Moisés Alou

Although Alou's contract includes a player option for 2006, he has stated that he plans to retire if the Giants win the World Series in 2005. In addition to these records, Ichiro also started in the All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive year, and led all leadoff hitters in batting average, on base percentage, and on-base plus slugging. Because Barry Bonds is already entrenched in left field for the Giants, Alou is expected to move defensively to right field, a position he last played regularly in 2001. Ichiro set a number of Major League records during the 2004 season:. In December, he signed a one year deal with the Giants worth $13.5 million, with a player option for a second year. Ichiro's career is followed closely in his native Japan, with national television news programs covering each of his at-bats, and with special tour packages arranged for Japanese fans to visit the United States to view his games. In October Moises did announce to the public that he had talked to his father, Felipe, about possibly playing for him and the Giants next season. Continuing the custom he began in Japan, he uses his given name on the back of his uniform, instead of his surname, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball to do so since Vida Blue.

Nevertheless, many experts and reporters doubted the Cubs would pick up his option. His success has opened the door for other Japanese players like Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui to enter the Major Leagues. Alou, who was a free agent, said he would love to stay in Chicago. Ichiro was also a four-time Gold Glove winner from 2001 through 2004. However, after high expectations, the Chicago Cubs fell short of a playoff berth when they lost seven of their last nine games. Some sportswriters criticized his official "rookie" status, saying that his years of experience in the Japanese "major leagues" gave him an unfair advantage over other rookie players who had little or no prior major league experience. He set new career highs in homeruns (39), doubles (36), and runs (106), while driving in 106 runs. At season's end, he won the American League Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year awards, becoming only the second player in MLB history (after Fred Lynn) to receive both honors in the same season.

After a comeback season in 2003, Alou had a career year in 2004. Aided by Major League Baseball's decision to allow All-Star voting in Japan, Ichiro was the first rookie to lead all players in voting for the All-Star Game. The Cubs lost game 7 to the Marlins, who went on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. 25-31). The Florida Marlins, Alou's former team, eventually tied the game, took the lead, and won. (Whiting, 2004, pp. Video replays showed that, although Alou would have had an opportunity to make the catch if Bartman had not reached for the ball, the ball was clearly over the stands, thus fan interference could not be called. In Seattle, ticket sales (and wins) were higher than ever, fans from Japan were taking $2,000 baseball tours to see the games, more than 150 Japanese reporters and photographers were clamoring for access, and "Ichirolls" were being sold at sushi stands in the ballpark.The flight agencies also benefited from Ichiro, many Ichiro fans were flying in and out of the country just to see him play.

Alou angrily gestured toward him, but later forgave Bartman. By mid-season, he had produced hitting streaks of 15 and 23 games, been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and created a media storm on both sides of the Pacific. It was the 8th inning of Game 6 of the NLCS, with the Cubs leading and needing only five outs to clinch a World Series birth for the first time since 1945, a Cubs fan named Steve Bartman inadvertantly interfered with a foul ball landing one row into the stands, preventing Alou, who reached into the stands, from catching the ball for an out. Not only did he prove he belonged, Ichiro had a remarkable 2001 season, accumulating 242 hits (the most by any player since 1930) and leading the league with a .350 batting average and 56 stolen bases. In the end, he would make history in the playoffs, but some he would like to forget. Up to that point, only pitchers from Japan had been playing in the United States and, in the same way that many Japanese teams had considered the 18-year-old Ichiro too small to draft in 1992, many in the US believed he was too frail to succeed against Major League pitching or endure the longer 162-game season. Alou lead the team in average in their two series against the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins. Ichiro's move to the United States was viewed with great interest because he was the first Japanese position player to play regularly for a Major League Baseball team.

However, during the post season, he showed no signs of a slump. In his nine seasons in Japan, Ichiro was a career .353 batter and, in addition to his hitting achievements, won seven Gold Glove Awards. He ended up with 22 home runs and 91 RBIs. Ichiro signed a three-year, $14 million contract with the Mariners and became the first Japanese-born everyday position player in the Major Leagues. But a late season slump caused Alou's average to drop to .280. After the 2000 season, in which Ichiro posted his highest batting average (.387), a Pacific League record (U.S.-born Randy Bass, former Hanshin Tigers player, holds the highest single-season batting average in Japanese baseball history with .389 in 1986), Seattle won a bidding war among Major League teams for the rights to negotiate with him on a contract. In the 2003 season, he showed flashes of his old self when he batted over .300 for most of the season while driving in runs as he used to. In a move both charitable and practical, Manager Akira Ogi decided to release Ichiro from any obligations to the team and allow him to pursue his dream.

After the disappointing 2002 season, Alou hired a personal trainer and dedicated himself to return to his old form. In 2000, Ichiro was still a year away from being eligible for free agency, but the Blue Wave were no longer among Japan's best teams and would probably not be able to afford to keep him. He finished up with a disappointing season in his own accounts when he hit only .275 and 15 home runs. Following the 1996 season, playing in an exhibition series against a visiting team of Major League All-Stars kindled Ichiro's desire to travel to the United States to play in the Major Leagues. In 2002, Alou once again ended up on the disabled list at the start of the season, and once healthy, he could never really get into a groove as he did in Houston. By this time, the Japanese press had begun calling him the "Human Batting Machine." The following year, with Ichiro winning his third straight MVP award, the team defeated the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants in the Japan Series. In December of 2001, he inked a 3-year, $27 million dollar contract with the Chicago Cubs. In addition to his second batting title, he led the league in RBIs with 80, hit 25 home runs, and stole 49 bases.

After the 2001 season, the Astros did not offer Alou a new contract so he in effect became a free agent. In 1995 Ichiro led the Blue Wave to their first Pacific League pennant in 12 years. Once recovered, he returned to the Astros lineup to hit .355 and .331 respectively while driving in at least 108 runs in each season. 13-16). Alou ended up missing the entire 1999 season. (Whiting, 2004, pp. However, during the offseason, he would be bitten by the injury bug once more when he tore his ACL in a freak treadmill accident. Initially, Ichiro disliked and was embarrassed by the practice, but by the end of the season "Ichiro" was a household word and he was being flooded with endorsement offers.

In his first season with the team, he hit a career high 38 home runs and drove in 124 runs while leading the Astros to a franchise record 102 wins. Suzuki was the second most common surname in Japan, and his manager introduced the idea as a publicity stunt to help create a new image for what had been a relatively weak team, as well as a way to distinguish their rising star. In Houston, Alou played the best baseball of his career. It was during the 1994 season that he became known as "Ichiro". Before the 1998 season, the Marlins traded Alou to the Houston Astros. He also hit 13 home runs and had 29 stolen bases, helping him to earn his first of three straight Pacific League Most Valuable Player awards. In the end, Alou led the team by hitting .321 with three home runs and nine RBIs in the World Series. He responded by setting a Japanese single-season record with 210 hits in 130 games for a then-Pacific League record .385 batting average and won the first of a record seven consecutive batting titles.

Florida ended up winning their first World Series in a nail-biting seventh game which ended on an Edgar Rentería base hit. In 1994 he benefited from the arrival of a new manager who put him in the leadoff spot for the Blue Wave and allowed him to hit any way he wanted. The Marlins made the playoffs as a wildcard team where they defeated first the Giants and then the Atlanta Braves, and advanced to the World Series. "pendulum batting style" due to the pendulum-like motion of the leg, shifting the weight forward as he swung the bat), was considered to go against conventional baseball wisdom, which insisted that the weight must remain on the rear leg in order to hit the ball effectively. Prior to the 1997 season Alou signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins, where he led the team with 23 home runs and 115 RBIs. The swing, nicknamed 振り子打法 (furiko dahō) (i.e. For the next two seasons, he would enjoy stellar seasons at the plate in Montreal, however losing a number of games due to injury. Ichiro made his Pacific League debut in 1992 at the age of 18, but he spent most of his first two seasons with a farm team due to his manager's refusal to accept Ichiro's unorthodox swing.

In 1994, he returned to get the game-winning hit in the All-Star Game. 2-12). He recovered though, and by 1994 was one of the best hitters in baseball, hitting .339. (Whiting, 2004, pp. Alou suffered a severe ankle injury in 1993 that would rob him of his speed and force him to become strictly a corner outfielder. Yet, despite the production of outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the professional draft in November 1991 because many teams were put off by his small size, 5'9", 120 pounds (54 kg). In 1990, he was traded to the Montreal Expos where he would later play under his father while he managed the Expos. These exercises helped develop his wrists and hips, adding power and endurance to his thin frame.

In 1986, Alou was the second overall pick in the amateur draft, chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Among the strength drills he performed in training there were hurling car tires and hitting wiffleballs with a heavy shovel. It was there that baseball scouts noticed his tremendous bat speed and speed on the basepaths. We have to make him spiritually strong." When he was ready to enter high school, Ichiro was selected by a school with a prestigious baseball program, Nagoya's Aikodai Meiden Kōkō, where, unlike as a professional, Ichiro was primarily a pitcher instead of an outfielder, owing to his exceptionally strong arm. Alou, who was more interested in playing basketball during his youth, did not play organized baseball until he attended Canada College in California. When Ichiro joined his junior high school baseball team, his father told the coach, "No matter how good Ichiro is, don't ever praise him. . According to Ichiro, "It bordered on hazing and I suffered a lot.".

Alou is married to wife Austria Alou; they have three sons: Perico, Kirby and Moisés Jr. Nobuyuki claimed, "Baseball was fun for both of us," but Ichiro later said, "It might have been fun for him, but for me it was a lot like "Star of the Giants," a popular Japanese manga series that told of a young boy's difficult road to success as a professional baseball player, partially due to rigorous training demanded by the father). His father Felipe, the Giants' current manager, as well as uncles Matty and Jesús, all had long and admired careers in the major leagues. By age 12, he had set professional baseball as his goal and, while he apparently shared his father's vision, he did not enjoy their training sessions. He comes from a family in which baseball is a way of life. As a Little Leaguer, Ichiro had the word shūchū (集中 — "concentration") written on his glove. Moisés Rojas Alou (born July 3, 1966 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an All-Star outfielder in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the San Francisco Giants.
.

Partially torn calf. The two began a daily routine which included:. Dislocated shoulder. At age seven, Ichiro joined his first baseball team and asked his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki (鈴木宣之 Suzuki Nobuyuki), to teach him to be a better player. Fractured fibula & ankle. . Torn labrum. 2004 was his most impressive (offensive) season yet, as he set several MLB records, including a new all-time, single-season Major League record with 262 hits.

Torn ACL. He became the first Japanese-born everyday position player in the Major Leagues. Recently, Moisés admitted in an interview with ESPN, that he urinates on his hands frequently to prevent blisters. When the Blue Wave granted his release after the 2000 season, Ichiro signed a contract with the Mariners. Moisés' best friend and favorite team mate is Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros. He moved to the United States in 2001 after playing for seven years for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Many of the horses are named after present and past team mates.
Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一朗, Suzuki Ichirō, イチロー, born October 22, 1973 in Toyoyama, Nishikasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) is the right fielder for the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball team.

Moisés owns nearly 100 race horses in the Dominican Republic. Ichiro's 704 at bats fell one short of Willie Wilson's record of 705. Alou's parents divorced when he was only a young child. His 225 Singles in 2004 shattered the previous all-era record of 206, set by Wee Willie Keeler in 1898. During most of his youth, Moisés lived with his mother. October 3: Ichiro completed the 2004 season with 262 hits and an MLB-leading .372 batting average. However, father Felipe said young Moisés didn't shed a tear. His 257th hit also set the Major League record for most hits over any four-year span, with 919.

As a child, Alou was attacked and nearly killed by a dog. Louis Browns in 1920. 1998 Silver Slugger Award. October 1: Ichiro collected his 258th and 259th hits, breaking the record set by George Sisler with the St. 1994 Silver Slugger Award. Ichiro bettered the modern (post-1900) record of 198 set by Lloyd Waner of Pittsburgh in 1927. 1994 NL Comeback Player of the Year. September 17: He broke the major league record with his 199th single of the season in the seventh.

NL All Star 2005. August 28: He became the first player in MLB history to have three 50-hit months in a single season. NL All Star 2004. August 26: With a home run off of Kansas City Royals reliever Jeremy Affeldt, Ichiro became the first player in Major League history to reach 200 hits in each of his first four seasons. NL All Star 2001. hitting 250-300 pitches from a machine. NL All Star 1998. fielding 50 infield balls and 50 outfield balls, and.

NL All Star 1997. hitting 200 pitches from Nobuyuki. NL All Star 1994. throwing 50 pitches.