The ageless Ichiro hits 86 mph in 116-pitch shutout vs. All-Star women's team
Michael Clair
@michaelsclairFor some people, baseball is a game. Others, a way of life. For Ichiro, baseball is life. The 50-year-old sure-to-be-a-Hall-of-Famer simply can't leave the game behind -- whether it's suiting up in his Mariners uniform to help out the team during the season or crushing home runs into windows in the fall.
On Tuesday night at the Tokyo Dome, Ichiro was back on the mound for his annual All-Star game against the best high school girls baseball players in Japan. If you thought Ichiro -- or Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was also in the lineup -- wasn't going to take this seriously, you were wrong.
Ichiro pitched a complete game shutout on 116 pitches, striking out nine hitters, walking two and giving up just five hits in the 4-0 victory. Perhaps even more shocking, Ichiro managed to hit 86 mph with his fastball.
To put that in context, Jamie Moyer was 49 in his final big league season in 2012. That year, Moyer averaged just 78.6 mph on his heater. Frankly, Ichiro could probably help a big league team's bullpen right now.
Naturally, that wasn't Ichiro's only offering on the mound, though. As he showed off in the bullpen before the game, he has a pretty decent little slider, too.
Ichiro -- who many thought could have hit more home runs if he simply put his mind to it -- peppered the outfield stands with some BP blasts before picking up two hits in the game. After going hitless in the last two exhibition contests, Ichiro was relieved to break the slump.?
"Personally, I'm glad that it was a hit. I was so happy," Ichiro said in Japanese after the game. "I've had some decent hits as a professional, so I was frustrated and frustrated. I set a goal of one as a batter no matter what. I'm so happy."
Matsuzaka also showed off what he can do at the plate:
Though Ichiro's All-Stars may have won the game, women's baseball is quickly growing in the country. Ranked No. 1 in the world ahead of next year's Women's Baseball World Cup finals, there are now 23,000 women's baseball players in the country on 102 different teams. That includes a women's Koshien -- the famous amateur high school baseball tournament that enthralls the country.
More events like yesterday's can only help as women's baseball continues to reach new players and fans.