SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
I have been fortunate to see many Hall of Fame baseball players on the field in person. I saw Mariano Rivera and his supernatural cutter, Cal Ripken Jr. and his unmatched durability. But the player I was more excited to see with my own eyes than anybody else was always Ichiro Suzuki. The Japanese outfielder was many things - an international trailblazer, a skilled and consistent hitter who notched more than 3,000 hits and especially early in his career, an otherworldly outfielder. He changed Major League Baseball forever and earlier today was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. For more on Ichiro's career and what made him stand out, we called Shannon Drayer, who joined us from Cooperstown. Drayer's a journalist who covers the Seattle Mariners, where Ichiro spent most of his career. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
SHANNON DRAYER: Thank you.
DETROW: What made him so special? How do you even start to quantify it?
DRAYER: Wow, that is a broad question. You can talk about the way that he played the game. You can talk about the fact that he was a pioneer in being the first Japanese position player to come over. When he came and played baseball here, he did everything differently. You know, he looked different. He played the game different. There was a lot of doubt that his game would translate, and he proved everybody wrong with that. But, you know, he was a superstar in the biggest sense of the word. He had that aura about him, and as big as it was in this country, it was a hundred times as much in Japan.
DETROW: Ichiro had physical talents for sure, but it really always seemed like routines and discipline were key to his success. Can you tell us about that and the little details that you saw over the years?
DRAYER: He was somebody - he treated his bats with the utmost respect. He treated his equipment - he took care of his own equipment. You know, he polished his glove after every game. He did not want anybody touching his bats. He kept them in a humidor. They were immaculate. His cleats were immaculate. The way he wore his uniform was immaculate. His routines were very different. He would do these stretching routines that would challenge a gymnast. The way he would take batting practice was very regimented in what he did. What he ate before every game - be it home or away - it was the nine Ichi (ph) wings, and then seven when he was afraid that he was going to put on a little bit of weight.
DETROW: I love that he keeps in peak physical condition the whole time and yet also loves wings and hamburgers. It's a good mix. Look, to bring it back to his place in the game, he's the first Asian player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He's, as you said, the first Japanese position player. Decades later, it's the league of Shohei Ohtani. I mean, does that - fair to say that does not happen without Ichiro doing what he did 20 years ago?
DRAYER: Seeing his place in Japanese culture, yeah, and how revered he is there, I'm sure Ohtani grew up knowing that Ichiro did what he did. I'm sure there was influence. Ichiro broke down the door, you know, for himself, first and foremost, and for those that follow him. He loves to set an example. I'm sure there would have been other Japanese players, but he showed that it could be done. And that's a big thing with Ichiro. A lot of the things that he does is to show that what he does can be done.
And that's one of the reasons why he still goes out and works out, you know, before games on the field and is out in the outfield shagging baseballs and making throws, to show that even though he's 51 years old right now, you can do that. You know, along those lines, he certainly opened the door, broke down the barriers and, I think, probably took out a lot of the doubters that would have been there if he didn't because I don't think anybody could have been doubted more when he came in. Maybe he would have been a nice player, maybe.
DETROW: And, of course, now he is in the Hall of Fame. That is journalist Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports. Thank you so much.
DRAYER: You got it. Have a good day.
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