Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he’s much more than that in Japan. Back home, he’s a wellspring of national pride, much like Shohei Ohtani now. His triumphs across the Pacific buoyed the nation as Japan’s economy sputtered through the so-called lost decades of the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Yankees legend Hideki Matsui played seven seasons for the Yankees. It wasn’t until his final one, in 2009, with the addition of lefty ace CC Sabathia, that he managed to get that elusive World Series ring.

Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he's much more than that in Japan. Back home, he's a wellspring of national pride.

Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride — like Shohei Ohtani now — and his fame across the Pacific was therapeutic as Japan's economy sputtered through the so-called lost decades.

Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he is much more than that at home in Japan. Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride — like Shohei Ohtani now —

Expected to be the first Japanese player elected to the Cooperstown on Tuesday, Ichiro is a wellspring of national pride and his fame across the Pacific when he joined MLB was therapeutic for his

Ichiro will go into the Hall of Fame as professional baseball’s all-time leader in hits with 4,367 (3,089 in MLB and 1,278 in Japan) — more even than Pete Rose’s 4,256. He broke George Sisler’s single-season hits mark of 257 in 2004. The new mark is 262.

TOKYO — Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball ... Right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country’s confidence in a period of national ...

Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward plans to extend its ban on drinking on the streets to cover the entire year, while Shinjuku Ward is taking its first measures to deal with crowds of Halloween revelers.

TOKYO--Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball ... Left-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country's confidence in a period of national ...

TOKYO — Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball ... Left-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country's confidence in a period of national ...

Ichiro Suzuki is expected to be the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and possibly only the second player chosen unanimously after New York