they smiling today?
On Tuesday of this past week, three retired Major League Baseball players were contacted by the National Baseball Hall of Fame that they received the requisite 75% of the votes to be enshrined. Those players were relief pitcher Billy Wagner, starting pitcher CC Sabathia, and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
Ichiro, who received a vote from all but – inexplicably – one voting member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, was this week’s Fan Teaser.
In the photo utilized, Ichiro is captured in the middle of his distinctive at-bat routine where he would hold the bat in his right hand, pointed skyward, in front of him, while adjusting his jersey near his right collarbone with his left hand, and leaning back ever so slightly.
Apparently it worked for him. After arriving in Seattle in 2001 following nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseball, Suzuki lashed hit after hit during 19 MLB seasons. He finished with 3,089 in the Major Leagues, set the single-season record with 262 in 2004, won both the Rookie of the Year (albeit as a 27-year-old) and American League MVP in 2001. All totaled, he was an All-Star each of his first 10 seasons in the United States during which time he also won the Gold Glove Award every season. If his stats from Japan are included, he would have 4,367 career hits (easily eclipsing Pete Rose‘s record of 4,256). As it is, Ichiro currently ranks 25th all-time. He’s one of just seven players with 3,000 career hits and over 500 stolen bases.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.