Sudden Impact - The story of Ichiro Suzuki
By Bob Wickwire
ESPN.com Soccer Editor Bob Wickwire introduces us to Ichiro Suzuki, the Seattle Mariners' Japanese baseball star who has earned his new side millions just by signing for them. Arsenal's move for Roma's Hidetoshi Nakata could have the same effect.
|  | Ichiro: Earned Mariners a windfall
(OttoGreule/Allsport) |
Baseball hero Ichiro Suzuki was a star well before hitting American shores, winning seven consecutive batting titles in Japan, but he has been on a meteoric rise in America ever since opening day in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners on April 2.
Ichiro, as he is known, made an immediate impact his first day on the job with two key hits in Seattle's 5-4 victory and literally has kept on hitting since then. He has posted a major-league leading 96 hits through June 6 and has helped lead the Mariners to a ML-best 46-12 record, one of the best starts in the sport's long history.
He is Seattle's biggest sensation since the grunge music scene of the early 1990s. But the biggest measure of his success has occurred off the field, where he has been an unequivocal hit.
Ichiro may even be close to reaching the commercial heights of his countryman Hidetoshi Nakata who made his well-documented splash on the world scene by becoming the first Japanese soccer player to become a fully-fledged star in Italy's demanding Serie A.
After making his debut for Perugia in 1998, Nakata moved on to Roma where his celebrity and marketing prowess have grown massively despite his mainly reserve player status.
Two different players, two different sports, but one common denominator: huge commercial appeal.
Here are just a few of Ichiro's side effects:
Thousands of Japanese tourists are spending at least $2,000 to make the trip to Seattle to see their star export. In fact, many flights between Japan and Seattle are sold out or nearly all booked for the rest of the baseball season. It may be time to add more flights.
Business is up at least 400 per cent at some hotels in Seattle with most of it coming from fans from the Far East. One hotel concierge even likened the fascination to something as big as the eruption of Mt. St Helens back in 1980. Mt. Ichiro has definitely erupted in the Emerald City.
A Japanese media outlet offered a cool $1 million to anyone who could produce a nude photo of the star rightfielder. Ichiro now changes clothes in secret in the Mariners' locker room. At last check, the money is still up for grabs.
The diminutive rightfielder has created a retailing frenzy where stores can't keep his replica jersey on shelves for very long. And his rookie baseball cards and other memorabilia are hot commodities on the collectors' market.
The Ichiro rocket ride of riches is still on its upward flight, but if it's anything like Nakata's, it's going to be a long and prosperous trip.
That's the kind of impact London might expect to see if Nakata does indeed join Arsenal.
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