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When the Seattle Mariners Ted Heid originally scouted Ichiro Suzuki in Japan, he saw a great player, but not one he ever thought would one day reach 3,000 hits in the North American major leagues. No Japanese position player had ever played in Major League Baseball?at that time, and Ichiro wouldnt be able do so until 2001, when he was 27 years old. That meant to reach 3,000, he would have to average 200 hits for 15 seasons, when he would be in his 40s. That never even was fathomable to me, Heid recalls.Nor was it to his first manager here, Lou Piniella.To think in that first year that this young man would be playing at 42 and going for 3,000 hits, I didnt think it was possible then, Piniella says. Just 2,000 hits would have been an outstanding achievement.While Ichiro has had a great career here -- two batting titles, an MVP and a .314 career average -- as he aged and his numbers declined, many questioned whether he would be able to reach 3,000. Given his stats from last year -- career lows in hits (91) and batting average (.229) -- most estimates suggested that he might barely reach the mark near seasons end. Or that he would miss it and possibly not get another contract.Not that Robinson Cano doubted his former teammate.If you get to play with him and be around him, you know he will, said Cano, who played a season and a half with Ichiro. You would have to kick him out of baseball. Because he works out every day. Even when hes in the batting cage, he had his own weights he would lift before he hit. He was in shape. Thats the guy youre never going to see retire. He loves baseball so much. He said, Im going to play until Im 50 years old. If youre close to a milestone, why retire?Even if you reach a milestone, why retire if you are hitting as well as Ichiro is now? He reached the 3,000-hit mark months before he was expected to, and he is batting .317.I got to see him take batting practice recently and how he approached things and Im like, This guy has found the fountain of youth, Heid says. He reinvented himself. Just his control of the strike zone and pitches. Hes really locked in right now.Reaching 3,000 hits is an amazing accomplishment, especially when you dont get your first until age 27. But joining the prestigious 3,000 Hit Club is just one way in which Ichiro -- one of the best and most intriguing players in baseball history -- has made himself noteworthy. Here are 14 others -- which is probably 2,985 short of the Ichiro total.Treat your gear with respectIchiro is religious about his bats and gloves, caring for them meticulously. He stores his bats in a humidor, a case with chemical rods that keep his bats from gaining or losing moisture (he recently gave one to Marlins teammate Christian Yelich). He carries his bats to and from the dugout himself, not allowing the bat boys to touch them. Ichiro is so respectful of his equipment that once, after throwing his bat on the ground in frustration when he made an out in a game in Japan, he took the bat to his hotel room as a form of apology.He was so careful to place his bat at a certain spot on the dugout bench that the Mariners drilled a hole for it. He was very methodical that way, former teammate Dan Wilson said. Its probably one of those things that led him to be so consistent.Ichiro is just as particular with his gloves. Heid says during Ichiros first seasons with the Mariners, he was appalled by the way some teammates treated their equipment. During the 2009 World Baseball Classic, he openly criticized players who left their gloves unattended, tossed them on the bench or sat on them.His bats and gloves, Heid says, Are an extension of him. He treats his body as a temple. He treats his equipment the same -- as a temple.As Ichiro once told me: Equipment has heart, human heart, inside it.The batting stanceIchiro has one of the most distinctive at-bat preparations youll ever see. Its so amazing that Gar Ryness, aka the Batting Stance Guy, says he wouldnt be surprised to see him come up to bat with a Hugh Hefner smoking jacket, hit the ball and moonwalk to first base. He is so stylish in an enviable type of way.Before he goes to the plate, Ichiro will stretch in the on-deck circle, bending way down and shifting his body to the left and right. He will crouch with his rear end leaned back on his heels in a duck squat. When he gets to the plate, he will hold his bat up and outward toward the mound with his right hand. He will smell the batting glove on his left hand, then tug the shoulder of his jersey.There are other guys who have done the samurai pose, like Jim Thome, says Ryness. When Ichiro does it, he does it with so much more style. He would go slowly over the top. When he would tug his sleeve, he was doing everything short of motioning to the pitcher, OK, lets fight.Ryness isnt the only one who imitates Ichiro. There also is Fake Ichiro, who has imitated the hitters stance not only at games but also on a TV game show.I view Ichiro as a celebrity, Ryness says. Having been in Japan and seeing how they love him, Ichiro is like [David] Beckham.Inspiring a countryThe first Japanese player in the American major leagues was Masanori Murakami in 1964-65. There wasnt another until Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995, followed by eight more pitchers in the ensuing five seasons. Ichiro, however, opened the way for position players -- Tsuyoshi Shinjo also started in the majors that season, but Ichiro debuted a day earlier and had a far more dramatic effect.For him to come over here and put up the numbers he did, it gave us position players in Japan hope that we could come over here and play over here, Mariners outfielder Nori Aoki says. Its still difficult now, but until then, Japanese position players didnt even think of coming here. We couldnt even imagine playing here.Since Ichiros debut, 13 Japanese position players have made the move.He reinforced the idea that Japanese baseball is very, very good baseball, Piniella says.The Ichiro LouvreIchiros father, Nobuyuki Suzuki, opened an Ichiro museum by the Nagoya airport, close to where he raised his son. The museum holds more than 2,000 items, many of them from Ichiros childhood. As the museum manager told me during a visit in 2002: When Ichiro was a child, his father told Ichiros mother, He is going to be a great athlete. We must keep everything. And they just kept everything.And they really did. Among the many items on display are Ichiros Little League uniforms, scorecards from his games, his model Star Wars TIE fighter, the certificate from his drivers training course, his high school ID card, his old bicycle, his school essays, his schoolboy satchel and his retainer from junior high. There is even an Ichiro mannequin seated at his old school desk, posed as if its working an abacus.BP masterWhile Ichiro is known as a singles hitter -- he has had roughly 700 infield singles in his career -- he has power, too. He has 113 career home runs here, including 15 in 2005, 37 leadoff home runs and two walk-off home runs, one of which was against Mariano Rivera.But it is during batting practice that his power is most on display. Ryness says he once saw Ichiro wink at somebody and then hit eight straight home runs. Winking or not, Ichiro will often blast balls into the stands. He recently sent several into the upper deck in Minnesota, which is not easy.Ive never seen anybody like that, not anybody in my life that can do that, how far he hits it, Cano says. I would love to see him in the Home Run Derby.A midsummer classicIchiro was an All-Star in each of his seven full seasons in Japan and in his first 10 seasons here. His best performance was in 2007 when he went 3-for-3 and hit the only inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history and earned the MVP award.He also is known for his off-the-field All-Star performances -- he has fired up teammates with pregame speeches filled with foul language. But the most memorable might have been when he met President Obama at the 2009 All-Star Game. He bowed while shaking the presidents hand and got his autograph.My idea, when I saw him, was to say, Whats up? Ichiro said through his interpreter that day. But I got nervous. You know, he has that kind of aura about him. So I got nervous, and I didnt say that to him. I was a little disappointed about that.But I realized after seeing him today that presidents wear jeans, too. So my hope is that our skipper [Don Wakamatsu] was watching that and we can wear jeans on our flights.Speaking of which...Fashion statementsIchiro has always been known for his distinctive style of clothing. Bright striped shirts. Tight pants with cuffs high enough to show his bright bold socks. Very stylish shoes. He even wore a Bugs Bunny sweatshirt when meeting Ken Griffey Jr. for the first time in 1995. Another time, manager Mike Hargrove was so taken aback by his style of jeans that he had Ichiro bring them into his office.In 2009, Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune wrote about how Griffey would rate Ichiros clothes each game. Id wear that shirt, Junior told LaRue. The pants? No. That belt? No. Shoes? Yeah, I might wear those. But that man purse? No f---ing way. Youre 2-for-5 today.Cano categorizes Ichiros style as trendy European. You would see him wearing it, and then the next thing, everybody is wearing it. He used to have pants up at his ankles, and he would be the only one. And then later on, a year later, everyone has that. You see LeBron [James] with it.Downward-facing hitterAs careful as Ichiro is with his equipment, hes even more careful with his body. He stretches a good deal, and not just before at-bats. Before games, he massages the soles of his feet with a wooden stick.I was quite amazed by the things he did, the stretching especially, Piniella says. He took it to a totally different level. He was fanatical about it. Thats probably one of the big reasons hes playing here at age 42. That stretching has helped him immensely in staying healthy and playing this long.Area 51Ichiro came to the Mariners the season after they lost Alex Rodriguez to free agency, a year after they traded Griffey and 2? years after they traded Randy?Johnson. He immediately learned to sign his name in English script, wore his first name on the back of his jersey -- the only active player to do so -- and took the Big Units old number: 51. His right-field position soon became known as Area 51, but his reach extended far beyond that.Ichiro became the face of the franchise in a very, very short period of time, Piniella says. After his original signing, his replica jersey initially outsold every other jersey. Ichiro was so popular in Seattle that for years there was a concession stand that sold Ichirolls (spicy tuna sushi), but alas, that menu item was dropped after the Mariners traded him to New York in 2012. His bobbleheads were so coveted that giveaway night lines resembled those for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Fans sent the club multiple songs about him. The club even received a request from someone who wanted to market an I-Cheerio cereal.The real Ichiro was so popular that Fake Ichiro would wander around downtown Seattle, signing autographs and posing for photographs. He made a mistake one game when he reached over the low fence down the right field line and grabbed a ball -- that was still in play.High school hot tubIchiro and fellow Japanese superstar Hideki Matsui first met when their high schools played against each other in 1991. After games, teams would take communal baths, but seniors were supposed to go in first. Ichiro, who was a senior, saw that Matsui, a junior, was already in the water. This annoyed Ichiro so much that more than a decade later when they were both in the majors and appeared on a TV show together, Ichiro asked Matsui: Why did you get in the bath first?The armIchiro isnt just a hitter. He pitched in high school and maintained his arm speed and control when he moved to the outfield as a pro. He showed off that arm in his first weeks with the Mariners when he threw out Terrence Long at third base on a ball to right field.Ill never forget how when he threw that ball, it had no loop to it, Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs says. I described it as a laser beam throw right to third baseman David Bell. He threw a strike. David Bell never moved his glove to catch it and then put down to tag him. ... It was one of the greatest throws Ive seen in 42 years of broadcasting.Ichiro, who was sent to the mound to record the final out of the 1995 Japanese All-Star Game, wanted to pitch many times in the majors. He finally got the chance in the final game of last season when he allowed one run and two hits in one inning against the Phillies.A man of quotesIchiro can be difficult with reporters, declining interviews or telling them to come back in a week or two. When he does do interviews, hell sometimes speak with his back to reporters while an interpreter translates his responses. But Ichiro can be funny and interesting when he does speak. He can be so intriguing, in fact, that author David Shields collected many of his quotes in a book -- and that was more than a decade ago.Five of Ichiros funniest or most interesting quotes:I think one of the requirements for being a DH is weighing at least 200 pounds, so maybe if I was that heavy I would do it, [but] the day I weigh 200 pounds is the day Im inside a coffin.-- to me in 2009Chicks who dig home runs arent the ones who appeal to me. I think theres sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. Id rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.-- to Brad Lefton in a 2009 New York Times storyTo tell the truth, Im not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to. If I ever saw myself saying Im excited going to Cleveland, Id punch myself in the face, because Im lying.-- to Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone in 2007If there is a problem, we need to notice it, what creates the problem. The problem usually isnt just on the cover. You need to look much deeper. For example, if were talking about a tree, and the tree has a problem, you need to look at the root. But you cannot see the root. The mistake is to keep watering the fruit. Thats not going to solve anything. You need to find where the problem is first.-- to reporters at the 2006 All-Star GameAugust in Kansas City is hotter than two rats f---ing in a sock.-- telling Bob Costas what his favorite American expression was?A spring and fall classicIchiro has never played in the World Series, but he did help the Orix BlueWave to the Japanese title in 1996 against the Yomiuri Tokyo Giants. He also led Japan to the championship in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic. And who knows? With the way hes hitting, maybe he can get the Marlins to the World Series this October.Hall of FamerIchiro cherishes baseball history. He once went to George Sislers grave to lay flowers and pay his respects to the man whose single-season hit record he broke in 2004. And to apologize, Heid says. He felt horrible that he broke a great mans record.The first time Ichiro visited Kansas City, he couldnt wait to tour the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. He wanted to understand those guys and what they went through and everything they did, Heid says. And their love of baseball because they didnt play for the money.And when Ichiro was named the 2001 rookie of the year, he answered questions from reporters over the phone. When they asked whether he was back in Japan, Ichiro said no, he was in the United States. When they asked where in the United States, he simply said, In the United States.He was sitting in an office at the Hall of Fame, there on the first of six visits he has made to the Hall. Thats how much the Hall means to him.When he tours the Hall, he carefully views the artifacts. During one visit, wearing thin white gloves, Ichiro took hold of one of Ty Cobbs old bats, held the barrel end to his ear and thumped the bat with his finger so that he could hear how tight the grain was. Ichiro, Heid says, was stunned when the Hall asked for mementos of his first season.Five years after he retires, Ichiro will be back in Cooperstown, New York, but this time, he will take the stage to deliver his induction speech. And his plaque will be on a wall.?Flights from Japan are going to be very full.China Jerseys Stitched .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. China Jerseys Cheap . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. China Jerseys Wholesale . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Cheap Jerseys From China . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. CARSON, Calif. -- Hampered by a hurting hip, Marcos Maidana absorbed everything Josesito Lopez could throw at him for two rounds. When Maidana got his legs back under him, the Argentine brawler made sure Lopez didnt get another chance. Maidana stopped Lopez late in the sixth round of their welterweight bout Saturday night, finishing a tumultuous fight with a merciless rally for his third straight victory. Maidana (34-3, 31 KOs) absorbed ample punishment from Lopez in a back-and-forth meeting of two willing brawlers, with Lopez particularly dominating the third and fourth rounds after Maidana took a shot to the hip. But Maidana rallied and knocked down Lopez with an overhand right in the sixth, following it with a crushing right uppercut that left Lopez wobbly and glassy-eyed, forcing the stoppage. "My character and my guts got me this victory," Maidana said through a translator. "In the second round, he hit me in my hip, and it was like I was paralyzed. The pain lasted for two rounds, and thats when he landed the shots. But my desire to win got me through it. He underestimated my power, and I knew I could knock him out." Maidana has won five of his last six bouts, and this victory should set him up for a big-money fight against another welterweight star, or even fellow Argentine Lucas Matthysse in the future. Cubas Erislandy Lara also survived the first two knockdowns of his career and stopped Alfredo Angulo in the 10th round of a similarly entertaining 154-pound bout in front of a sellout crowd outdoors at Home Depot Center. Lara was knocked down in the fourth and ninth rounds by the brawling Angulo, but the former Cuban amateur star apparently broke Angulos orbital bone around his left eye while peppering him with dozens of big shots. Angulos face was reddened and badly damaged when he abruptly turned his back and walked to his corner in the 10th, in too much pain to continue. The ringside doctor sent Angulo to a hospital. The main event matched that bouts excitement and violence. Maidana came out with his usual aggression, knocking back Lopez in the first two rounds, but Lopez (30-6) replied with big combinations and more push in the third and fourth. Maidana went to the canvas in the fourth, but it was ruled a slip. Maidana rallied again in the fifth, and he finished the fight with Lopez trapped on the ropes when referee Lou Moret stepped in. "I felt like it was a premature stoppage," said Lopez, who has lost three of his last four bouts. "He hurt me a little, but were professionals, and we fight in situations like that. He stunned me with a good right hand, but I was not out of the fight." Lopez led 48-47 on two judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with Maidana leading 48-47 on the third. The biggest crowd in Home Depot Center history packed the outdoor stadium south of downtown Los Angeles, filling the site of several memorable brawls in recent years. Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer said the 8,629 fans surpassed the previous attendannce record for Israel Vazquezs third fight with Rafael Marquez on March 1, 2008.dddddddddddd Lopez was a popular second-tier fighter from nearby Riverside, Calif., until he caught a wave of success for the past year since his stunning upset victory over Victor Ortiz at Staples Center last June. Lopez, a late replacement for Andre Berto in the bout, broke Ortizs jaw and forced the former welterweight champion to quit on his stool after the ninth round. Lopez parlayed his self-described "Rocky moment" into a lucrative bout with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez last September in Las Vegas, giving a decent challenge to the 154-pound Mexican champion before getting stopped in the fifth round. Moving back down to a more comfortable weight, Lopez accepted a difficult matchup with Maidana, one of the sports most exciting fighters. Maidana, who also beat Ortiz in June 2009 to make his international name, defeated Mexican star Erik Morales and lost decisions to Amir Khan and Devon Alexander recently, cementing a spot among Argentinas top fighters with Sergio Martinez and Matthysse. Maidana has been with respected trainer Robert Garcia for more than a year, but still hasnt lost the instincts that made him an entertaining fighter. Even before Maidana and Lopez hit the ring, the show could have been stolen in the penultimate bout. Lara outboxed Angulo in the opening three rounds, picking him apart with left hands and short shots inside -- but Angulo abruptly changed the story in the fourth round when he knocked Lara to the canvas with a big left hand. Lara got up unsteadily, but recovered to survive the round. Although Lara fought a smarter, more efficient bout in the ensuing rounds, he went down again in the ninth when Angulo caught him with another left hand, punctuating the shot by standing over the fallen Lara. The Cuban got up -- and he finished the fight in the 10th with one last big combination to Angulos face with 1:10 left. Angulo absorbed the shots, but abruptly turned his back and walked to his corner while Lara celebrated the win. "I was still winning the fight, even when he knocked me down," Lara said through a translator. "I knew I was going to stop him in the later rounds. He caught me with good shots, (but) I fought too hard to get here, through shark-infested waters in Cuba, to let a few knockdowns get in my way. Angulo had good power, but I used my movement and stepped and slid around him and landed my big left hand." Lara led 85-84 on two judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage, and Angulo led 86-83 on the third card. The Associated Press also had Lara up 85-84. "I wanted to stand in front of him and give the fans a good fight," Lara said. "Thats when I got caught." Earlier, junior middleweight prospect Jermell Charlo kept his unblemished record with a narrow unanimous decision over Demetrius Hopkins, the nephew of Bernard Hopkins. The cautious technical bout didnt impress the sellout crowd, which booed both fighters. ' ' '