Ichiro Suzuki could hit just about anybody, but he could not hit Scot Shields. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, though.
Reporters from Japanese media outlets shadow Japanese-born players wherever they go. No sooner would Shields retire Suzuki – he did so 28 times in 36 at-bats – than a Japanese reporter would appear at Shields’ locker, kindly asking the Angels reliever for the secret to his success.
Shields politely declined, time after time. Bud Black, then the Angels’ pitching coach, marveled at the persistence of the reporter. Suzuki, perhaps the greatest contact hitter of his generation, would have to find some other way to solve the riddle of Shields, the unimposing setup man who struck him out 40% of the time.