Ichiro Suzuki is a man of many talents, we’ve seen his rifle arm, his prodigious on-base ability, his profanity-laced inspirational speeches and in the WBC, we might just see Ichiro the pitcher. In 1996, during the Japanese league All-Star game, Ichiro came in to pitch, originally to Hideki Matsui but they took Matsui out and put a pinch hitter in instead; Ichiro came in throwing gas, hitting 90 mph on his first warm-up pitch!
Now, Japan’s WBC manager, Tatsunori Hara has hinted that he might use Ichiro in an emergency situation in the late innings if necessary. Skipping batting practice, Ichiro took to the hill, throwing 56 pitches, mixing in fastballs and forkballs, supposedly his fastest pitch hit 92 mph on the gun, although, ever the perfectionist, Ichiro said he wants to throw even a bit faster. I just hope now that one of Japan’s games goes late so we get a chance to see this, because frankly, it’d be dope.
The Slanch Report 
Recent Comments