About this item
No positional player from Japan had seen success in Major League Baseball until hitting star Ichiro Suzuki arrived in Seattle in 2001. He immediately won the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. During his career he set a record for most hits in a season, won numerous gold glove fielding awards and batting titles, and in 2016 became only the fourth player born outside of the United States to get to three thousand hits. His combined totals from Japan and the majors make Ichiro the most prolific hitter of all time.
About the Author
Budd Bailey graduated from Clarence Central High School in 1973 and from Syracuse University in 1977. However, he has been involved in communications even before that, as he was the editor of his junior high school newspaper. Budd worked at WEBR Radio from 1978 to 1986, covering events and hosting a talk show. In 1986, he began a stint in the public relations department of the Buffalo Sabres. And in 1993, Budd started to work in the sports department of The Buffalo News, where he had a variety of roles over the next 24 years. He won the Tom Borrelli Award as the National Lacrosse League's media personality of the year in 2011. Since retiring in 2017, Budd has worked as the columnist for BuffaloSportsPage.com. He's written 11 books as of 2019, including "This Day in Buffalo Sports History" - which is not available through amazon.com.
