Ichiro Suzuki: The Man, the Myth, the Fraud? Part Two

Ichiro is playing at a power position, a position which is much easier to find power hitters who would outperform the likes of Jeremy Reed or Willie Bloomquist, who have been playing center field since Ichiro moved back to right field.

Speaking of other Mariners, here is a look at other, “lesser”, Mariners outfielders.

That last name, remember that guy? The free-swinging, all-or-nothing strikeout and home run machine? From the age of 27-34, Ichiro’s time with the Mariners, Buhner actually outproduced Ichiro.

Forget the huge home run disparity, Buhner had a .864 OPS compared to Ichiro’s .810. Hell, even Buhner saw 3.94 pitchers per at-bat for his career.

A lot of commentators claim that Ichiro could be a power hitter if he wanted to be. Frequently, the evidence they use is the amount of home runs he hits during batting practice.

Truth be told, on the driving range I look like a scratch golfer, but I don’t think that would convince the PGA to give me a tour card.

The Yankees, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Mets, Phillies, and White Sox may all be interested in Ichiro’s services, and their farm systems were ranked in the preseason fifth, sixth, 15th, 17th, 22nd, and 28th by Baseball America, respectively.

All stats compiled using www.baseball-reference.com

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