Ichiro reflects on 2,500th hit, his legacy and using criticism to motivate himself

Pretty boisterous clubhouse tonight, as you can imagine. Plenty of Mariners contributed with hits and late-inning relief work. Ultimately, the game will be remembered for Ichiro notching his 2,500th hit on a four-hit night that brought back memories of what he used to do a little more frequently.

I asked Ichiro about how he’ll view reaching the milestone. “I’ve broken many records over the past 12 years,” he said, through interpreter Antony Suzuki. “But now, if you look at me when I first got here in 2001, if I’d said on my first day that my goal was to hit 2,500, people would have said I was crazy.

“But now, if you look back, things do come true. That’s how I see myself now and I still look back to how I felt the first day here because there’s that passion inside that’s all the same.  I think there are two things that come to mind,” Ichiro said. “There’s that passion, that love to the game that kept me motivated until this day. And there is also the criticism that came along with that. That keeps burning in my heart and brought me to this day.”

Ichiro was asked whether he’s talking about recent criticism over his numbers and playing time. No, he replied. He’s talking about criticism throughout his career. He uses it as a motivator to do positive things on the field. Ichiro talked some more about his motivations. I asked him whether the pressure of topping milestones gets…

via Ichiro reflects on 2,500th hit, his legacy and using criticism to motivate himself | Mariners Blog | The Seattle Times.