"The history of baseball is very important," Ichiro said. "We're able to play the game today because of players of the past. I really want to understand them and know more about them. I think we all need to know the game of the past, things of the past, so we can keep moving it forward."
Ichiro's plaque in the Hall suggests the closing of a historical, cultural, and symbolic loop that fuses two great baseball cultures:
It was the converging of paths, joining the practice of yakyu [Japanese baseball], with echoes of the code of the samurai, the game Ichiro began playing at age 3, and the pastime of American baseball, the game he played with an ornate, highly ritualistic, flamboyantly stylistic, and yet still always in perfect discipline and equanimity.
For all of the cultural significance and the historic nature of Ichiro's induction, it's this work ethic and his singular style that is almost certainly going to be his greatest legacy. And it's one that spins into the future, as he blazes a path to serve as a guide for the Japanese and American stars of the future. This exquisite balance of baseball skills fundamentals and personal style. I can't say this is a salient feature with every Japanese baseball player but there is no denying it in Ohtani.
Before Shohei Ohtani, there was Ichiro. Before Ichiro, there were many but none who followed the path that perhaps only he could. He played professional baseball for 27 years, the last 19 in MLB, 14 for the M's. Amazing contact hitter, fast, great arm, but his athletic skills were not what separated him. It was his expert game. His craft and style.
Ichiro like his mononymous name was a one of a kind baseball player.
HOF tells the story of Japanese baseball
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