Tours start at the third floor, home to one of the earliest
photographs, where the 3-year-old Ichiro is holding a bat , however his older
brother tugs his prominent ears. A more recent photo indicates President Barack Obama autographing a ball
for a star-struck Ichiro before the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis. The
photographs in between those bookends show that Ichiro’s baseball fundamentals formed early. In one large photo, Ichiro, at 11,
pitches for his grade-school team. An image next to it shows him at 27, making
a throw from the outfield for the Seattle Mariners. The form is identical in
both. Just as the ball leaves his right hand, his head is cocked to the left,
and his eyes are closed. Other pictures make it clear that Ichiro also adopted
his knock-kneed batting stance early on.
Among the lots of scrapbooks is one holding Japanese newspaper clippings
documenting his 2004 run at the major leagues’ single-season hit record of 257,
by George Sisler in 1920. Ichiro finally ended the season with 262, a record
unlikely to be topped any time soon. Visitors can try on the 2012 model of the
custom-made glove with “Ichiro” sewed on the thumb and heft the
32-ounce bat he is using this season. (wo, the bat is lined to the wall, so no
one can practice swinging.) Glove and bat models from previous years are showed
in cases, as are dirt-encrusted spikes, helmets, batting gloves and baseballs
from significant games throughout Ichiro’s career.
The jersey collection includes
samples from his first two years , when he still wore “Suzuki” on his back. At the begin of the
1994 season, his manager put “Ichiro” on his jerseys to distinguish him from baseball’s other Suzukis and to give the team, the Orix Blue Wave, a bit of
personality. A lineup of Ichiro bobblehead dolls fills one shelf. And another
display includes Ichiro toothpaste, Ichiro wristwatches and Ichiro moist
towelettes — among the promotional items
Nissan has produced since he started appearing in its car ads in the mid-1990’s. www.nfljerseyslord.com
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