Seattle Mariners Ichiro Suzuki squares to bunt in the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in their American League MLB baseball game in Toronto September 21, 2010.FRED THORNHILL
Two players came to Rogers Centre Wednesday night chasing two different but equally significant milestones that will help define their major-league baseball careers.
Jose Bautista, who discovered he had a power stroke with the Toronto Blue Jays this season, entered the game against the Seattle Mariners stuck on 49 home runs, one shy of the elusive mark that is the measuring stick all great power hitters aspire to.
Ichiro Suzuki, the Mariners' Japanese import, entered the contest requiring three hits to reach the 200-hit mark for what will be an incredible major-league record 10 consecutive seasons, automatically elevating his name into any conversation concerning the best hitters in the history of the game.
While Ichiro inched his way closer to his milestone, singling once in his five plate appearances, Bautista could manage only a double in his quest for 50 home runs as the Mariners (58-93) went on to record a 6-3 victory over Toronto (76-75).
The home run-hitting heroics were left to Seattle's Jose Lopez, who knocked three out of the yard while driving in four of the Mariners' runs.
Bautista, the major-league home run leader who had never hit more than 16 prior to this season, was asked what he felt was more difficult - hitting 50 homers in one season or achieving 200 hits.
"For me, obviously, it's 200 hits," said Bautista, who came into Wednesday's game with 139 hits and a .264 batting average. "I've never even sniffed that."
Bautista said Ichiro's consistency year in and year out, including his base-running skills and defensive savvy in right field, makes him one of the game's most complete players.
"Ichiro is just an unbelievable hitter, great hand-eye co-ordination," Bautista said. "He reminds me of Vladimir Guerrero without the power.
"That being said, he's so effective with the bat. He gets on base, he steals. His game is putting the ball in play. He relies on his speed."
Along with his .315 batting average, Ichiro has stolen 41 bases in 151 games this year, fifth best in the American League.
Alonzo Powell, who was hired in May to replace Alan Cockrell as the Mariners hitting coach, has been aware of Ichiro's hitting prowess longer than most.
Powell played professionally in Japan for seven seasons for the Chunichi Dragons in the Central League during the 1990s.
At the same time, a hot young rookie by the name of Ichiro was beginning to make his mark in the Pacific League playing for the Orix Blue Wave.
Powell, who played in a total of 71 games in the majors for the Montreal Expos and the San Francisco Giants before packing his bags for Japan, had no doubt that the Japanese phenom would soon make his mark on the game in North America.
"I played against [Wade]Boggs, I played against [Tony]Gwynn, and he can hit just as well as those guys and he has the X-factor with the speed."
While Ichiro often appears to be nothing more than an opposite-field slap hitter, Powell said his swing is as technically sound as it gets.
"If you break him down on film he's as fundamentally sound as any hitter in the game," Powell said.
Powell became the first foreign player in Central League history to win three straight batting titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 while Ichiro was doing the same over in the Pacific.
The two had become acquaintances and heading into the 1996 season Powell said he and Ichiro made a friendly wager on which player would finish with the higher batting average that year.
Ichiro finished with a .356 batting average to Powell's .340.
"I still owe him his dinner," Powell said.