Right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country's confidence in a period of national malaise. Tsutsui termed Ichiro a “great cultural ...

A once-in-a-generation player who earned the admiration of baseball fans in North America -- the birthplace of the sport -- has now received the highe･･･ ...

Yankees legend Hideki Matsui played seven seasons for the Yankees ... Next, he honored his fellow countryman, Ichiro Suzuki, who paved the way for Japanese players in many ways.

But hitters? Ichiro was MLB's first Japanese-born position player. Hideki Matsui wouldn’t arrive in the Bronx for another two years. Shohei Ohtani was nearly two decades away from his fairly ...

Because Ichiro thrived in defiance of his style and stature, more conventional hitters making the leap -- hitters like Hideki Matsui, Seiya Suzuki, and, yes, Ohtani -- did so with fewer barriers ...

Ichiro debuted in Major League Baseball in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners, the first Japanese position player to span the Pacific and an instant star. Left-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and ...