Suzuki Hits a Double

Faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall outfield fences in a single bound, Seattle right fielder Ichiro Suzuki parlayed his vast and varied baseball skills into an American League most-valuable-player award Tuesday, becoming only the second player to win MVP and rookie-of-the-year honors in the same season.

Suzuki, who came to the major leagues after nine seasons in Japan’s Pacific League, edged out Oakland slugger Jason Giambi, 289 points to 281, in the tightest MVP race since Juan Gonzalez defeated Alex Rodriguez, 290-287, for the 1996 AL award.

Boston’s Fred Lynn was the other rookie MVP winner, in 1975.

The speedy and versatile Suzuki, who led the major leagues with a .350 batting average, 56 stolen bases and 242 hits, received 11 first-place and 10 second-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

Giambi, the 2000 AL MVP who hit .342 with 38 home runs and 120 runs batted in, received eight first-place and 11 second-place votes.

Mariner second baseman Bret Boone, who hit .331 with 37 homers and 141 RBIs, finished third with 259 points, drawing seven first-place votes, and fourth-place finisher Roberto Alomar, the Cleveland Indian second baseman, got the two other first-place votes.

“I knew it was possible, and I was told that whoever won, it would be very close,” Suzuki, 28, said on a conference call from Seattle. “But I didn’t expect to win. I’m very pleased and honored to be among these good players and to be an MVP candidate.”

Suzuki, who was named division series MVP after leading the Mariners to a five-game victory over Cleveland, also joined such luminaries as Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle on the list of AL MVP winners.

“To be among those great players ... I cannot be a regular player anymore,” Suzuki said. “I cannot just be an ordinary player.”

Suzuki was anything but ordinary in 2001. He arrived with high expectations, having won seven batting titles and three MVP awards in Japan. He also wore a $27-million price tag, t$13 million to Japan’s Orix Blue Wave for the rights to his services and $14-million for a three-year contract.

But Suzuki not only exceeded expectations, he soared well beyond them, leading the Mariners to a phenomenal 116-victory season after they had lost all-star shortstop Alex Rodriguez to the Texas Rangers.

Suzuki’s 242 hits were the most in the major leagues since 1930. He was among the league leaders in runs, with 127; total bases, with 316, and triples, with eight. He had a major league-leading 75 multi-hit games and set a league record with 192 singles. He hit .445 with runners in scoring position. He drew more All-Star game votes, 3,373,035, than any other player. Suzuki is only the 18th player in big league history to win an MVP award with fewer than 20 home runs and 100 RBIs.

“When we signed him, we didn’t know what we were going to get,” said Lee Pelekoudas, the Mariners’ assistant general manager. “Then you see all he’s done.... You sit back and look at that and it’s flabbergasting.”

Suzuki’s speed helped him get dozens of infield hits and chase down balls hit into the gap. He also has a strong arm.

“I don’t know how much [defense and baserunning] influenced the voters,” Suzuki said. “But I would not be the kind of player I am without talking about defense and scoring runs.”

Teammates often raved about Suzuki’s power, and Suzuki launched many balls into the outfield seats during batting practice, but the leadoff hitter had only eight home runs and 69 RBIs. Does he hope to hit for more power next season?

“My approach to batting practice is different,” Suzuki said. “If I tried to hit for more power, I might lose who I am as a player.”

The key to his season, Suzuki said, was batting .336 with 11 RBIs in April, giving him confidence. He went on to hit .379 in May, .339 in June, .268 in July, .429 in August and .349 in September-October.

“Everybody likes to get off to a good start as a first-year player, but if I didn’t have a good start, it would have put a lot of pressure on me,” Suzuki said. “The great start was the reason I had such a good season.”

So was having players such as Boone, Edgar Martinez and John Olerud behind him in the lineup and a relaxed clubhouse atmosphere that smoothed his transition from Japan to the U.S. Boone is a free agent, though, and Suzuki seemed to cringe at the thought of playing 2002 without him.

“Because of Bret’s presence in the lineup, I could concentrate on my role; it was important having him,” Suzuki said.

“Next year, I hope we can eat rice bowl together again.”

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AL MVP Voting

Voting for the 2001 American League most-valuable-player award, with first-, second-and third-place votes and total points based on a 14-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1system:

Others who received votes: Roger Clemens (N.Y. Yankees), 67; Manny Ramirez (Boston), 50; Derek Jeter (N.Y. Yankees), 42; Mariano Rivera (N.Y. Yankees), 27; Tino Martinez (N.Y. Yankees), 18; Mark Mulder (Oakland), 12; Rafael Palmeiro (Texas), 5; Doug Mientkiewicz (Minnesota), 5; Edgar Martinez (Seattle), 4; Cristian Guzman (Minnesota), 4; Mike Cameron (Seattle), 4; Miguel Tejada (Oakland), 3; Kazuhiro Sasaki (Seattle), 3; Torii Hunter (Minnesota), 2; Mark Sweeney (Kansas City), 2; Barry Zito (Oakland), 2; Garrett Anderson (Angels), 2; Corey Koskie (Minnesota), 1; Shannon Stewart (Toronto), 1.