MVP Profile: Ichiro Suzuki, 2001

Outfielder, Seattle Mariners

Age:  27

1^st season with Mariners

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175 

Prior to 2001:

Born in a suburb of Nagoya in Japan, Suzuki excelled at baseball in high school. A natural right-handed hitter who was trained by his father to bat left-handed, he hit .502 over the course of his high school career and demonstrated the excellent work ethic that would be evident throughout his career. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1991 Japanese amateur draft by the Orix Blue Wave. Due to concerns regarding his small stature and unusual hitting technique, he spent two seasons in the minor leagues where he drew attention with his hitting. With Orix in 1994, Suzuki demonstrated his excellent bat control as he batted .385 with 210 hits and 111 runs scored in a 130-game season. He was named MVP of the Pacific League and also received a Gold Glove for his outstanding defensive play in the outfield. The club placed his first name, Ichiro, on the back of his jersey in place of his surname of Suzuki, banking on his popularity, a feature that would follow him to the United States. In 1995 he led the Pacific League in hits (179), RBIs (80), stolen bases (49), and batting (.342), in addition to 25 home runs and a .432 on-base percentage. He again received league MVP honors. Orix won the Pacific League title, losing the Japan Series to the Yakult Swallows. The Blue Wave again topped the league in 1996 and Suzuki contributed by batting a league-leading .356 with 193 hits (also a league high mark), 24 doubles, 16 home runs, 84 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, a .422 OBP, and a .504 slugging percentage. He was league MVP for the third consecutive year and Orix defeated the Yomiuri Giants in the Japan Series. Suzuki went on to win seven straight batting titles, hitting .345 in 1997, .358 in 1998, .343 in 1999, and .387 in 2000. Orix was financially strapped by 2000 and encouraged American major league teams to bid for Suzuki’s services. The Japanese-owned Mariners signed Suzuki to a three-year, $14 million contract in 2001, and he moved directly into Seattle’s lineup in right field.

2001 Season Summary

Appeared in 157 games

RF – 152, DH – 4, PH – 4

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 738 [1]

At Bats – 692 [1]

Runs – 127 [2]

Hits – 242 [1]

Doubles – 34 [19, tied with seven others]

Triples – 8 [7, tied with Omar Vizquel]

Home Runs – 8

RBI – 69

Bases on Balls – 30

Int. BB – 10 [8, tied with Jorge Posada & Tony Clark]

Strikeouts – 53

Stolen Bases – 56 [1]

Caught Stealing – 14 [2, tied with Alfonso Soriano]

Average - .350 [1]

OBP - .381 [14, tied with Rafael Palmeiro]

Slugging Pct. - .457

Total Bases – 316 [9, tied with Magglio Ordonez]

GDP – 3

Hit by Pitches – 8

Sac Hits – 4

Sac Flies – 4

League-leading plate appearances were +6 ahead of runner-up Alex Rodriguez

League-leading at bats were +20 ahead of runner-up Garret Anderson

League-leading hits were +36 ahead of runner-up Bret Boone

League-leading stolen bases were +1 ahead of runner-up Roger Cedeno

League-leading batting average was +.008 ahead of runner-up Jason Giambi

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 20, 3B – 7, HR –5, RBI – 41, SB – 28, AVG - .345, OBP – .377

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Most hits, game – 4 on six occasions

Longest hitting streak – 23 games

HR at home – 5

HR on road – 3

Most home runs, game – 1 on eight occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 at Cleveland 8/5

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 4 (.250) with 1 R

Fielding

Chances – 344

Put Outs – 335

Assists – 8

Errors – 1

DP – 2

Pct. - .997

Postseason Batting: 10 G (ALDS vs. Cleveland – 5 G; ALCS vs. NY Yankees – 5 G)

PA – 43, AB – 38, R – 7, H – 16, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 5, IBB – 2, SO – 4, SB – 3, CS – 2, AVG - .421, OBP - .488, SLG - .474, TB – 18, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star (started for AL in CF)

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Ichiro Suzuki, Sea.: 289 points - 11 of 28 first place votes, 74% share

Jason Giambi, Oak.: 281 points – 8 first place votes, 72% share

Bret Boone, Sea.: 259 points – 7 first place votes, 66% share

Roberto Alomar, Clev.: 165 points – 2 first place votes, 42% share

Juan Gonzalez, Clev.: 156 points – 40% share

AL ROY Voting:

Ichiro Suzuki, Sea.: 138 points – 27 of 28 first place votes, 99% share

C.C. Sabathia, Clev.: 73 points. – 1 first place vote, 52% share

Alfonso Soriano, NYY: 35 points – 25% share

David Eckstein, Ana.: 6 points – 4% share

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Mariners went 116-46 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 14 games over the Oakland Athletics while leading the league in runs scored (927), hits (1637), stolen bases (174), batting (.288), and OBP (.360). The Mariners got off to a 19-4 start (all against AL West teams), holding leads of 20 games by the end of June and 17 games at the end of August) and stayed on top of the AL West the rest of the way as they tied the major league record (and set an AL record) for wins in a season. Suzuki quickly overcame any doubts as to his ability to succeed in the US major leagues. Won ALDS over the Cleveland Indians, 3 games to 2. Lost ALCS to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 1.

Aftermath of 2001:

While the Mariners were less successful in 2002 (although they still won 93 games), Suzuki batted .321 with 208 hits, 27 doubles, 8 triples, 8 home runs, 51 RBIs, 31 stolen bases (although he was caught stealing a league-leading 15 times), and a .388 OBP while scoring 111 runs. He received another Gold Glove and placed seventeenth in league MVP voting. His average dropped to .312 in 2003, although he hit 13 home runs with 62 RBIs, 34 stolen bases, and a .352 OBP. Starting off slowly in 2004, Suzuki had 107 hits in July and August and went on to break George Sisler’s record of 257 hits in a season with 262. He was also the league batting champion at .372 to go along with a .414 OBP. He placed seventh in AL MVP balloting. Suzuki’s average dropped to .303 in 2005, although his 206 hits still put him over 200 for the fifth straight year with Seattle. He also hit 12 triples, a career-high 15 home runs, and 68 RBIs with 33 stolen bases and a .350 OBP. In 2006 Suzuki shifted to center field in August, where his speed and skill proved beneficial as he remained a Gold Glove recipient. As a batter he hit .322 with a league-leading 224 hits. Playing center field full time in 2007 he had 8 assists and committed only one error. He batted .351 with a league-high 238 hits and also produced 68 RBIs, a .396 OBP, and 37 stolen bases. He was also the MVP of the All-Star Game, where he hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star history as part of a 3-for-3 batting performance. The Mariners finished a surprising second in the AL West and Suzuki placed eighth in league MVP voting. The team dropped into the division cellar in 2008 but the steady Suzuki once again topped the AL with 213 hits while batting .310 with a .361 OBP. His 2009 season was highlighted by a 27-game hitting streak as he once more topped the league with 225 hits while batting .352 with 31 doubles, 11 home runs, and a .386 OBP. Very reserved when talking to the media, always using a translator even though he spoke English fluently, Suzuki was known for being funny and exuberant off camera with his teammates. In 2010 he led the league in hits for the last time with 214 while batting .315 with a .359 OBP. Regularly playing right field again in 2009 and ’10, he remained a Gold Glove performer with his outstanding throwing arm. In 2011 his hits dropped under 200 for the first time (to 184) and his average fell to .272 with a .310 OBP. At age 38 in 2012, and hitting only .261 at the All-Star break, the Mariners dealt him to the New York Yankees, where he excelled in September by compiling 38 hits in 31 games as New York narroly won the AL East title. For the year he hit a combined .283 with 9 home runs and 55 RBIs. In Game 5 of the ALDS vs. Baltimore, Suzuki drove in a key run as the Yankees won the series. Although be hit .353 in the ALCS vs. Detroit, the club was swept by the Tigers. Suzuki was less productive for the Yankees in 2013, batting .262 with 7 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a .297 OBP. Following a 2014 season in which he hit .284 with a .324 OBP in 143 games, Suzuki departed from the Yankees as a free agent and signed with the Miami Marlins. Seeing more action in right field for the Marlins in 2015 due to an injury to slugger Giancarlo Stanton, Suzuki batted just .229 but remained a capable defensive performer in the outfield. Re-signed by the Marlins for 2016, he achieved a career milestone by tripling at Denver’s Coors Field for his 3000^th hit in the American major leagues. As a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter, Suzuki appeared in 143 games and hit .291 with a .354 OBP. He spent one more season with the Marlins in 2017 as a pinch-hitter and occasional outfielder before returning to Seattle in 2018 where he appeared in 15 games and stayed on with the organization to mentor younger players. He finished his career in 2019 as the Mariners opened the season in Tokyo, where he received a huge ovation from the crowd. For his career in Japan, Suzuki batted .353 with 1278 hits that included 211 doubles, 23 triples, and 118 home runs. He scored 658 runs and compiled 529 RBIs, 199 stolen bases, 384 walks, a .421 OBP, and a .522 slugging percentage. In the American major leagues he batted .311 with 3089 hits that included 362 doubles, 96 triples, and 117 home runs. He scored 1420 runs and compiled 780 RBIs, 509 stolen bases, a .355 OBP, and a .402 slugging percentage. With the Mariners he batted .321 with 2542 hits, 1181 runs scored, 295 doubles, 79 triples, 99 home runs, 633 RBIs, 438 stolen bases, a .365 OBP, and a .416 slugging percentage. Appearing in 19 postseason games he hit .346 with a home run, 8 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. A 10-time All-Star, Suzuki also received 10 Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. He was honored with the Franchise Achievement Award by the Mariners and was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2022. Following his retirement as a player at age 45, he has served the Mariners organization in a variety of roles. In 2016 he made the largest donation by an active player to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. In addition to English, he also learned Spanish to be better able to communicate with Latin American players with who he felt a bond as foreigners trying to succeed in the USA.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.  

 

 

Cy Young Profile: Roger Clemens, 2001

Pitcher, New York Yankees

Age:  39 (Aug. 4)

3^rd season with Yankees

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 205 

Prior to 2001:

A native of Ohio who moved to Texas in high school, Clemens attended San Jacinto Junior College, which had a strong baseball program, before moving on to the University of Texas, passing up a contract offer from the New York Mets, who drafted him as an amateur in 1981. He was a power-pitching member of the Texas squad that won the 1983 College World Series before signing with the Red Sox, who made him a first-round draft pick that year. The highly driven Clemens climbed readily through Boston’s minor league system and joined the parent club in 1984. Somewhat unsteady as a rookie, Clemens compiled a 9-4 record with a 4.32 ERA and was shut down in September due to a tendon injury in his pitching arm. Several injuries marred his 1985 season that concluded with surgery on his right shoulder after posting a 7-5 record with 3.29 ERA in just 15 starts. “The Rocket” broke out with a dominating season in 1986 as he compiled a 24-4 record with an AL-leading 2.48 ERA. His 238 strikeouts included a single-game record 20 against Seattle. Clemens was the league MVP as well as Cy Young Award recipient. He spent ten more seasons with the Red Sox, often highlighted by controversy. He briefly walked out during spring training in 1987 over a contract dispute and overcame a slow 4-6 start to end up with another Cy Young Award-winning season, ultimately posting a 20-9 record with the fifth-place Red Sox. In 1988 he was an All-Star once again and compiled an 18-12 tally and topped the AL in complete games (18) and shutouts (7). Boston returned to the top of the AL East. Clemens led the AL in ERA in 1990 (1.93) to go along with a 21-6 mark and 209 strikeouts. Clemens led the AL in ERA for three straight years from 1990 to ’92 and won a third Cy Young Award in 1991. Clemens led the AL with a 2.41 ERA in 1992, his third straight ERA title, while also compiling an 18-11 record and 5 shutouts with 208 strikeouts. His performance slipped thereafter as his record dropped to 11-14 with a 4.46 ERA in 1993, and after a fair year in 1994, he slipped badly again in ’95. Clemens had another 20-strikeout single-game performance in 1996 on his way to a 10-13 record with a league-leading 257 strikeouts. “The Rocket” signed a three-year free agent contract worth $24.75 million with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and won the AL Cy Young Award that year, going 21-7 with a league-best 2.05 ERA and 292 strikeouts with a fifth-place team that went 76-86 and again in 1998, when he was 20-6 and topped the circuit again in ERA (2.65) and strikeouts (271). The Blue Jays rose to third at 88-74 and Clemens requested a trade to a contending team and was dealt to the Yankees just prior to the 1999 season. He posted a 14-10 tally for the ’99 Yankees. At age 36 he was showing signs of wear as he completed only one of his 30 starts while dropping to under 200 innings pitched, and his ERA rose to 4.60. He picked up a win in the World Series triumph over Atlanta. Clemens improved in 2000 to 13-8 with a 3.70 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 204.1 innings. The Yankees were again division champs and Clemens pitched a one-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts against Seattle in the ALCS. In the World Series against the cross-town Mets, he pitched 8 shutout innings in a game better remembered for an odd altercation with Met catcher Mike Piazza who broke his bat on a play in which Clemens threw the barrel of the broken bat at him as he ran toward first as the ball rolled foul, infuriating Piazza and causing the benches to clear. The Yankees won the Series and Clemens was fined $50,000 for the broken bat incident.

2001 Season Summary

Appeared in 33 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 33

Games Started – 33 [12, tied with seven others]

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 20 [2, tied with Jamie Moyer]

Losses – 3

PCT - .870 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 220.1 [12]

Hits – 205 [18, tied with Joe Mays]

Runs – 94

Earned Runs – 86

Home Runs – 19

Bases on Balls – 72 [14]

Strikeouts – 213 [3]

ERA – 3.51 [9]

Hit Batters – 5

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 14 [1, tied with Kip Wells]

League-leading win percentage was +.060 ahead of runner-up Paul Abbott

Midseason Snapshot: 12-1, ERA - 3.55, SO - 122 in 124.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 8 IP) vs. Baltimore 6/7, (in 7 IP) at Boston 8/31

10+ strikeout games – 2

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 8 IP) vs. Baltimore 6/7

Batting

PA – 2, AB – 2, R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 46

Put Outs – 11

Assists – 33

Errors – 2

DP – 3

Pct. - .957

Postseason Pitching: G – 5 (ALDS vs. Oakland – 2; ALCS vs. Seattle – 1; World Series vs. Arizona – 2 G)

GS – 5, CG – 0, Record – 1-1, PCT – .500, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 26.2, H – 20, R – 7, ER – 7, HR – 1, BB – 12, SO – 32, ERA – 2.36, HB – 3, BLK – 0, WP – 2

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star (Started for AL)

8^th  in AL MVP voting (67 points, 17% share)

AL Cy Young voting (Top 4):

Roger Clemens, NYY: 122 points – 21 of 28 first place votes, 87% share

Mark Mulder, Oak.: 60 points – 2 first place votes, 43% share

Freddy Garcia, Sea.: 55 points – 4 first place votes, 39% share

Jamie Moyer, Sea.: 12 points – 1 first place vote, 9% share

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Yankees went 95-65 to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 13.5 games over the Boston Red Sox. The pitching staff led the league in saves (57) and strikeouts (1266). With Clemens sparking the pitching staff, the Yankees were 52-34 over the first half. A three-game sweep of the Red Sox to start September effectively sealed the AL East title. Won ALDS over the Oakland Athletics, 3 games to 2. Won ALCS over the Seattle Mariners, 4 games to 1. Lost World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4 games to 3. In a Series played in the shadow of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Clemens pitched 7 innings of 3-hit ball to win Game 3 as the Yankees built up a 3-games-to-2 lead.  In Game 7, in which Clemens started, the Diamondbacks overcame a 2-1 ninth inning deficit as New York’s star closer Mariano Rivera gave up 2 runs and Arizona LHP Randy Johnson, who relieved Series co-MVP Curt Schilling a day after starting and winning Game 6, came away with a 3-2 Series-clinching win.

Aftermath of 2001:

Clemens followed up with a 13-6 record in 2002 with a 4.35 ERA and 192 strikeouts while pitching 180 innings. Hinting at retirement in 2003, in which he went 17-9 with a 3.91 ERA, he followed LHP Andy Pettitte, a teammate and friend with the Yankees, to the Houston Astros as a free agent in 2004 and had an 18-4 record with a 2.98 ERA and received a seventh Cy Young Award. At age 43 in 2005, he led the NL with a 1.87 ERA as the Astros won the league pennant for the first time in franchise history. Clemens re-signed with Houston in ’06 and ended up with a 7-6 record and 2.30 ERA while the club failed to reach the postseason. Clemens returned to the Yankees for one final year in 2007. He later returned to organized baseball in 2012 at the age of 50, appearing with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. He started two games and had no decisions.  Overall, in the major leagues, he compiled a 354-184 record and 3.12 ERA with 4672 strikeouts over the course of 4916.2 innings. In the postseason he was 12-8 with a 3.75 ERA and 173 strikeouts. His numbers with Yankees were 83-42 with a 4.01 ERA and 1014 strikeouts. Controversy erupted over his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs during the later stages of his career, thus far keeping him from achieving election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.