[ckrakowski]

Why is the name on the back of his jersey his first name? I thought the last name was put on the jersey. His last name is Suzuki. Also why do most of his cards just list his name as Ichiro? Some of his early cards say Ichiro Suzuki.

[Hofcollector]

In Japan Suzuki is a very common last name so in order to differentiate himself (remember he was a MEGA star there), they allowed him to use his first name on his jersey. When he came to the MLB he was allowed to continue doing so but by then it was more of a brand name and marketing ploy by himself and the MLB.

[waynetalger]

In Japan Suzuki is a very common last name so in order to differentiate himself (remember he was a MEGA star there), they allowed him to use his first name on his jersey. When he came to the MLB he was allowed to continue doing so but by then it was more of a brand name and marketing ploy by himself and the MLB.

+1

[Dub24rollin]

Exactly, Suzuki in Japan could be compared to Smith in the United States in terms of commonness. Also remember he was the 1st Japanese born POSITION player to be posted and signed to the major leagues. He was a big deal over there and obviously became a big deal very quickly over here.

[bonds20001]

Removed post....did not read POSITION PLAYER..sorry..I am an idiot!!

[Hofcollector]

Actually..
pitcher Masanori Murakami, was named the California League Rookie of the Year while playing for the Fresno Giants (the San Francisco Giants' Class-A team). Giants executives were impressed with his talent and on September 1, 1964 Murakami was promoted, thus becoming the first Japanese player to play in MLB...

Then there was Nomo....

Neither one of them were position players.

[Dub24rollin]

Actually..
pitcher Masanori Murakami, was named the California League Rookie of the Year while playing for the Fresno Giants (the San Francisco Giants' Class-A team). Giants executives were impressed with his talent and on September 1, 1964 Murakami was promoted, thus becoming the first Japanese player to play in MLB...

Then there was Nomo....

Position player lol. That's why I capitalized it.

[nolan5000]

Just for fun

Well... pitcher is one of the 9 positions on the diamond.

[djohn]

Just for fun
Well... pitcher is one of the 9 positions on the diamond.

While that is true, the term "position player" is a very specific term and is defined as follows:
In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. This is generally all players on a team except for the pitcher, who is considered separate from the position players; in the American League, there is also a designated hitter, who bats but does not play any defensive positions (and is therefore not a position player). Position players are eligible to pitch, and a manager may have a player do so in the case of a blowout during a game, or if he runs out of eligible pitchers in a game, usually occurring when the game goes into many extra innings. However, this is rare.

[Hofcollector]

While that is true, the term "position player" is a very specific term and is defined as follows:
In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. This is generally all players on a team except for the pitcher, who is considered separate from the position players; in the American League, there is also a designated hitter, who bats but does not play any defensive positions (and is therefore not a position player). Position players are eligible to pitch, and a manager may have a player do so in the case of a blowout during a game, or if he runs out of eligible pitchers in a game, usually occurring when the game goes into many extra innings. However, this is rare.

Well said.