An Apology to Ichiro...

Though this has already made the front page of Nikkan Sports, here is the on-line article by Rob Dibble with regards to Ichiro. Dibble had proclaimed earlier in the season that if Ichiro won the batting crown, he (Dibble) would run naked through Times Square in New York.

Personally, though I've always been in Ichiro's corner, I too vastly underestimated how Ichiro would do this first year. I thought if he had a good year he'd finish in the .310's. It's not that I didn't think he could win the batting title. I just figured it would come in his second or third year. I assumed he'd need more time to get used to the pitchers, and that he would fade down the stretch as he passed 135 games. It certainly wasn't just me, either. In a ShuBe interview, both Pancho Ito and Chiba-san assumed Ichiro would need time to adjust, and they hoped that rather than try for the batting crown, he'd win the steals crown this year. Well, it looks like he's going to get both. I think Ichiro has surpassed most expectations, and along with Shinjo has made a very loud statement about the level of Japanese ball. I still think the Major's depth and diversity raises the level of the leagues as a whole (which is why the MLB All-Stars continually win the All-Star Series), but when it comes to individual players, I think any everyday player in Japan (including Tuffy Rhodes!) has the opportunity to be an everyday player in the U.S. It's only a matter of dealing with the culture.

I look forward to Ishii's coming to the majors next year, and Matsui Kazuo's playing the year after that.