When people get placed upon a pedestal - when they start chasing after that person on the pedestal - they become mannequin-like.
Ichiro SuzukiI'm anxious to face them (major league pitchers) all, but in reality I'm looking forward most to (Boston's) Pedro Martinez. He was with the major league team that came to Japan in 1996, just before he became a superstar. I'm anxious to see how much he's improved. And I'm anxious to see how much I've improved against him.
Ichiro SuzukiThe Japanese have a strong tendency to suppress their own feelings. That's the Japanese character. They kill their own emotions.
Ichiro SuzukiI'm not a big guy and hopefully kids could look at me and see that I'm not muscular and not physically imposing, that I'm just a regular guy. So if somebody with a regular body can get into the record books, kids can look at that. That would make me happy.
Ichiro SuzukiBaseball has been the greatest things in my life, but the cameras and the media surrounding baseball have not been fun. It's unnecessary. How many times do they see me stretch? How many times do they see me walk? It is a big concern. If it affected the team in a negative way, I don't know what I would do.
Ichiro Suzuki