillin' like a villain," "whassup?" "thanks, dogg" and "no pain, no gain." When a reporter noted Ichiro's smooth feet, Ichiro nodded, smiled and said, "They sexy." He has picked up bits and pieces of English by listening to conversations, as well as television, movies and hip-hop. "I very much like hip-hop," he says in English, pronouncing hip as heep...
...there is one obstacle to total happiness for Ichiro in the big leagues, it's the Japanese media's obsession with him. The Mariners have issued season-long press credentials to 23 Japanese writers, 11 Japanese photographers and one Japanese television crew. No matter what happens?a 10-1 Seattle loss or a 10-1 Seattle win?Mariners manager Lou Piniella will field at least four or five "What about Ichiro?" questions from this horde before it moves to Ichiro's locker. Whenever he feels he has not contributed sufficiently to a game, Ichiro will remain in the trainer...
...When he does speak, Ichiro is?from a journalist's viewpoint?frustratingly reserved and without candor. Asked in a recent interview to cite the differences (which are known to be wide) between the North American and Japanese strike zones, he replied, "I would not want to address this as any problem. The umpires here are very good." Later Ichiro noted that of all the things he misses about Japan, No. 1 is his dog. (Ichiro and his wife, Japanese TV personality Yumiko Fukushima, live in a no-pets-allowed apartment complex in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue.) What...