SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki knows he needs to be brilliant if he is going to wear No. 51 for the Seattle Mariners.
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Suzuki, the first to wear the number in Seattle since Randy Johnson, got a hit off the Big Unit in the Japanese outfielder's All-Star debut Tuesday night.
"One thing I always keep in mind is to keep No. 51 with good
dignity," Suzuki said through an interpreter, "because I
inherited a good thing from Randy with No. 51."
Johnson, the NL starter in the AL's 4-1 victory, would have
loved to strike out the man nobody seems to be able to stop.
Suzuki singled down the first-base line on a 1-0 pitch in his
first at-bat -- his lone hit in three at-bats. First baseman Todd Helton fielded the ball, but the speedy Suzuki outsprinted Johnson
to reach first with an extra-long leap at the end.
"He got the base hit because he's so fast," said Johnson,
traded from the Mariners in 1998. "I would like to face
Ichiro again. I think he was kind of measuring me up. I was
measuring him up."
The Japanese press corps packed the interview room to hear
Suzuki's summation of his first All-Star Game in this country. He
was a seven-time batting champion in his homeland.
His hat backward and his uniform dirty, Suzuki appeared to
stumble before taking his seat, then crawled under the table and
popped his head up with a smile.
Suzuki grounded out in his next two plate appearances, but still
made an impression. He also stole a base in the first inning.
"It's always great to play against a great player like
Ichiro," Sammy Sosa of the Cubs said. "He is another
player from another country who is doing so well."
As always at Safeco Field, fans waved signs in Japanese and
other banners that featured his country's flag. They chanted
I-CHI-RO when he came to the plate.
In "Area 51" behind his regular position in right field, a
banner with his No. 51 and a bull's eye dangled against the wall.
Another sign read "Ichiro MVP."
He is hitting .347 with a league-leading 134 hits and 28 steals.
That helped him earn the most votes in All-Star balloting.
Suzuki watched many All-Star games during his playing days with
Japan's Orix Blue Wave.
"But today, being in the game, I got a lot of feeling with my entire body," he said. "I got a feeling of it."
Suzuki was replaced after five innings.
"It's a great story for baseball, for his country and
everything it stands for," NL manager Bobby Valentine said.
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