Ichiro is a world-famous professional baseball player recognized in Japan and the United States.
He has played for 28 seasons in Japan’s professional baseball and American Major League, setting numerous records in the major league.
The records set by Ichiro are as follows.
・MLB record for most hits in a season (262 hits)
・World record for total hits in professional baseball (certified by Guinness World Records as 4,367 hits in the MLB and Japanese professional baseball.)
・World record for most games played as an active player (3,604 games played in Japan and the U.S.)
・The only player in Major League history to achieve 200 or more hits for 10 consecutive years.
・The only Asian in Major League history to win the leading hitter and stealth base, season MVP, Silver Slugger Award, and Gold Glove Award (10 consecutive years)
・The only player to win simultaneously MVP, Rookie of the Year, Leading Batter, Stealing Base leader, Silver Slugger Award, and Gold Glove Award in his first season in the major leagues.
So, he did play baseball at the highest level.
But what made it possible to do that?
There was an idea that Ichiro focused on until he reached this high level.
I read the book “Interviews with Ichiro, ” a book written in Japanese by Yuta Ishida, a freelance sports journalist who has written many interview articles on Ichiro.
According to the book, Ichiro seems obsessed with the idea of “playing baseball for his own benefit.”
Here, I show you several quotes said by Ichiro regarding “playing baseball for his own benefit” from the book “Interviews with Ichiro.”
Playing baseball as a career would ever be able to get to this point.
I don’t think a player who plays baseball as a career would ever be able to get to this point.
For me, comparing myself to others is meaningless.
I know my abilities, and I have a goal. So, I have a long way to go.
When you’re aiming for someone else’s numbers, you may be aiming far below your own limits, but when you’re aiming for your numbers or goals, you’re always challenging your limits.
If there’s one thing I can say, it’s that players who play baseball to make a living will never be able to reach this point.
If baseball becomes a means of livelihood, the desire to move forward will disappear.
Skills of individuals make up a strong team.
The strengths or skills of individuals make up a strong team.
The team becomes strong when each player demonstrates their best performance and fulfills their role.
But that’s not the case with weak teams.
You can’t win because each player cannot demonstrate their strengths, and you’re trying to cover things up by saying if the team wins, it is okay.
That is an excuse for not being able to demonstrate your best performance.
Then, you are even less likely to perform well, and the team will end up losing the game.
My driving force is that I love baseball.
I’m sure there are people who practice out of a sense of responsibility or treat baseball as their paying job.
But for me, my driving force is that I love baseball.
That’s why I practice.
I am doing it for my own benefit
I met a lot of people during this off-season, and all the top players, runners, and performers told me the same thing.
“I’m doing it for my own benefit.”
There was not a single person telling me what they were doing for the team. None. Zero.
They only think about themselves.
That’s completely understandable.
If it is okay to win even if you can’t hit the ball, it means, in extreme terms, it is okay to win without you.
There is no way there is a player who just wants to win the championship, even if he stays on the bench all the time.
Because if you really do that, you will get fired.
Summary
Ichiro played baseball for himself.
And, as Ichiro says in the book, many top players also play for themselves.
It could be true not only for baseball players but also for people working in general.
Everyone is working for themselves.
People work for their own benefit; that is why they set high goals and never give up.
Finding what you like and doing it for your own benefit may be the key to success.
