I’m really not a sports fan, and I know (and, to be honest, care) so little about baseball that, for the most part, the sport may as well not even exist for me.

However, when my brother - who lives in Seattle, loves sports, and has season tickets for the Seattle Mariners - pointed out Ichiro Suzuki to me, I did sit up and take notice. Ichiro is an über-cool Japanese guy who plays baseball more smoothly and suavely than I ever thought possible. With his pristine uniform and his aura of steely calm at the plate, he is the polar opposite of my (admittedly unfair) stereotype of the tobacco-chewing, crotch-grabbing, slightly beer-bellied baseball player.

I was just reading an article about Ichiro in the New York Times this morning (login: wrreaders). At the time the article was written, Ichiro was on the verge of breaking the record for the most hits in a season in major league baseball; the record of 257 hits was made by one George Sisler 84 years ago.

It seems that at last night’s Mariners game, the record was broken (I don’t know if my brother was in attendance - but I guess he’s probably kicking himself if he wasn’t). I was happy for Ichiro when I read that, but I was even more happy when I read how Ichiro handled the record-breaking moment:

"With fans still cheering, Suzuki ran to the first-base seats, bowed respectfully and then shook hands with Sisler’s 81-year-old daughter, Frances Sisler Drochelman, and other members of the Hall of Famer’s family."

"My father would have been delighted," Drochelman said later. "He would be so happy to know such a fine young man was doing so well."

Indeed. The guy’s got class.

Further reading…