Ichiro looking forward to WBC

12/09/2005
SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki's job for the past five seasons has been the leadoff man, right fielder, catalyst, record breaker and top fan attraction for the Mariners.
In March, he'll keep his job responsibilities while changing uniforms, and it's something he's looking forward to.
Ichiro, along with Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka and White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi were among the 29 names at an early-morning press conference on Friday announced as the initial roster for the Japanese team in next March's inaugural World Baseball Classic.
The Major Leagues' other big Japanese star, outfielder Hideki Matsui of the Yankees, is not on the list, but he still may decide to play. The Japanese team will be managed by legendary home run hitter Sadaharu Oh.
Ichiro was one of the first players in the world to orally commit to accepting a WBC invitation. He gave his notice several days before Major League Baseball released a list of 177 players that would be playing for many of the 16 teams competing in the 18-day tournament, which opens in the Tokyo Dome on March 3 and closes with the championship game in San Diego's PETCO Park on March 20.
"Mr. Oh extended a formal invitation and Ichiro accepted," Ichiro's agent, Tony Attanasio, told the Seattle Times. "For the longest time, media people had been asking if he was going to play for Japan. But it was not that simple; Ichiro had to receive a formal invitation.
"Now there has been an invitation, and Ichiro was delighted to accept. He really wants to play for his country."
Ichiro, who starred for the Orix BlueWave in Japan for 10 years before joining the Mariners in 2001, finished the 2005 regular season with 206 hits, 15 homers, 68 RBIs and a .303 batting average. He's amassed at least 200 hits in each of his five Major League seasons, the first player in history to do so.
Ichiro played for the MLB All-Stars when they toured Japan after the 2002 season, and Otsuka played under Padres manager Bruce Bochy when that year's All-Star team played the Japanese stars after the 2004 season.
The Japanese WBC team figures to be the favorite in the three-day Asian round, which is scheduled for March 3-6 and also includes South Korea, China and Chinese Taipei.
The two top teams in that round-robin segment of the tournament travel to the U.S. for the second round and meet the two winners of Pool B that encompasses the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South Africa in Angel Stadium in Anaheim on March 13-15.
The top two teams in the four-team second-round brackets will move on to the semifinals and final, to be held at the Padres' home field on March 18-20. Fans can follow all of the games live via MLB.com.
The landmark tournament field includes Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Chinese Taipei, the United States and Venezuela. Cuba is the only country that hasn't formally accepted its invitation, although president Fidel Castro has made statements during the past week indicating that the baseball-rich Cubans will be there.
Each team's ultimate 30-man roster must be finalized 24 hours prior to the start of the tournament, so it's possible that Ichiro will have some different teammates when play starts.
In the meantime, expect one of baseball's most athletic talents to gear up for a smashing effort as his World Baseball Classic team's leadoff man and sparkplug.
"I think that Ichiro is such a unique hitter, a hitter with unique talent," Ichiro's Mariners manager, Mike Hargrove, said recently.
"He has the ability to be a lot of things in an offensive lineup."

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/