I think that most of the people that believe Ichiro is not a player with all the tools, has never seen him hit for power. In 1995, when he was still in Japan, he had 25 hr, with a .342 ba, 104 runs and 80 rbi's. Oh and do not forget about his 50 sb's that year as well. This was also done in 32 less games than the MLB. Ichiro can hit for power, no questions asked. If given the chance to hit in the derby, I can easily see him being a true contender. His japanese rookie statistics are just as outstanding as any pure hitter could create, although he did not make it the Japanese Pacific League until 20 because his coach thought his swing was too unorthodox, he was able to surmass 210 hits, and bat .385 in 130 games in 1994 (which is an ironically similar statistic to his 262 hit season, averaging roughly 1.5-1.6 hits a game).
Ichiro takes round-trip to All-Star history.
I think that most of the people that believe Ichiro is not a player with all the tools, has never seen him hit for power. In 1995, when he was still in Japan, he had 25 hr, with a .342 ba, 104 runs and 80 rbi's. Oh and do not forget about his 50 sb's that year as well. This was also done in 32 less games than the MLB. Ichiro can hit for power, no questions asked. If given the chance to hit in the derby, I can easily see him being a true contender. His japanese rookie statistics are just as outstanding as any pure hitter could create, although he did not make it the Japanese Pacific League until 20 because his coach thought his swing was too unorthodox, he was able to surmass 210 hits, and bat .385 in 130 games in 1994 (which is an ironically similar statistic to his 262 hit season, averaging roughly 1.5-1.6 hits a game).