Ichiro Suzuki. Why he's still the best

Well it's no secret that Ichiro is not having his best season. In his previous 10 seasons he finished above .300 with over 50 RBI's and more stolen bases then I can count. He set the single season hit record in 2004 and has been, in my opinion, the best offensive ball player of this generation. This season, in contrast, he will finish around .275 with only 47 RBI's and the lowest number of stolen bases in his career. The RBI problem you can forgive because even with his lowest numbers ever he's still the best hitter on that team by a wide margin.

I digress.

My own opinion is that the Japanese have been making the most exciting ball players for the last five years (an opinion which does nothing to boost my popularity among Korean baseball fans). Contrast Ichiro, even today, with someone like David Ortiz. An All-Star this year and power hitter for the Red Sox. Ortiz can hit. My lord can he hit. He has power that can drive in runs in any ball park in the American league. But that's all he can do. He can't play position, he can't run/steal and he is very likely to pop up if he doesn't get it over the fence. Despite being able to do roughly 40% of his job he can hide away in the DH spot and be an all-star. No Japanese player can get away with that. Even the rare Japanese power hitter like Hideki Matsui can play well in the outfield on any given night. US players used to play for skill and a few of the older active players can still do it. Derek Jeter is still the best shortstop in the game and getting his 3000th hit earlier this year shows just what a great hitter he is as well. He's a great ball player. However, I have trouble thinking of young American, or even North American, players that that can be said of. Maybe Jacoby Ellsbury?  But the guys you always hear about: Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Prince Fielder, Mark Teixeira. Power Power Power. In fact, Mark Teixeira is without a doubt the most overrated ball player around now. It amazes me that the Yankees keep him at all. I mean, when he's up just take all your fielders from the left field and move them over. Hell have everyone except your catcher and pitcher stand in right/centre field. If he doesn't hit it over the wall he doesn't have the skill to do anything else with it. He's also the worst team player of all time. He will go for that power swing even even at the risk of a double ot triple play just for an attempt at glory, and it's only cause he'll do it enough that it's tolerated.

Like Jeter, Ichiro plays the GAME well. He can hit. I mean, a .275 average isn't an all-star average but it's hardly a bad season. He can field better as well as any current all-star and at 37 he's still the fastest player in the game today. He's also a TEAM player. Remember in 2007 he COULD have left Seattle to become a household name playing in New York, Detroit, Philly or LA but opted to stay with the team that drafted him and has treated him right. He plays every aspect of the game well and does it with class. If he was in a city like New York or Chicago he'd be a household name mentioned in the same breath as Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter. Maybe he doesn't have another .300 season in him, but at .275 and those baseball instincts I'd still take him over Ortiz or Teixeira any day of the week.