The Power of Ichiro

Ichiro tells us how many opposite field homers he's ever hit

You know the calendar has flipped over to another Spring Training when Ryan Braun is accused of taking PEDs, A-Rod is rehabbing from surgery, and yet another journalist has written about how Ichiro could hit 25-30 homers if he just wanted to because he hits so many in batting practice.

This year's first offender is the Bergen Record's Bob Klapisch. Take it away, Bob:

“[Ichiro] can hit the ball farther than any of them,” is what one bird dog said this week. Of course, there’s a huge gulf between those make-believe blasts at 5 p.m. and what the Yankees actually need from Ichiro once the game begins. But the point nevertheless has traction: What if Ichiro really did change his approach to take advantage of the Stadium’s short right-field porch over a full season?

Actually, there’s statistical proof that suggests Ichiro morphed last summer, nearly quadrupling his home run ratio after being traded to New York. Ichiro managed one HR every 100 at-bats with the Mariners, but, upon becoming a Yankee, hit one every 26 in the Stadium.

Those aren’t exactly Barry Bonds-like numbers, but they nevertheless suggest there’s more to Ichiro’s offense than meets the eye. His career high was 15 HRs back in 2005, so it’s not impossible to imagine 25 or so blasts if he so chooses.

Ichiro smiled modestly at the suggestion that the Bombers need him to recalibrate. “I’ve been going with one style for my career, and I think I’ll stick with it,” he said through an interpreter.

If any of this sounds familiar, it's because reporters said the same thing last year. And also the year before.

The problem is, regardless of how far he hits the ball in batting practice, even when he's ostensibly trying to hit home runs, they don't go particularly far: just around 380 feet, according to Home Run Tracker. Doubly annoying is Ichiro's typically coy answer about how he's sticking to his style. What style is that, Ichiro? Oh yeah, grounding out weakly to the second baseman.