Ichiro

On Friday night I had the chance to go to Safeco stadium and sit in the section off center field to watch Ichiro Suzuki play for the Mariners. Suzuki is a great fielder and a good hitter - he is hitting .321.

The Mariners are a crappy team. No doubt about it. Friday's game was a yawner. They lost, but then when you are near the bottom of the league, who cares? Safeco Field is a pretty good place to see a game. We were in far center field on the field level and had a pretty good view of what action their was. Two homes came near us. (Which was at about 400 feet). Part of that section is reserved for families who do not want to drink beer - but the section we were in (immediately next to it) allowed people to have drinks. Those sections have always seemed a bit nanny statish to me, but if that is what the ball club thinks will bring fans in, then so be it. Lord knows the playing of the Mariners will not bring in fans. But there is one exception. Ichiro.

What was most interesting was the path of Japanese tourists who came down the stairs to snap a picture of them behind the Japanese star. All evening the tourists, many who were quite well dressed, would venture down the steps and then get a picture of their star. When he came to the US as the first position player from Japan to start on a US team, he had a great first year. He was voted on to the all star team and rookie of the year. He was a joy to watch - he made two pretty spectacular catches and one home run on Friday.