.........aw, made you look Made with and made for headphones Wu-Tang Clan - Wu:Tang (7th Chamber) Real Live - Real Live Shit (Instrumental) Nas - Made You Look Nas - Made You Look (Instrumental)
HaHaHa Ichiro didn't teach anyone that baseball isn't just about home runs. Everyone that's ever played knows that... what he DID teach us is it's not just okay to play small-ball... often it's the ONLY way you'll have a chance to win. The man was a total Phenom in every sense of the word.
Baseball is a beautiful game. All aspects of it. Pitching duels, triples, stolen bases, small ball like bunts and drawing walks.... If you NEED a HR to love baseball, watch another sport, you don't get it Imho.
One of the biggest reasons he bunts so successfully is because he's such a good hitter. Play him in on third expecting a bunt and he can poke one over your head for a double
& to think in Japan he was known for a power hitter I watched a RU-vid video of his warmups hitting before games. Dude was CRUSHING the ball. But in game time wasn't aiming for the fences. Was only aiming to move runners & get on base.
I just love how half the time the fielder just goes and picks up the ball with that resigned body language because they know Ichiro is already on base by the time they’ve got it in hand.
Because they know how slow it makes them look lol It's like racing the fastest guy on the field but you have to give him a 3 second head start, and the whole stadium is looking at you huff and puff over to the ball. It's a little embarrassing.
Probably the greatest skills player in the last 50 yrs. He wasn't big, didn't hit for power (but could), but he could bunt, hit to anywhere on the field, hit the "Baltimore Chop" at will, steal, play defense and make very precise throws. Was a joy to watch. Glad I was around to see it. Thanks for the memories #51👍.
@@samwisegamgee8318 People fell in love with the story from which you cribbed your username in the 1960's. Boomers made LOTR popular. LOTR is some boomer shit.
Best in my lifetime. I used to love watching him foul off pitch after pitch until he got the one he wanted. Wait until the last second and then flick his bat fouling off great pitches. Pitchers loved to be on his team so they wouldn't have to face him.
Agreed, but not just best contact hitter but one of the best players in general. I'm not going to rank him because people will get mad but he's definitely up there. He had a bunch of seasons finishing .350 or above LOL and all of his gold gloves.
That’s your opinion. Guys have finished with higher career batting averages so there’s that. DiMaggio’s 56 game hit streak will never be broken. Teddy ballgame hit .400 twice and finished .344 lifetime BA. He does however hold the record for most hits in a single season although he had one of if not the most ab’s in a single season relative to that. Ichiro was a badass
Keep in mind that these type of videos only show the good bunts. Also the more he did it, the defense would adjust accordingly and he would be less successful at it. Most of a bunt's success is based on the surprise factor.
Most importantly they all know that Ichiro is fast enough to beat their throw. Classic example of ” whatever can happen will happen". Moreover the pitcher will need to test his arm on getting the out which might never happen 🙂
He bunts into No man zone, then two or three people come in chaos to catch the ball, after figuring out who is going to throw the ball at first base, it is too late against Ichiro foot work.
@@crudojoshuaricofort8795it's funny because he probably just kept it for the team, so many teammates of his have stories of Ichiro talking so much trash, making up nicknames and being quite lively in the locker room lol
People don't realize how good bunting is really disruptive to a pitcher's timing and rhythm during a game. Forcing these pitchers to run off the mound while trying to make off-balance, awkward throws can usually be seen in how they pitch the next batter or two.
When I see these bunts from Ichiro the word that came to mind was consistent. Just look at how a majority of the effective bunts he lays down goes in the same direction heading down the third baseline. And strategically it's brilliant because it's putting the most distance between him and the ball as he hustles towards first. The few times he's gone the other way makes for an awesome opportunity to see Ichiro's insane speed especially when he was young.
@@samar4737 it would make sense logically I’d presume, with ur dominant hand you have much more power, coordination and strength. When you switch sides especially in a sport as difficult as this it takes a LOT of mental and precise things in ur brain. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence
Not sure if this story is true, but a reporter once asked ichiro why he bats left handed despite being naturally right handed and he just replied “I don’t know”
It's a lost art. I feel like you could just master a really good bunt and have speed and be successful in the majors right now since almost no one can do it. It is such a menace.
Guys...appreciate the fact that he is RUNNING before he makes contact and is still able to bunt a 90 MPH fastball 15 feet down the 3rd base line. Skill Level: 9001 >.
It's something he's worked on his whole life, remember when he was asked what hobbies he had, he said his hobby was baseball. So that pretty much tells you all you need to know.
That bunt at 4:17 is remarkable. Heavily breaking pitch, and he reads it like a Dr. Seuss book. I mean really, who can hit a bunt that well off a breaking pitch like that. Remarkable. Man's a baseball genius.
@@JonnySublime He's probably right though, conjectural as it it. I'd say he would have passed Rose rather easily. Is it pointless? I'd say more like just sharing opinions, which is something baseball fans have loved to do since they started keeping stats. It doesn't change the record book, but makes for fun banter...at least to most fans.
@@xsongk88 His Japanese stats indicate as much. Okay, maybe not when he was 18 or 19 (in Japan he only played a combined total of 83 games for those two years), but soon after. For one thing, the baseball season when he was playing was only 135 games, 27 less than in the U.S. For the rest of his time over there (seven seasons), he never hit lower than .342, and twice hit over .380. Granted, he'd face more consistently good pitching in the States, but look at what he did when he played here. His first 10 seasons he never hit under .300, topping out at .372 in 2004, with three other seasons where he hit better than .350. The man could flat out hit.
Awesome video thank you for sharing it. In Japanese baseball bunting is taught right from the start and is a fundamental skill needed and used all up through Japanese Pro Baseball. You especially see the tactical move of 送りバント (sacrifice bunts) happening all the time to advance the on base runners forward, even though the bunter is designed to get out. However, of course if you bunt well enough - perfect enough - and run like the wind - it's not a "sacrifice" at all because you'll beat the catcher to first base (i.e. this video). So yeah, it makes sense that Ichiro, who does everything in baseball faster and more accurately than almost anyone, would bunt better than almost anyone and be able to successfully bunt in the MLB.
Bunting for a hit is a skill every baseball player should practice. Bunting to advance runners however, is a useless and dated concept that has no place in the modern game. Outs are too valuable to waste on a sacrifice.
One of the best team players ever, especially in the modern super star world. The fact that he could just as easily send a ball through the moon but listened to his his coach to help get players moving on bases shows that he's a real deal ball player. Ichiro has always been one of my favorites, no matter what team he played for.
Loved this video. Ichiro, nothing but bunting, and Nas! This is the best RU-vid video I ever seen. I can watch a bunting video all day. So sad the drag bunt and even bunting to get guys over is a lost art. So much pressure on the defense 75% of the time they throw it away and your on 2nd base. 99% of MLB doesn’t know how to bunt. When Ohtani bunted during the WBC that was a thing of beauty. An easy hit because the shift was on!
Most memorable players in mlb in history ironically also people to call out "forget about it" on both ends. Runner 2nd or 3rd bout to tag, ichiro catches it, "forget about it" . Ichiro bunts, "forget about it"
Great video - perfect skill/execution combined with amazing hand-eye coordination. There wasn't even a play on the majority of those bunts. One day I'd like to see a video of Ichiro just running the bases. Of course he had tons of steals, but Ichiro was also probably the best baserunner in the past several decades: great decision making, speed, and perfect technique rounding the bases.
I remember my dad used to love whenever Ichiro got an 'infield double' from his just making contact and legging out an infield single but guys throwing it away trying to get him. Ichiro could do it all, and he actually had decent power to go with a cannon of an arm. Good dude too.
Ichiro Suzuki...great overall hitter, bunter, baserunner, great arm, great accuracy throwing out base runners, great technical player, and just humble and respectful of the game. Not to many players like him left or any at all nowadays.
I'm going to say this once and only once. We saw the GREATEST hitter of all time in Ichiro. Dont know if we will ever see anything like this man ever again. Will ALWAYS be my favorite player.... from a sad Mariners fan haha.
*Finesse, skill, precision and IQ!* This man is the very reason I was a clutch bunter and hitter. As well as my inspiration for playing in the outfield. That way I could gun down baserunners with my unsuspecting cannon of an arm. *A student to the game, learning and perfecting the craft. Watching him taught me that there's much more to the game then simply swinging for the fence. And that regardless of if you're big or small, you can make an impact on the game.*
Ichiro is one of those guys who could play in any era. Put him in 1920's AL, he dominates ! He plays like those guys from 90+ years ago. He'd have been a deadball legend.
I believe ichiro is a person who could have been a great brain surgeon, or dentist, or a carpenter, pianist. Hes just crafty. Japan loves craftsmanship.
Bill Belzek definitely. The sense of BATTLE, isnt necessary beating competiton all the time. Its just to be better everyday. The nature of sports is flawed because someone wins and losses, the only thing we can do, is to improve and win everyday.
Jimmy Wang Completely agree. He has a well balanced combination of agility, dexterity, and awareness. I could see him as a skilled assassin or spy (someone please cast him in a spy action movie I need this in my life).
We will never see another Ichiro, the rarest of combinations, speed, skill, intelligence, work ethic, humility and the utmost respect for the game a true baseball savant! If there is such a thing as a six or seven tool player Ichiro is it!
