Ichiro Gets Punked

Ichiro's Japanese team was expected to advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic. And they did.

But for Ichiro, the Group A tournament at the Tokyo Dome was about more than just moving on to round two. Before the event, he said this:

Not only will we win, but also we’ll make Japanese baseball fans feel that they saw a truly great game. I want to make [Korea and Taiwan] see that they will not be able to beat Japan in next 30 years.

Didn't happen. Japan dominated in its first two games, but Korea upset them 3-2 in a close, intense game on Sunday. Ichiro didn't do much. He was 1-3, got hit by a pitch (it looked intentional to us) and his pop out against Chan Ho Park ended the game.

"I feel ashamed of this defeat." Ichiro said afterwards. He hit only .231 in group play. "If I am satisfied with these results," he said, "I should quit baseball."

Ichiro and his Japanese teammates still advance to round two, where they'll have a rematch with Korea on March 15.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Seth in News on March 6, 2006 5:50 AM

Comments [rss]

AJ

umm..."all teams in the Asian round"...doesn't that include Korea as well? Even if he didn't mention Korea, that's just a childish comment which normally comes from a 12 year old peewee baseball player. Ichiro needs to go back to an amature league and pay attention to "good sportsmanship" lessons.

AJ

umm..."all teams in the Asian round"...doesn't that include Korea as well? Even if he didn't mention Korea, that's just a childish comment which normally comes from a 12 year old peewee baseball player. Ichiro needs to go back to an amature league and pay attention to "good sportsmanship" lessons.

Smarlingue

Jake: It's a new Japan and a new day. He didn't lose any face in Japan talking that way. In fact, they loved it.

Baseball fan: Ichiro wasn't speaking about Koreans specifically. He was speaking about all the teams in the Asian round. The Korean media uh, exaggerated.

Baseball Fan in OC

I used to be an Ichiro fan, but his remarks about Korea demonstrated a complete lack of class, and I've lost all respect for him. Considering that Japan lost both games to Korea, it's clear that Ichiro clearly couldn't back up his words with action.

David

Now we know why.

Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

He definitely lost face by talking smack before a match. Japanese sports stars are supposed to be super humble and self deprecating in public even if they know they are going to kick ass. Even on Iron Chef they never go out and say that they are going to win.