Ichiro Power Poll

He’s losing speed, he’s not getting his usual infield singles, i think just one year of changing it up may be good for him. The thing is though, I was talking to the “tacoma news tribune” writer, ryan dvish, and he says that ichiro just cares too much about 200 hits a year, and 3000 total. which obviously, would mean he won’t go for power. also, what would make him change????

This is actually quite fascinating

If a player – any player – could change their hitting approach so drastically just by sheer force of will, would we not have seen many players do this as their career longevities got up into the double digits? I haven’t done any research, but it seems like if it were that easy you’d have a whole slew of guys who started out as singles/doubles hitters who in the last years of their careers suddenly hit 25 HR’s, would you not?

And yes, I know, Ichiro has made mention of this several times. I just don’t really see him being able to re-tool his entire approach to the game at this point. I could be wrong, but I would be very surprised.

if anyone can do it, Ichiro! can.

That’s just my love for Ichiro talking.

Realistically I think it’s more likely that he will (almost) return to form as the Ichiro we know next year and be a productive everyday outfielder. I think the “Power Hitter Ichiro” myth has always been fun and part of his mystique, but it’s insane. That’s also why it’s plausible because everything about Ichiro is insane.

Damnit! I just talked myself into going home to vote yes.

So they don’t believe Ichiro could be up to his standards if he tried to hit for power. But when compared to the rest of the league, if Ichiro set his mind to it, I believe he could be an average to good power hitter.

But I still voted “False” since I think it’s impossible for any player to “forget” the same batting approach they’ve had their entire playing career. I think most of us can agree that Ichiro has many of the tools to succeed as a power hitter. He has a good eye, he generally has a very good idea of the strike zone, and he’s capable of turning on a pitch and hitting for some power to right field.

The issue has always been with the way he hits. He often drags the bat through the zone and it stays in the zone for longer than most other players. Instead of taking a full hack, he’ll “serve” the ball over infielders, almost like a tennis player would. His approach also causes his body and his momentum to travel down the 1st base line, which is specifically designed to get infield hits. When he hits for power, he pivots around a point and uses his lower body to muscle the ball out. That’s why he’s able to jack the ball out in BP or, theoretically, in a HR Derby.

I’m no scout, of course, but this is how I’ve always seen Ichiro. If he wants to hit for power, he has to completely drop his approach of high contact and infield hits. Can Ichiro do that in one offseason? Probably not, but it’s hard to bet against Ichiro. He’s so regimented and has (had?) such good bat control that I feel he might be able to.

Ichiro projects to be, what, like a 2-2.5 WAR player next season?

If he completely changes his approach, even to a detrimental effect, I have to believe he’d still put up 1 WAR more often than not, and that’s definitely a productive MLB outfielder.

This is remarkable

True takes the lead!

Now I’m paranoid.

because I believe that Ichiro is a baseball playing robot and not actually human and he spends a lot of his time making outs on purpose as to not be suspected.

A complete 180 in your approach to hitting is incredibly hard at the big league level. Doing so in your late 30’s just seems really far-fetched and very likely to end badly.

but I can’t help but think about the batting practice he took during the USSM event.

I also think he’d do better if we DH’d him, despite the mountains of evidence that DHing is harder than playing a position.