You don’t think of Ichiro as a good quote. But the dude who will
batting No. 9 and playing left field for the New York Yankees
Monday night at Safeco Field, has had his moments.
Vince Dice, the assistant local news editor at The Sun and a
former sports designer, has compiled a list of some of the things
that Ichiro has said over the years.
I think you’ll enjoy some of these quotes:
“If there is a problem, we need to notice what creates the
problem. The problem usually isn’t just on the cover. You need to
look much deeper. For example, if we’re talking about a tree and
the tree has a problem, you need to look at the root. But you
cannot see the root. The mistake is to keep watering the fruit.
That’s not going to solve anything.”
— On … well, we’re not sure what, in 2006
“Tiger is a great golfer, but … when you say athlete, I
think of Carl Lewis. When you talk about (golfers or race-car
drivers), I don’t want to see them run. It’s the same if you were
to meet a beautiful girl and go bowling. If she’s an ugly bowler,
you are going to be disappointed.”
— In a 2007 USA Today article, on what constitutes an
athlete
“If I’m in a slump, I ask myself for advice.”
— On how to break a slump
“The ball became the same color as the sky. So, I wasn’t
able to see it … I was sending mental signals for the ball not to
come my way, because during that time of day it’s impossible for me
to see the ball so I lacked mental signals. I lacked in that area.
Usually, I don’t send mental signals. So, because this is the first
time, I thought, please don’t come my way.”
— On missing a fly ball in 2007
“I hope he arouses the fire that’s dormant in the innermost
recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a
challenger.”
— about his first time facing Daisuke Matsuzaka in
2007
“To tell the truth, I’m not excited to go to Cleveland, but
we have to. If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to
Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m
lying.”
— About returning to Cleveland to make up a snowed-out game
in 2007
“If I had spiritual powers and knew the ball was going to be
landing there, then I would have. But I don’t have spiritual
power.”
— about missing a fly ball in Yankee Stadium in May
2008
“Playing on this team and seeing what is happening around
me, I feel that something is beginning to fall apart. But, if I was
not in this situation, and I was objectively watching what just
happened this week, I would probably be drinking a lot of beers and
booing.”
— About a long M’s losing streak in 2008
“Usually I enjoy Japanese beer, but given the situation, if
I was objectively watching the game, I wouldn’t care if it was
Japanese beer, American beer or beer from Papua New
Guinea.”
— When asked what sort of beer he’d be
drinking
“I don’t know if it’s a good memory or a bad one. But when I
first came over to play in the United States, I had a few teammates
from the U.S. who had played on my team in Japan. So I had somewhat
of an idea of what American players would be like.
“But when I met him, he was kind of a human being that you
would never meet in Japan. So, whenever I was around him, I almost
felt like I was witnessing a creature, not a human being. It was
fun for me to watch him.”
About former teammate Bret Boone, 2008
“I was worried that there might not be any food after the
game today. I was worried that if we won today, maybe they would
continue the streak of not serving the food. … I felt it was kind
of cute, actually. It’s something a parent would do to a young kid
and that’s basically my emotion.”
On the day he drove in two runs in an 8-0 win over the Red
Sox, which snapped a four-game M’s losing streak. The previous day
(also the day manager John McLaren went on his infamous “Get After
It” rant), GM Bill Bavasi had withheld postgame food and towels to
punish the underachieving team. June 2008
“I feel so good it’s annoying.”
— clamoring to return to the lineup after missing seven
games with a bleeding ulcer, April 2009
“There is a destiny. It’s like a girl you said goodbye to,
and then you bump into the same girl again on the street so many
times, because there’s a destiny to meet again. Maybe better, might
as well get married if we are going to meet this
frequently.”
On the possibility of playing South Korea a fourth time at
the 2009 World Baseball Classic, March 18, 2009
“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me.
I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require
technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than
with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I
can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one
out.”
Ichiro Suzuki, to the New York Times, August
2009
“There should be no reason for me to answer that question.
I’m not here to play soccer.”
Responding to a question about whether he was frustrated to
have been held out with a calf injury
“You can’t forget about him (Ken Griffey Jr.). I believe
that even in this winter, in my sleep, he will appear in my dreams.
To play together with that hero of mine, in the same uniform — and
on top of that, in Seattle — that time we got, even now, seems like
a dream. I believe that time with him will continue.”
About Ken Griffey Jr. in October 2009
