Ichiro Still Going Strong as He Hits 2,000

OAKLAND -- Before Don Wakamatsu became the Mariners manager, he had seen enough of Ichiro Suzuki to appreciate him. What he's learned this year, though, is you can't fully appreciate him without seeing what he does behind the scenes.

"To be with him every day, you see the little things that go on, the way he comes into the ballpark on off days to work out," Wakamatsu said. "It's mind-boggling. Most guys are looking to rest, to get away from the game. He just doesn't stop."

The day that Ichiro whacked his 2,000th major league hit -- a first-inning double against the A's on Sunday -- made for a good time to take a closer look at how he got here and where he's going.

Much of Ichiro's greatness, in the eyes of those who see him every day, is what happens off the field. It is Ichiro's off-field fitness regimen -- everything from his personal section of equipment in the Mariners weight room to the hyperbaric chamber he uses at home -- that has allowed the 35-year-old to remain at the top of his game, every year.

"He's just more committed from a year-round perspective," Mariners trainer Rick Griffin told FanHouse. "He never alters or changes anything that he does. His workouts, his stretching, his eating, his sleep."

Griffin, who has been the Mariners trainer since 1983, said that Ichiro's weight and body fat are almost exactly the same as when he arrived in Seattle in 2001.

"He's a 35-year-old that's like a 28-year-old," Griffin said.

Griffin said Ichiro has a hyperbaric chamber that he uses almost every day at home. It's a chamber with a high oxygen content. Spending time each day in the chamber promotes quick recovery, as well as relaxation.

Does it work?

"It won't hurt you," Griffin said. "A lot of guys use it and they think it works."

Ichiro also brought nine custom pieces of equipment to the Seattle weight room. He is the only one who uses the equipment, which develops flexibility more than strength. His trademark routine before stepping into the box is a testament to how limber he is.

The proof to the effectiveness of all that is in the numbers. In nine seasons with the Mariners, Ichiro has played all but 32 games. The only time he was on the disabled list was this year, when he missed the first eight games of the season because of an ulcer.

Griffin said he's been hurt just three other times. Once he ran into a fence. Once he was hit in the head by a pitch. Just recently he missed eight games with a strained calf.

Although that may have been a sign that age is finally catching up to Ichiro, Griffin said Ichiro has a long way to go.

"I think he can play, for sure, five more years," Griffin said. "He made a joke to me that he wanted to play till he was 50. I don't know if he was joking or not. He chuckled when he said it."

Ichiro apparently told Wakamatsu the same thing, and Wakamatsu said "He was serious."

"I think he's going to go till he can't go," Wakamatsu said. "I don't think he puts a timetable on it. He's driven to be probably the best player who ever played the game."

Which is pretty impressive, considering that Ichiro was criticized by the media -- and even his own manager, Lou Piniella -- for the way he hit during his first spring training.

"When I look back at that moment, there is meaning now [to 2,000 hits]," he said.

He was the second fastest to reach 2,000 hits, getting there in 1,402 games (Al Simmons, 1,390, was the fastest). Ichiro is also just five hits away from his ninth consecutive 200-hit season, which would break the record set by Willie Keeler 108 years ago.

"He made a joke to me that he wanted to play till he was 50. I don't know if he was joking or not."
-- Mariners trainer Rick Griffin Only two other players in major league history, Pete Rose and Ty Cobb, have had nine 200-hit seasons. (Rose had 10.) Ichiro is about to go nine-for-nine.

He's not slowing down, either. His current .362 average would be his second-highest. He hit .372 in 2004, the year he won the second of his two batting titles. Ichiro and Joe Mauer (.369) are fighting for this year's title, a duel that figures to be one of the most entertaining things to watch down the stretch.

If he can somehow keep doing what he's doing for five more years, Ichiro has a chance to get 3,000 hits. If he does that, combined with the 1,278 hits he had in Japan's major leagues, he'd have more hits than Rose's 4,256.

Ichiro said he hasn't set any of those numbers as goals.

"If I set a goal for myself, it kind of makes a barrier," he said. "In that way it might lower my potential."

Trying to slow down Ichiro's hit parade is the responsibility of men like Curt Young. The A's pitching coach for the past six seasons, Young has tried to come up with a game plan for stopping Ichiro about 20 times a season.

"He can hit the ball anywhere," Young said. "His best approach is opposite field, but he always has that danger that he may be thinking of pulling the ball. When he pulls the ball, he's got some pop. Then you mix all that with all the infield opportunities he has to get hits, that's why they add up to well over 200 hits a year."

Those infield hits come as a result of Ichiro's speed, which may be what he loses before his swing. Wakamatsu said Ichiro has now been downgraded from "one of the fastest players I've ever seen, to just fast." Still, the Mariners recently clocked Ichiro at 4.04 seconds to first, which is well above average.

The numbers show that so far he's legging out as many hits as ever. His 58 infield hits this year are a career high.

Ken Griffey Jr., one of the 18 other active players with 2,000 hits, said he wouldn't discount Ichiro reaching 3,000.

"That's only four and a half years away, maybe four years and a month," Griffey said. "He can flat-out hit. There is nothing he can't do with a bat. From the top of the helmet to a ball bouncing, he can hit it."