MIAMI _ Shozo Doi was the manager who tried to change Ichiro Suzuki.
Unsuccessfully, that is, though Doi's objection to the then-teenage upstart's unorthodox batting style prevented Ichiro from having more hits, at least in Japan.
Ichiro, who began Saturday two hits away from 3,000 in his major league career _ and another 1,278 in Japan _ recounted in an interview with ESPN The Magazine his resistance and how it got him sent to the minors in Japan when he was 19.
"The following year, the manager allowed me to do it my way. And I broke the all-time hits records in a season. That point is when I knew I had to have the courage to believe in myself, in that what I am doing is right for me," Ichiro said in the interview.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly recently discussed Ichiro's distinctive batting style as setting him apart from anyone else.
"His whole style is different," Mattingly said. "He's kind of on the move when he hits, he's kind of coming out of there, and lot of people say you've got to stay in there. But his style is, I think, unique. Especially here you don't see many guys who hit like Ich who are kind of on the move and almost on the run.
"I think that's what makes him unique. But obviously he's a really talented guy that works really hard to do what he does."
No one objected to Ichiro being Ichiro as he became the first player in MLB with 10 consecutive seasons with 200 hits or more.
But Mattingly, who was a hitting coach with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, said, "I would have trouble teaching like that. When you watch the Japanese players, a lot of the guys hit a lot more like that. I had (Hideki) Matsui a little bit in New York. He wasn't quite like that, he wasn't like on the move. But there were times you'd see him kind of coming out of there in that fashion.
"But Ich is a little bit more unique for me that I've had a chance to deal with. ... He's just a special cat."
