Mon, Mar 06, 2006 page19

• Ichiro is pround to play in homeland

  WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC Seattle Mariners All-Star Ichiro Suzuki says he enjoy wearing the Japan uniform

  • AP
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  This is not the Ichiro Suzuki the Mariners know.

  Far from his reclusive self in Seattle, the 32-year-old right fielder has taken a more demonstrative role with his Japanese teammates at the World Baseball Classic. And they are eager to learn from the only position player from the major leagues representing Japan in the tournament.

  New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui and Chicago White Sox infielder Tadahito Iguchi skipped the event, boosting Ichiro's already lofty standing in Japan.

  

  Japan's Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners hits the ball against South Korea's pitcher Kim Sun-woo of the Colorado Rockies in the first inning of their Asia-round game in the World Baseball Classic at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Sunday. Both teams are already qualified for the second round.

  PHOTO: EPA

  "I've never been officially named captain by the manager. But if you look at my experience in baseball, I'm definitely the veteran on the team," said Suzuki, who played nine years in Japan before becoming the MVP and Rookie of the Year for the Mariners in 2001.

  "Many people have said that maybe I've stimulated my teammates by joining them, but actually it's the other way around," he told the Japanese media this week. "I'm really stimulated by playing with these guys, wearing the uniform of Japan."

  Suzuki is quiet in the Mariners clubhouse, preferring to lead by example. But he has been vocal and animated leading to this tournament, which Japan opened this weekend by outscoring China and Taiwan by a combined 31-5.

  Suzuki had just two hits and drove in only one of those 31 runs -- yet the Japanese press dubbed his infield single against China the "turning point" of an 18-2 rout.

  Here, he jokes with his teammates on the field. He yells encouragement, willingly accepts the spotlight. At times in interviews, his voice is hoarse from all the chatter.

  "I think I should have been shouting more in the past," he said. "I think this kind of husky tone is pretty cool."

  Sadaharu Oh, Japan's manager and home run king, has called Suzuki the team's glue.

  "Even though he has been their teammate before in Japan, because he has experienced the major leagues and has had success in the major leagues, he has taken over that [leadership] responsibility," Oh said.

  "The players are looking at that experience to help them. He personally probably wouldn't want that, but he has accepted that role within this team."

  Asked if he directed Suzuki to lead, Oh said, "No way would I ask him to do that. He feels that way anyhow ... He's that kind of person."

  This has not gone unnoticed by the Japanese. Once perceived as reserved and detached -- particularly compared to the more affable Matsui -- Suzuki is watching those perceptions change.

  In the opener against China, he received a standing ovation before his first at-bat. When he took his usual spot in right field, the throng in the bleachers stood and cheered until he acknowledged them with a wave.

  Meanwhile, Matsui's image in Japan has been hurt by his decision to choose loyalty to the Yankees over that of his country.

  "When they both played in the Japanese League, Hideki Matsui was the most popular player," said Fumihiro Fujisawa, who works for the Japan-based Association of American Baseball Research. "When Matsui left Japan for the US, he apologized to the Japanese fans. So I think most of the Japanese fans understood his position, but some of them are very disappointed."

  When Suzuki returns to the Mariners by month's end, there will be curiosity: Will this new leadership continue inside a Seattle clubhouse that needs direction? A leadership vacuum has coincided with back-to-back, 90-loss seasons in Seattle after consecutive 90-win years.

  "The more you put your opinion out there, you are open to more vulnerability," Suzuki said. "Of course, I want to change the team. But working by myself is difficult ... it has to be a team effort."
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