Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store -- Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, R&B, Latin, Brazil, African, World Music, Avant, Rock, Blues & more LPs, CDs, vinyl . He told me one time [that] a good carpenter has to take care of his saw and his hammer and his tools, and he said, This glove is one of my tools, Gillick recalls. Anybody who tried to copy Ichiro would have failed, Whiting says. This might actually be the greatest catch of all-time. Ichiro was such an exciting player, and for the rest of the baseball world to get to see him do something like this on the national stage was so special. SEATTLE On Saturday night, the Mariners will honor one of their own when they induct outfielder Ichiro Suzuki into the team's Hall of Fame before a scheduled game against . Over the first half of his rookie season, Ichiro changed more than just defensive alignments around the league. Once asked about comparing his body routine to NFL superstar Tom Brady, Ichiro responded with an all time quote: When baseball is your entire life, it may be difficult to find enjoyment in other things. In the winter, when Ichiro shot Nissan commercials in the United States, Colborn would host him at his home in Ventura, California, where he helped the Japanese star stay in shape. When I saw Long head for third, I just said, Youre out. Or maybe at this age what I can do is prepare myself, train and see what I can do and the work I put in, see what happens to my body and performance," Suzuki said. When I returned in 2018, it was as if I never left. So on March 20, 2001, following an early lunch with bench coach John McLaren, Piniella headed to batting practice at the Mariners complex and called over Ted Heid, Seattles Pacific Rim scout and Ichiros temporary interpreter. , "Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus dies at 75", "2008 Ford C. Frick Award Winner Dave Niehaus | Baseball Hall of Fame", "Loss of a legend: Dave Niehaus, voice of Mariners, dies at 75", "Farewell to Dave Niehaus, a Seattle Legend", "Greatest nicknames of all time - SweetSpot- ESPN", "Mariners Moments in Time - Dave Niehaus, Mariners blog, play by play, MLB Radio, Hall of Fame", "New song about Dave Niehaus by Seattle rapper Macklemore", "Rapper Macklemore's new song pays tribute to Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus | KING5.com Seattle", "Bronze Dave Niehaus statue unveiled at Safeco Field | KING5.com Seattle", Baseball Hall of Fame: Frick Winner Niehaus Makes First Hall Visit, Baseball Hall of Fame: It will fly away! Scott Servais explains how to help the CF handle it. SEATTLE Dave Niehaus, the Hall of Fame broadcaster who called Seattle Mariners' games from their first season through this year, has died of a heart attack. Whiting says this stance initially got him in a lot of trouble with minor league manager Shozo Doi, who opposed Ichiros leg kick and kept him on the farm team for the 1992 Orix BlueWave. Remember, we won 116 games that year. What anyone who saw that throw that night or the next morning . He hit in the batting cage underneath and he ran around the concourse in the upper deck for his running, Colborn recalls, laughing. A laser beam, barely 10 feet off the ground, reached third baseman David Bell on the fly with Long a good five feet from the bag. I was treated like some kind of guest royalty. Thank you for posting! That brought up pinch hitter Ramon Hernandez, who delivered a ground ball base hit to right. Not only was Ichiro an incredible hitter, he had elite speed on his side, as well. Salk: New MLB rules a plus, but theres a better way with pitch clock, Mariners Notebook: Julio Rodrguez fine, undeterred after wall crash. At one MLB Japan All-Star Series in 2014, Small remembers U.S. manager John Farrell telling him the entire Japanese national lineup could have made an MLB roster. He excelled at the little things, blending new school and old school, and carved out a niche that forced the rest of MLB to catch up. In the bottom of the inning, Aaron Sele was inching closer to a shutout when Oakland center fielder Terrence Long led off with a single. We used to kick their butts. Did Buhner throw that ball?. Looking back at Ichiros 2001, Colborn says one other memory stands out. The manager gave me a big wet kiss. She talks . Retirement wasn't the 'R' word used Thursday for the how and why of Suzuki moving off the field. Id throw him batting practice, Id hit him fly balls, hed throw the balland if I couldnt make it that day, Id have one of the local scouts in the area do the batting practice for him. During one of Ichiros trips to Seattle, Colborn remembers a boat show taking place inside the Kingdome. Why did he run when I was going to throw him out? -- Ichiro, Dave Niehaus is a Seattle legend. SEATTLE (AP) Ichiro Suzuki's otherworldly talents made an early impression on Dave Niehaus, the Hall of Fame voice of the Seattle Mariners. The call by Dave Niehaus may be as good as . Now, of course, there's two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani. I wasn't ready for 116 kisses from the manager.\n\nHe also thanked Mariners ownership for the opportunity to contribute as a special advisor in his post-playing days.\n\nMost days, I still wear the Mariners uniform, and I do so proudly, Ichiro said. 1500 PAs). "The Throw" was electric, and one of Ichiro's first introductions to baseball in the United States. Get Social with AzQuotes. More >. The 6 stages that come with each of his starts, Ichiro's April 11, 2001 throw in Oakland was the first of his many memorable defensive plays. Related:Groz Remembers: Ichiros Star Wars throw in 2001. Shortly after retiring, Ichiro began as a special advisor to the Mariners, essentially serving as an assistant coach during Spring Training and most home games during the regular season. David Arnold Niehaus (February 19, 1935 - November 10, 2010) was an American sportscaster. Mike Trout Ichiro came up throwing, and no one who saw it or heard Dave Niehaus' memorable call will ever forget it. Fann: 6 most important Mariners highlights from spring training so far, Servais: How Mariners are helping Julio handle superstar spotlight, Mariners Notebook: The plan to get even more out of Luis Castillo. Dave Niehaus. Likewise, the fans invited Dave into their homes as he brought to life on the radio the heroics of such Mariners legends as Alvin Davis, Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Randy Johnson, Ichiro, Felix Hernandez and the list goes on and on.. Dave was the voice of spring and summer in the Northwest . ", Let's not forget this one either. Carrying all of the responsibilities that came with being the first Japanese-born MLB position player, he never wavered. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in 1977 until his death in 2010. Charging a single by Ramon Hernandez into right field, Ichiro never broke stride and made a throw from about 200 feet away on the fly to David Bell that would have impressed William Tell. Mr. Niehaus was more than just an announcer, he was family to the Mariners players and management. He is a great model to follow., Indeed, Ichiros 2001 season provided a master class in unflappability, a model for excelling while living in a fishbowl existence. Its tough to end things, and the way it ended, there's just no other way to do that. Physics says he had to have put a little arc on it but I'm not sure. I used to tease him. In 2008, the National Baseball Hall of Fame awarded Niehaus the Ford C. Frick Award, the highest honor for American baseball broadcasters. http://www.courtsidetweets.comRookie Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners shows off his cannon in right field by throwing out Terrence Long of the Oakland A. Anyone know what that means? Twenty years later, Ichiros rookie season remains an inflection point, the beginning of a legacy thats opened the door for other Japanese position players to thrive in MLB. SEATTLE King's Court will be back in session this summer. Even after Hideo Nomo broke international barriers and found success with the Dodgers in 1995, only a few MLB teams had scouts on the ground in Japan. During Suzuki's first month in the majors in 2001, Niehaus narrated a throw by Suzuki from right field that nailed Terrence Long at third base. pic.twitter.com/2FgBfpmIV2. Off Ichiro. MLB.com also offers extensive historical information and footage, online ticket sales, official baseball merchandise, authenticated memorabilia and collectibles and fantasy games. Every day we present the best quotes! Simply put, it was vintage Ichiro. Jake Kring-Schreifels is a sports and entertainment writer based in New York. Within a couple of years, however, the teams leadership had come to embrace Ichiros unorthodox style. I could never imagine my career in America would last 19 seasons and that I would still be in Seattle today.. MLB.com features a stable of club beat reporters and award-winning national columnists, the largest contingent of baseball reporters under one roof, who deliver over 100 original articles every day. It also helped that the Mariners and Orix had a working agreement in which Seattle shared commercial and marketing ideas in exchange for info about NPB players. He would take it and place it in a spot where it would not be disturbed while they were hitting., Boone compared his personality to Ichiros like oil and water, but says from a sense of humor standpoint, we actually have a lot of similarities. Throughout the year, Boone often made fun of Ichiro for polishing his glove and making sure it was clean and pristine, while the infielder tossed his own leather on the dugout steps between innings. Ichiro received the most votes for the 2001 All-Star Game, the first rookie ever to do so. By the All-Star break, it held a 19-game lead over the second-place As. "To come over here and pave the way for a lot of Japanese players, what he and (Hideo) Nomo did, that's not an easy thing to do," said Oakland manager Bob Melvin, who managed Suzuki for two seasons in Seattle. The manager gave me a big wet kiss. Niehaus died at his . "His whole day, his whole night, everything he thought about, was about the next day's game and being prepared for it, from the way he works out to the routine that he's on. Niehaus died at his home in suburban Bellevue, according to his family. At 45 years old, Ichiro could still chuck it. I'll always remember his grand slam call from the Ken Griffey Jr game on Super Nintendo. He may never play another game in the majors. (AP). Years earlier, at Nobuyukis urging, Colborn had promised to take care of Ichiro in his transition to the U.S.; ever the scout, Colborn warned Ichiro about that nights Dodgers starting pitcher, and then made a prediction. SEATTLE (AP) Ichiro Suzuki's otherworldly talents made an early impression on Dave Niehaus, the Hall of Fame voice of the Seattle Mariners. [Ichiro] held that bat up like a magic wand, like, What do we got here? Even years later, during pitcher Ervin Santanas debut season with the Angels, Ichiro always found an opening. Most ballplayers, theyd wear polo shirts and golf pants, but hed have baggy jeans and a cap on backwards. Heaps: Bench Chris Carson? Every time I faced him, our team would shift and theyd leave the gap between left and center, and that was easy money for him, says Santana, who now plays for the Royals and allowed the third most hits to Ichiro of any pitcher. Nicknamed Godzilla, the Yomiuri Giants outfielder had been Japans most prolific power hitter, superseding Ichiro in popularity thanks to his teams mainstream appeal. But when he met Ichiro in 2009, it was the Mariners legend who provided the classic moment. He comes back to the dugout, getting ready to walk down the steps to take his helmet off, and he says, Is that turn on ball, Lou? McLaren says. My friend and I always used to say Terrensh Long. Former Mariners Alvin Davis, Jay Buhner, and team announcer Dave Niehaus of the Seattle Mariners throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the game on. The death of Dave Niehaus, 75, will be devastating for fans in the Northwest. Ichiro was a big part of that.. . Legendary Mariners voice Niehaus passes away at the age of 75. MLB.com also provides an array of mobile apps for fans to choose from, including At Bat, the highest-grossing iOS sports app of all-time. The first Japanese-born position player to make the majors also filled the Mariners celebrity void left by Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., and Randy Johnson, all of whom had recently departed Seattle. In 2008, the National Baseball Hall of Fame awarded Niehaus with David Niehaus had no idea who Janis Joplin was when they first met in Brazil. The Colossal Legacy of Ichiros Rookie Season, 20 Years Later, Ichiro shot Nissan commercials in the United States, he told National League manager Bobby Valentine. He didnt have to put a good swing on the ball to get a base hit. Colborn smiled. Game after game, the Mariners skipper had watched Ichiro Suzuki slap and bloop and pepper fastballs everywhere between left field and the third-base dugout. Paraphrasing the writer in his 2021 book Tokyo Junkie, Whiting explains this stemmed from an inability to prevail in international sports events, save for the odd marathon or judo triumph. In one of his final games ever, an exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants in the Tokyo Dome ahead of Seattles two-game 2019 season-opening series against Oakland, Ichiro uncorked one last laser of a throw from right field to keep a runner from advancing from second base to third. His 133 hits at the break marked a club record, and his league-leading 3.4 million votes made him an All-Star starter as a rookie. "The throw by Ichiro, beautiful peg. 1. just drops and shakes his head, Ichiro was the only one in the video not surprised by that throw, It was going to take a perfect throw to get me. By the time Colborn returned to Japan in 1997 as the Mariners new scouting coordinator for the Pacific Rim, Ichiro had become a national icon. [Nobuyuki] wrote in one of his books that [Ichiro] had six hours a year to play with his friends and the rest was practicing baseball, Whiting says. David Arnold Niehaus was an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in 1977 until his death after the 2010 season. He is Ichiro Suzuki, and after playing two games with the Seattle Mariners to start his 29th pro baseball season, he has hung up his cleats for good. Yet for all his stops over his 28-year playing career, there was always an affinity for the Mariners. Facing Randy Johnson, another famous former No. In 1983, Niehaus hired Rizzs to join the Mariners' broadcast team. But the way my career ended in Japan at the Tokyo Dome, and how the fans embrace me there, that is what makes this an easier exit. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. the Mariners did not say who would throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Naturally, in a matchup between Seattles current star and its former one, Ichiro singled off Randy Johnson in the bottom of the first. The Japanese sensation would go on to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP that same season . In the bottom of the inning, he replaced Anthony Sanders in right field and proceeded to show what set him apart. "Break out the rye bread and mustard, grandma! Everything was like clockworkhed get his massage, hit off the tee, light weights, stretch, snack. His name and likeness were everywhere. Colborn predicted that a bid of $10 million would win Ichiros negotiating rights, but Yamauchi wanted a failsafe number and threw in a couple extra million of his own money. He is somebody I have tried to mimic, not just hitting but playing-wise, even how he handles the media. That doesn't happen in Japan. Ichiro set the single-season record for most hits (262) in a season in 2004, breaking Hall of . Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) was formed and charged with developing, building and managing the most comprehensive baseball experience available on the internet. Ichiro just defies what most athletes are capable of. [became] Whos next?, According to Tokyo-based journalist Midori Masujima, Japan long held an inferiority complex when it came to sports. I remember it being almost in slow motion. Two weeks into his rookie season, that would no longer be the case. Remember, we won 116 games that year. Mariners superstar Julio Rodrguez is in the spotlight as one of MLB's top players. It was awesome., A few years before shifting became more commonand later, embedded into the fabric of the leagueIchiro forced managers to get creative and devise new defensive tactics to keep him from reaching base. And would anyone be surprised if he was on the field once more? A Celebration of Life for Dave Niehaus; Podcasts; 2013 Seattle Seahawks Online Scrapbook; Daily Archives: February 24, . I'm not sure he threw that ball at an upward angle. (Simmons/News) So embrace it by giving your best without imposing limits on yourself. Now the WBC comes around and they win. Rarely do you see a throw start that low and carry that far. Of course, when I still run and do things, I feel like I can still play. It was so true and so strong. Next door in the press box, Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus described the throw as being like something out of Star Wars, a call that was soon attached to the clip on every sports report that night. Remember his grand slam call from the Ken Griffey Jr game on Super Nintendo like! During one of Ichiro 's first introductions to baseball in the Northwest session summer... An opening call by Dave Niehaus, 75, will be back in session this summer in 1983, hired! 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