Ichiro Suzuki’s journey to the MLB has been an interesting one. He spent the beginning of his career with the Orix Blue Wave, a professional baseball team in Japanese league Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played with them from 1992 until 2000. Suzuki was initially in the developmental “farm system” because his swing, later coined the “Pendulum” swing, was unorthodox. When a new coach arrived, Suzuki was given more play time, eventually being placed as the leadoff batter. He would soon set a record with 210 hits in a single season, the first time a Japanese player had more than 200 hits in a single season.
The Pendulum Swings, The Rose Wilts
