The pride of Japan. An All Star, and future Hall Of Famer. He plays hard, he's humble and is a well respected player around the league. He WILL be the first Japanese player to get enducted.

leads you world in hits

GOOD

The most exciting player in MLB today. Plays the classic hit and run style of baseball. No flaws in this mans' game. A huge plus for Seattle. One of the reasons I still watch baseball.

Ichiro's the man. He had a tough spring this year, but did you notice - no one had any doubts he'd get it together come regular season. He's a machine.

May end up being the best hitter of all-time. Certainly the best right now. Look at 2007 when he was hitting .250 for about the first month of the season. He almost led the league by the end of the year.

As other reviewers commented, Ichiro can't do everything (such as hit for power); but they should remember that there are only a few Babe Ruths or Willie Mayses in the history of baseball, and you can't blame Ichiro for not being one of them. In fact, that one-dimensional quality makes Ichiro's achievement all the more amazing, because every defense knows exactly what he will do--slap at the ball--yet he continues to do it with success, year after year. In that sense, only Ichiro and Bonds actually change the way the game is played, as Joe Morgan once commented about him. Pitchers and defenses have tried every which way to get him out, but they still can't do it consistently.

Good fielder, but essentially a singles hitter without much power to speak of.

A useful tablesetter, and a definate plus in the field, but his reputation is overblown.

Probably a 3.5, but I'm not feeling all that generous today.

Ichiro gets overlooked because he plays in Seattle. He's got great speed and has the slap shot single down to a science.

All-around excellent player. He his a hitting machine and can launch the ball when it's necessary. Solid defender with a gun for an arm. His speed is top-notch and he's an on-base threat in every plate appearance. One of the best bunters in the league.

Exteremely overrated. I admit he's good, but when a guy is expected to hit .350 this season and is hitting less than .300 (and at the same time can't drive in runs) he is bad. And not to mention that despite his stats he got a lot of all-star votes!

Best contact hitter in the game today, classy fielder and has speed. All-around dynamism makes him probably the single most entertaining player to watch.

Mr. Consistancy. So what if he doesn't hit it out of the ballpark on a regular basis, not everyone can be Babe Ruth. Let it be noted that most players would kill to have kind of his success and career. Great with the fans also - Seattle made one of their wisest choices ever in signing on this player.

a very good hitter but also overrated, his on base percetage could be better but you have to give him props for hitting the ball 262 times in a season. cannot hit for power at all and doesn't drive in runs since he leadsoff

I wouldn't be able to hit the ball 260 times let alone in fair territory and without getting out.

Probably will flirt with .400 this season, but wont get there. He will have too many at bats cause he doesnt walk that much. But, this guy is the best leadoff man in baseball in probably the last 5 years at least.

Awesome eye and patience at the plate.Very nice speed, can steal bases and play the field.MVP caliber player.

i was wondering who the next Tony Gwynn would be. great OBP and seems to hit the ball every time he is up to bat.

The best Japanese player ever. Also in the top five best Seattle Mariners players ever.

Oh, come on. He holds the record for hits in a season.

great defender...good hitter, but has no power. overrated.

Ichiro is the best.He came from a different country and still dominates.Hes not a show off and he has great speed.Not a lot of people reconize him because of the team he plays for.

Better than Barry Bonds. You don't need roids to hit well, I guess.

Best hitter i have ever seen

He's about to break the one-season hit record. WOW!

A very fine player but overrated offensively as most people put far too much emphasis on batting average. When judging leadoff hitters one has to start with on-base %. His lifetime OBP in this country is .372..very good but not overwhelming by any means. He has had two seasons with OBPs in the 380's but last season it was .352 which is not good for a leadoff hitter. He did NOT deserve the 2001 AL MVP award; another example of the collective ignorance of the BBWAA.

Great hitter and fielder, but not very patient at the plate. He also seems to run out of gas towards the end of every season.

He is so cool love his batting style.

Ichiro is great in the field and at the plate. He might be the best leadoff hitter in the game right now.

don't like him, don't like his team. he might be better then a 1 but look how he failed to deliver in only his second year. deffidently not as good as people want to believe

No doubt a great all around player. He can pile on the hits and steal the bases, all while batting over .300. Amazing. He's even already on his way to becoming the all-time hits leader.

Yeah, He's pretty cute.

Great player but no Sadaharu Oh!!!!

Will go down as one of the best players in baseball. He is amazingly fast, an excellent fielder, an excellent hitter in the clutch, and he has an amazing arm.

This guy is fufreakingnominal. He can hit, run and field. He is a perfect example of what baseball SHOULD be. Quick instincts. He is, right now, WAY AHEAD OF HIS TIME. If he keeps his pace, and doesn't make the Hall of Fame, then the world as we know is over.

Ichiro Is A Breath Of Fresh Air!

Of the current crop of Japanese players who are not pitchers, Ichiro is clearly the best. His only fault is that he doesn't hit for power.

lucky first year

one word for you, overrated. Don't get me wrong, he is a good player, but he is simply not as good as crazed Mariner fans make him out to be. He didn't even have that good of a season last year, as pitchers are learning how to pitch to him. He's ok, but definitely not the "greatest player ever", as some crack heads are saying on here.

This guy batted over .300 in his rookie season?!? This guy is a freak of nature. Even though the Mariners don't capitalize much anymore, they need to hang on to this guy.

Ichiro! Ichiro! Ichiro! Great hitter, needs to learn how to steal bases a bit more effectively. Great speed, just not very skilled at it yet.

Awesome ballplayer. . .not worthy of 5 stars until he can maintain this level for a few years. Breaking racial stereotypes is also a plus.

He's a legitimate 5-tool player. Sporting an unorthodox swing, Ichiro is able to cover the entire plate and more. His hands are so quick, he's nearly impossible to strike out. He won't walk, either, because of his unreal plate coverage. He runs like crazy, too, especially with that swing; he's already well on his way to first at the point of contact. He's probably the best baserunner in the majors, IQ-wise as well. And he's got more power than he's shown us. He's kind of holding back, since he's leading off, setting the table for Edgar and Boone. In the field, he is very scary. His jumps are great, Andruw Jones-caliber even. His instincts are great, also, and his arm is maybe he best in baseball. He's just unbelievable.

The best baseball player ever. Don't disagree. You have facts running against you if you do. No one can hit as good as he can, get on base like he can, steal base like he can, and run as fast as he can. That's just offensively. On defense, no one has the accuracy he does, the skill he does and the arm he does.

For a while at the beginning of the season last year, I didn't know what all the hype about this guy Ichiro was. I then in April saw the now famous clip of Ichiro throwing out that runner at third base from right field. I thought to myself, "Wow. This guy is good." Then I saw Ichiro went 4 for 6 or had a myriad multiple-hit games. He was a demon on the bases, stealing the most in the AL. His proficient hitting amazed me. I think he finished his season with a .350 average or thereabouts. He is an amazing player that comes along maybe once in a generation. I didn't see many of his games (I'm a diehard Yankee fan), but the accolades he receives, he deserves.

Show me a better player, and I'll change my vote.

It's truly amazing this way Ichiro has come in and just dominated. Bobby Valentine said a few years ago that Ichiro was not only the best position player in Japan, but that he was in the top five players in the world. Ichiro has proved Valentine correct this year. He seems to get on base two or three times per game, is an incredibly disruptive force on the bases, and makes great plays in the outfield. He almost certainly will start in the MLB All-star game next month and is making all of Seattle forget A-Rod and Junior.