Former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine believes that Ichiro Suzuki thought he was going to make his MLB debut with the Amazings. But a short conversation with his agent probably eliminated any real chances.
Ichiro will go down as one of MLB’s greatest hitters of all time. During his 19-year career, the Japanese icon posted years between .350 and .372 batting averages, was a one-time MVP, a 10-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glove winner. If he had the power it would be illegal.
However, when they debuted in 2001, imports from Japan were not given as much importance as they are now. For the most part, many of the former stars of the Land of the Rising Sun disappointed. So expectations from Ichiro were not high. But many now look back and wonder if he had started his career in MLB a few years earlier, he might have had many of the all-time hits records.
Ichiro is a great “what if” story for teams that didn’t make much of an effort to beat out the Seattle Mariners for his services. One of them is the Mets as stories have surfaced over the last few years about New York’s interest and why they haven’t landed the outfielder.
The NY Mets colluded with the agent to void Ichiro Suzuki’s deal in 2001?
This week, former manager Bobby Valentine added a new layer to the story. in conversation sal lucata showHe claimed that he urged Mets management to make a large silent bid because he knew how talented he was after seeing him in person while managing in Japan.
Valentine also thought there was a better than average chance that the Mets could acquire Ichiro because he and the great outfielder were represented by the same agent, Tony Attanasio.
However, he stated that the agent and club were not on good terms because of how poorly Valentine’s contract was negotiated, and some in the organization may have confused the manager’s keen interest in Ichiro as an attempt to get his agent another good payday.
“If Ichiro had sat down and reflected on that time, I think he would have said, ‘Oh, I thought I was going to be a New York Met,'” Valentine said.
After reaching the World Series in 2000, the Mets declined in subsequent years. However, if the roster had had an elite hitter like Ichiro in his later years, including his next NLCS run in 2006, it would have been possible that the club would have reached the playoffs more often and ended its championship drought.
#Mets #manager #reveals #pettiness #killed #Ichiro #deal
