The Most Underrated Player in Sports

The most underrated player in any professional sport is Ichiro Suzuki.

Simply put he is one of the greatest baseball players of all-time and he gets very little respect from the fans and very little media coverage. Not only are his career statistics mind blowing but he is also a pioneer in the sport and a pretty funny guy.

Since 2001 Ichiro has been playing right field for the Seattle Mariners. He was the first Japanese born everyday position player in MLB history and paved the way for many other Japanese stars like Hideki Matsui of the Nnew York Yankees and Kosuke Fukedome of the Chicago Cubs. In this sense he is a true pioneer and is pretty much a God in Japan.

Ichiro's agent Tony Attanasio once described his client's status in an interview with ESPN: "When you mail Ichiro something from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets it [in Japan]. He's that big."

Despite his godlike status in Japan Ichiro remains relatively ignored in North America despite his phenomenal accomplishments. This is not to say that he hasn't be rewarded for his hard work but the praise he receives is not on par with the numbers he puts up. Here are a list of his accomplishments since moving to MLB in 2001:

• 9× MLB All-Star selection (2001-2009)
• 8× MLB Gold Glove Award winner (2001-2008)
• 2× MLB Silver Slugger Award winner (2001, 2007)
• 2× MLB Batting Champion (2001, 2004)
• 2001 AL MVP
• 2001 AL Rookie of the Year
• 2001 AL Stolen Base Champion
• 2007 MLB All-Star Game MVP
• Single-season MLB record with 262 hits
• 9 consecutive seasons of 200 or more hits (MLB record)

Look very closely at that last record. 9 consecutive seasons with 200 or more hits. 9! That is unreal. What isn't mentioned in that list is that he has also hit at least .300 every year he has been in the league. In his worst year he hit .303 and in his best he hit .372. How is this man not in the discussion for best baseball player alive?

His career numbers are gaudy and are as follows: 2021 Hits, 84 HR, 515 RBI, 341 SB, and a lifetime Batting Average of .333. But before you go and point out that these numbers are impressive but not crazy you must remember that these are his numbers since being in MLB. He also played 9 years in the Japanese league where he compiled over 1,200 hits and had over 100 more steals.

Obviously the Japanese league isn't on par with MLB but it is still a professional league and Ichiro's stats need to be kept in mind. Some people argue that his Japanese numbers should be combined with his MLB numbers but I think that is a stupid idea and they should be separate but still have significance.

Aside from just hitting the ball Ichiro has other talents as well. He is easily one of the fastest players in MLB stealing at least 26 bases in each of his 9 seasons and he is great in the field made obvious by his 9 Gold Glove awards. His great speed allows him to get to balls he has no business catching and he has one of the best arms in all of MLB.

Lastly Ichirco is also a pretty funny guy. In an interview with the New York Times Ichiro had this to say about his low power numbers, "Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me. I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.”

So while Ichiro may have the hardware to show that he is appreciated by MLB and his fellow players he still does not get nearly enough credit from fans and the media. His MLB career has been amazing and when it is all over he will hopefully go down as one of the best players of all-time and may even be known as the best hitter of all-time.

One thing is for sure Ichiro Suzuki is by far the most underrated player in sports.

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