Touch 'Em All: Yankees acquire Ichiro from Seattle
And the rich get richer. The New York Yankees, already owners of the best record in baseball, traded two minor-league pitchers to Seattle for hitting machine Ichiro Suzuki on Monday.
And the rich get richer.
The New York Yankees, already owners of the best record in baseball, traded two minor-league pitchers to Seattle for hitting machine Ichiro Suzuki on Monday.
The Yanks, while in Seattle, made the trade after learning that speedy outfielder Brett Gardner was lost to an elbow problem.
Most teams looking to add a bat for the stretch might end up with a journeyman hitting .261.
The Yanks get a .261 hitter who's a future Hall of Famer.
The 38-year-old Suzuki had spent his whole big-league career with Seattle.
A 10-time all-star, and 10-time Gold Glove winner, the former AL MVP is a career .322 hitter and holds the record for most hits in a season: 262 in 2004.
So, though Ichiro took a step back last season, hitting under .300 for the first time in his 12-year MLB career, you have to figure he'll come through with a couple or ten key hits.
The Safeco Field faithful got a chance to say goodbye - Ichiro started in right field and batted eighth for the Yanks against the M's. The fans gave him a 45-second standing ovation when he came to bat with one out in the third inning. He took off his helmet and bowed twice to the crowd - then knocked a single and stole second base.
So one of the game's all-time best will finally get a chance at something he never could get close to in Seattle after 2001: A World Series ring.
And you're no Durocher
After Angels phenom Mike Trout went 5 for 10 with a home run and a triple, walking three times and scoring four runs in a three-game series against the Rangers, Texas skipper Ron Washington decided to use his words to unsettle the Millville, N.J., marvel.
"He's not Willie Mays," Washington said after Los Angeles beat the Rangers, 7-4, on Sunday night.
That's telling him.
Still, it's unlikely he's Super Joe Charboneau. Trout scored a run for the 14th straight game, has 70 so far this season - both new AL rookie records - and could be the youngest to win a batting title since some guys named Kaline and Cobb.
Dempster: Still here
Chicago Cubs righthander Ryan Dempster tweeted Monday that he hadn't been traded to the Atlanta Braves, as reports had it.
To be sure, Dempster, in Pittsburgh before Monday night's game against the Pirates, also told the Chicago Tribune there was no deal - but he did allow that he might be mistaken: "If it's on the Internet, it must be true."