There’s a very interesting interview with Ichiro Suzuki on this week’s episode of ‘On the Record with Bob Costas’. Ichiro has a very interesting philosophy on the game, and life. He talks about why he’s so respectful of his equipment. Here’s an example of how he treats his equipment, taken from an old Sporting News article:
Suzuki takes more care with his bats than some folks do their pets. Each bat arrives from Japan shrink-wrapped to avoid moisture, and Ichiro will only unwrap a handful at a time — and then carries them in a specially made humidor that keeps them dry.
He won’t throw a bat after an at-bat, usually carefully dropping it as he runs toward first base, and he insists that any moisture, from humidity to air-conditioning in the clubhouse, effects his bats.
In pre-humidor days, Ichiro used to hang his bats in the sun to keep the wood dry. The special care doesn’t end with bats. Before and after each game, he sits at his locker and uses a small sponge to keep the leather of his glove soft and supple.
On the show, he compares the care of his equipment to a chef’s care of his cooking utensils. I think all kids, and adults for that matter, could learn something from Ichiro’s philosophy. The show is re-airing a few times this week.
I saw this as well. Very inspiring to see someone that approaches his sport that way. I think Doc Rivers made a comment that is so true. “Americans treat professional sports as if its a Rite of Passage, while the foreign players treat it as a Priviledge”
Very true. I think it probably aslo shows some huge cultural differences btwn Americans and Japanese. He seems to be much more ‘in tune with the universe’ than most Americans/Westerners. I hate to extend his philosphy to all Japanese, but what the hell, I’ll do it anyways. 🙂