And, Still, Fuck Ichiro!

[Fman99]

Nice long form piece here about him on the ESPN. He's an odd bird.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Great piece. Ichirio seems a bit of a sad, tortured figure. Why don't people here like this guy? I've always thought he's great.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It's because Met Fairy's mother-in-law likes him.

She seems to have abandoned us, so I think it's okay for us to like Ichiro if we want to.

My mother-in-law, however, likes Esther Williams, and I'm still here, so I'd appreciate it if everyone here would despise Esther Williams!

Thanks!

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: My mother-in-law, however, likes Esther Williams, and I'm still here, so I'd appreciate it if everyone here would despise Esther Williams! Thanks!

Decent swimmer.
She couldn't act worth shit.
OK?
Later

[Edgy MD]

I think the world of Ben, but I can't make myself hate Esther Williams.

[Centerfield]

If it's apples to apples, shouldn't we get an opportunity to fuck Esther Williams?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Sure! Why not?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Fuck Esther Williams with the dildo in Kevin Plawecki's locker. And then ask her all about her wrist-cock technique.

[Guest d'Kong76]

If someone walked up to me this morning and asked who Esther Williams is
I would have said she played Florida on Good Times. Weird.

[G-Fafif]

Esther Williams could play ball -- with some real Wolves, too.

[Edgy MD]

And Esther Rolle could swim!

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yes, but could she swim without having to refer to the manual?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Esther Williams was quite lovely. I don't know why we all hate her!

[Guest cooby]

Speaking of ichoro, when I was at a game with metfairy last summer he was throwing baseballs backward over his head into the crowd without any regard for where they might land. Dickhead

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Yes, but could she swim without having to refer to the manual?

That's her Good Times script. She's multi-tasking!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I have been baffled and troubled by the F Ichiro movement around here from the start. That's not a thing I can get behind.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Ichiro to Esther Williams to Good Times, in like, 7 posts. The CPF, ladies and gents.

[Edgy MD]

My mother-in-law loved Larry Gatlin.

[Benjamin Grimm]

What is he doing in Morticia Addams' chair? Fuck him!

[Centerfield]

By the way, don't like Ichiro? You might be part Korean!

"I want to beat South Korea so badly," Ichiro said, "that the South Koreans won't want to play Japan for another 30 years."

You think Red Sox-Yankees is intense? Try throwing in decades of military occupation, annihilation of the language, customs and historical artifacts, and turning young girls into sex slaves. That will really up the stakes a bit. Ichiro didn't help matters much with the quote above.

Then there was this game (including an appearance by CPF favorite Dae-Sung Koo!)

https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/baseball/article/Ichiro-forced-to-eat-words-1198594.php

After which, Ichiro said it was "the most humiliating day of my career". Ouch.

My wife's aunt lived with us for many years when the kids were young. She barely took any interest in the Mets games that were on TV nightly at our place. But when South Korea was in the World Baseball Classic, she made me look like a casual fan. Try mentioning the name Ichiro to her. Then duck.

[Frayed Knot]

The interesting thing about Ichiro's eventual HoF induction will be to hear him speak English, something he reportedly does well according to the very small group of folks who have heard him do so.
He has never, to my knowledge, conducted an interview or even answered a single question in English during his now 17 season MLB career.

On the other hand we'll get to hear the same thing with Vlad Guerrero this summer, except that I don't know if he ever learned any English.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was in Japan for two weeks in 2006, and I found that most people who were younger than me were able to speak English. Not necessarily fluent, but able to hold a conversation. As old as Ichiro is as a ballplayer, he's about ten years younger than I am, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if he has some proficiency in English, especially since he's been in the United States for so many years.

[Frayed Knot]

Oh, like I said, he is reportedly quite English proficient, just meticulously never when a camera or microphone is around.
It's Japanese to their cameras & mics but always via a translator to stateside media.

[ashie62]

Ichiro, a very very great player.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Not that I have met him or anything, but I really have never had a problem with Ichiro.

[Zvon]

IIRC the "fuck Ichiro!" bit started as a joke, and no real animosity was involved. I'm sure he did something to deserve it though.
Personally I love the guy.

Very cool graphic work on the header to that article. Haven't been able to finish reading it yet.
I may wait for the movie.

[fimg=600:wwizoo5c]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FgVvUiZB_oUn5y8XNKyfgoVK-Dz_y27ZQ3OCV9753yiMDnpkct-ffVhqmPzQETIOgoE35mQP56Ht2B8PplScHnilLpLsMtJ-eLfgfwzz94mdGGSBM8GDs9SsVP0mz_J9yckOkKlvky6jg8_eFHaGLZtHHg-MtlCEAjIbPguN4OWAlnVp9zgZLBp_GHUy17Khnnnds37n6Kd4eBfzl71B47hpOQLb_IQQAZ6M_kXdCOj_U-Tozu_H682NwadUeazDkOBCtE2BPTw-Pl3SbptTvrHhpDSJ5Vks0FtLiqv4wPRMbf-qIKnTAEzMp8f6rsuZ1zexULgoCiM95Sg0GS7fpZNfsZ6AGxstDukMh0svthlFIvQRl850QVcijN5LU5zfvMNAvMPJJrFOuR-SZxZT0X_0TNtBVcmhagJGsuPOPEG2S4FhUfSgD_Z9xJpF40ZW3nNvQaHaX3xHx-AcWO0OxoGrPPoQ5POyvjw6oAQTuLJzu9j9KJ8ZHGTBRwN2fKGofiXZ-fcXb0tn2pyoSojKAeWaVIrxUaDUahwo4JRC4LjHFWGeI6DCkm8vtt59T0syCfe93JJq3-mHvPnVh8_Zq63Y6Lq0v5Elm7Jih3BM=w1600-h900-no[/fimg:wwizoo5c]

[MFS62]

I thought I was carrying on a long-time CPF tradition and didn't know the origins of it.
I have nothing against the guy.
And now that I think about it, anyone who can challenge or erase records held by Pete Rose is a hero in my book.
Go Ichiro.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

Maybe this needs to be added to the CPF FAQ.

themetfairy (June 2017) wrote: It's a reaction to my mother-in-law's bandwagoning Ichiro fandom in the early 2000s. Enough to turn anyone off to his self-centeredness, personal souvenir stand in the Safeco outfield, etc. Fuck you Ichiro!

themetfairy (April 2017) wrote: Fman99 wrote: Yeah, sit down Ichiro! And, you know, fuck your own self and whatnot! Why do we hate him again? I always forget. Because of my mother-in-law's fleeting bandwagon fandom. Fuck You Ichiro!

themetfairy (August 2016) wrote: Centerfield wrote: Why don't you like him metfairy? It's in-law related hatred going back to his Seattle days, the Ichiro store within Safeco, etc. And I agree with you that he has a certain douchiness quality about him.

Metfairy hasn't visited this forum in nearly five months. I'm not sure, but it might be safe to stop hating Ichiro.

[Centerfield]

MFS62 wrote: I thought I was carrying on a long-time CPF tradition and didn't know the origins of it. I have nothing against the guy. And now that I think about it, anyone who can challenge or erase records held by Pete Rose is a hero in my book. Go Ichiro. Later

So, all kidding aside, I've always had a great admiration for the dedication and success that the guy has had. Has always handled himself like a class act. No controversies, no bad press in now 18 years of MLB. When he was younger I thought he came across as arrogant and douchy. But I always thought it might be because we didn't know him well. I remember how people used to get ticked off about Shinjo, when we all knew he had not an ounce of bad intent.

I actually really got a kick out of the humidor story when I first heard it. It reminded me of the "Keep bats warm" scene from Major League. I remember thinking this guy is like a real-life Cerrano.

Reading this article, it's pretty clear that this guy is battling some pretty severe personal demons, and likely has some form of autism or OCD. And like MFS says, anyone who can take down Pete Rose's record (or at least make him sweat) is ok in my book.

[Centerfield]

But the real story in this thread is why metfairy hasn't posted in 5 months.

Should we reach out? Not the same without her.