Sports

Ichiro’s contract not bad, but good for baseball

By Jeremy Muck
Monday, July 16, 2007 10:06 AM CDT

OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Florida Marlins president David Samson said in a radio interview last week that Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki’s contract would “take the sport down.”

Of course, Samson and his stepfather Jeffrey Loria helped take the sport of baseball down in Montreal earlier this decade. But as far as player contracts go, did Samson seem to forget about Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $252 million dollar deal with the Texas Rangers in 2001? Barry Zito’s deal with the San Francisco Giants worth $126 million over seven years just signed last winter? No player is worth $252 million, but at least Rodriguez has lived up to his contract. Zito, on the other hand, has not been the same pitcher that he was across the San Francisco Bay over in Oakland.

Meanwhile, the Japanese-born Suzuki signed a new contract extension on Friday to remain with the Mariners for the next five seasons. The new contract is reportedly worth over $90 million, which would be the richest contract in Mariner history. To put Suzuki’s new deal in perspective, Ken Griffey, Jr., Randy Johnson, and Rodriguez never signed a contract with Seattle as large as Suzuki’s. Things are looking up in Seattle, with the re-signing of Suzuki and the Mariners’ ongoing pennant race in the American League West with the Los Angeles Angels.

There isn’t a better leadoff hitter in baseball today than Suzuki. The five-foot-nine Suzuki is all but guaranteed to hit over .300 and have 200-plus hits every year. George Sisler’s 84-year old record of most hits during a season was broken by Suzuki in 2004. He ended up with 262 hits in 2004, his fourth season in the majors.

Suzuki is not a slugger, but what he gives the Mariners on a daily basis more than makes up for the lack of home runs. Ironically, if he wanted to, Suzuki could hit 20-25 home runs a season. Here in America, though, Suzuki doesn’t have to hit home runs. Home runs can be exciting, don’t get me wrong. But an infield base hit by Suzuki is a thrill in itself.

Before I moved to Arkansas over four years ago, I lived in Washington. I’ve been fortunate to see some of the game’s best players don a Mariner uniform, such as Griffey, Johnson, and Rodriguez. Those three players left Seattle through trades (Griffey and Johnson) or free agency (Rodriguez) and were not a part of the 116-win season in 2001. The 2001 season saw many memorable moments, despite the fact that the Mariners were eliminated in the American League Championship Series. Suzuki won me over with his throw from right field in Oakland to nail Terrance Long at third base early in the 2001 season. It was approximately a 250-foot strike that landed straight in third baseman David Bell’s glove. To this day, it is known as “The Throw” to Mariner fans.

During the 2002 season, I sold souvenirs at Safeco Field, the home of the Mariners. My vocal cords have not recovered from the endless yelling of “Ichiro on the cover!” whenever he was featured on the cover of the team’s official programs. In those moments when there was a lull in sales, I tried to sneak a peek to see Suzuki at the plate, whether I can see it from my kiosk on the main concourse or on a television screen close by. Over in Japan, the same can be said for the Japanese people, who watch the Mariners games to see Suzuki and catcher Kenji Johjima, who signed with Seattle last year. There are other Japanese superstars in the majors, including New York’s Hideki Matsui and Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsui and Matsuzaka are both solid contributors to their respective clubs, but neither of them is as valuable as Suzuki is on and off the field.

The power of Ichiro is not only evident on the field, but off the field as well. Millions of dollars have been made by selling the likeness of Suzuki on items such as t-shirts, hats, baseballs, and bobblehead dolls. It is not uncommon to have Japanese businessmen take in a game at Safeco Field and purchase Suzuki merchandise in large quantities to take back home to their family and friends back in Japan. Dollar signs in the Emerald City might as well be No. 51’s.

Minnesota Twins center fielder and Pine Bluff native Torii Hunter is a free agent after this season. Now that Suzuki will stay in Seattle, Hunter is arguably the top outfielder on the market this offseason. Atlanta’s Andruw Jones might have something to say about that, but Jones has struggled mightily in his contract year this season. A new open-air stadium is on the horizon in the Twin Cities, so that might be a factor towards keeping Hunter in the Twins’ organization. We’ll just have to find out for ourselves in the coming months.

Signing superstar players to large contracts hasn’t ruined baseball. Besides, what is so wrong about a superstar player wanting to stay with the only team he’s ever played for? It’s a nice concept that simply isn’t utilized as much anymore. Now that’s bad for baseball.

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