to the Seibu Lions (he patterned his batting stance after Tao). There is the essay Ichiro wrote at age 12 about his life's ambition. "If I become one of the best baseball players in the future ...

Starting out with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan’s Pacific League, Ichiro’s early days weren’t a fairy tale. His manager at the time wasn’t a fan of his quirky, pendulum-like batting stance.

Beloved in Japan and in the US, Ichiro Suzuki now has a permanent home ... Suzuki led the AL with a .350 batting average and was tops in all of baseball with 242 hits and 56 stolen bases.