JAPAN: BASEBALL - Seattle Mariner's Ichiro Suzuki scored four hits to set up victory over Oakland in the Major League Baseball's opening game

Record ID: 466177

  • Title: JAPAN: BASEBALL - Seattle Mariner's Ichiro Suzuki scored four hits to set up victory over Oakland in the Major League Baseball's opening game
  • Date: 29th March 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 28, 2012) (REUTERS) PEOPLE CROWDED OUTSIDE TOKYO DOME "TOKYO DOME" SIGN MORE OF CROWD FAN CLAD WITH "ICHIRO" JERSEY (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 32-YEAR-OLD BUSINESSMAN FROM HOKKAIDO PREFECTURE HIROYUKI NITTA SAYING: "It's a rare occasion Ichiro plays in Japan and its the MLB opener as well; so I came a long way from Hokkaido to watch his every movement." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 35-YEAR-OLD HOUSEWIFE FROM KANAZAWA CITY, ISHIKAWA PREFECTURE, YUMI TERADA SAYING: "I endured a long journey to get here because I won't have a second chance to watch him playing in front of me." FANS LINED UP AT STADIUM GATE FANS BEING CHECKED BY SECURITY STAFF COLLECTING TICKETS BANNER READING: "2012 OPENING SERIES JAPAN" OAKLAND ATHLETICS MANAGER BOB MELVIN AND CATCHER KURT SUZUKI TAKING SEATS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) OAKLAND ATHLETICS MANAGER BOB MELVIN SAYING: "That's what he does. He's a hitting machine, and I don't think the spot in the line-up really matters to him. I don't think his approach changes; he's just going up there trying to hits, and he's set a pretty good history in doing that." CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES MELVIN AND SUZUKI STANDING AND LEAVING CONFERENCE SEATTLE MARINERS MANAGER ERIC WEDGE (CENTER) AND IN-FIELDER DUSTIN ACKLEY (LEFT) AND PITCHER FELIX HERNANDEZ (RIGHT) SEATED AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SEATTLE MARINERS MANAGER ERIC WEDGE SAYING: "I feel like Ichiro in the three hole... it's a right place for him, as I said this guy is a hitter. Figgins up top with what he's able to do and the way he is able to work the game, and then the hitter that this young man is next to me... it really pulls it all together. So, you saw that happen late in the game, you saw that happen early in the game at times. I think they compliment each other in a grand fashion, and we're going to be a very good offensive club this year." CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) SEATTLE MARINERS MANAGER ERIC WEDGE SAYING: "There is a bigger purpose here than just a baseball here; I mean, that's our job, and that's why we're here to play a couple of big-league baseball games, but the overriding factor for everything, as far as I'm concerned, is again just to raise the level of awareness internationally for just what's happened here." WEDGE, ACKLEY AND HERNANDEZ LEAVING CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA8EE0GG1R0JL05AUV92CAT28OU
  • Story Text: The Seattle Mariners rode a wave of 'Ichiro-Mania' in Tokyo to beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 in extra innings on Wednesday (March 28) in the opening game of the Major League Baseball season.
    Ichiro Suzuki, Japan's most successful sporting export, finished 4-5 batting, driving in Seattle's third run in front of a sell-out crowd of 44,000 at Tokyo Dome.
    The majority of the fans were there to pay homage to Ichiro during his first appearance in his home country for the Mariners since he joined them in 2001.
    "It's a rare occasion Ichiro plays in Japan and its the MLB opener as well; so I came a long way from Hokkaido to watch his every movement," said Hiroyuki Nitta, a 32-year-old businessman who traveled from Japan's northernmost Hokkaido Island to watch the game live.
    Another fan said it might be her last chance to watch the superstar playing.
    "I endured a long journey to get here because I won't have a second chance to watch him playing in front of me," said Yumi Terada, a 35-year-old housewife from Kanazawa City - about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Tokyo.
    Ichiro's dazzling play that day was even special for the fans as he was batting in the third, instead of his usual leadoff position.
    Oakland's manager Bob Melvin even called Ichiro a "hitting machine."
    "That's what he does. He's a hitting machine, and I don't think the spot in the line-up really matters to him. I don't think his approach changes; he's just going up there trying to hits, and he's set a pretty good history in doing that," Melvin said in the after-game news conference.
    Mariners' manager Eric Wedge was satisfied with Ichiro's performance in his new spot.
    "I feel like Ichiro in the three hole... it's a right place for him, as I said this guy is a hitter. Figgins up top with what he's able to do and the way he is able to work the game, and then the hitter that this young man is next to me... it really pulls it all together. So, you saw that happen late in the game, you saw that happen early in the game at times. I think they compliment each other in a grand fashion, and we're going to be a very good offensive club this year," said Wedge, referring to the team's first hitter Chone Figgins and the second Dustin Ackley, who were sitting next to him in the conference.
    Ackley drove in the go-ahead run at the top of the 11th inning for Mariners, who were the worst offensive team in MLB last season.
    Wedge added that having the big-league opener in Japan, where a massive earthquake and tsunami disaster devastated its Northeastern coastline over a year ago, triggering one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history at Fukushima Daiichi, was important for their hosts.
    "There is a bigger purpose here than just a baseball here; I mean, that's our job, and that's why we're here to play a couple of big-league baseball games, but the overriding factor for everything, as far as I'm concerned, is again just to raise the level of awareness internationally for just what's happened here," Wedge said.
    As part of the MLB's pledge to assist rebuilding after last year's deadly tsunami, several players visited the disaster zone in the northeast to hold a baseball clinic on Tuesday (March 27).
    The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics launched the six-month regular-season marathon with a two-game series on March 28 and 29 before the campaign gets underway in MLB's home parks starting on April 4.
    They were scheduled to meet in Tokyo in 2003, but the series was called off because of the threat of war in Iraq.
    Oakland's loss means they have now begun the last eight MLB seasons with a reverse, the longest active opening day losing streak in the league and the worst since 1992.
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