双语有声阅读:Ichiro: Shining out of Japan 引"郎"入室，

Ichiro: Shining out of Japan 引"郎"入室，一棒定江山

Baseball may be known as America's favorite pastime, but the truth is Americans do not have a monopoly on the game. The popularity of baseball has spread with the American empire and is now played in ballparks from Toronto to Taipei, from Seattle to Seoul. And ever since the major leagues allowed non-whites to play, some of the best players in the game have come from outside the United States.

So why all the fuss about one Japanese player Ichiro Suzuki (just plain "Ichiro" to his fans) joining the American League and playing outfield for the Seattle Mariners¹. Maybe part of it is the inherent human dislike of change. Every major innovation in baseball has brought howls of derision and protest from fans, players, and critics; having an all-star player from Japan play in the major leagues represents change.

However, there is also the inherent nationalistic pride that Americans feel about their game, their players, and their league. Japan was supposed to be the place where American professional players went when they could not make it in the big leagues; Japan was never supposed to be the place where major league all-star players came from.

So one should not be surprised at the reaction generated by "Ichiro the Hero" when he signed a contract to play for "America's Baseball Team, the Seattle Mariners. In one fell swoop,it seemed, he changed everything Americans believed about baseball. 

Ichiro Suzuki was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on October 22, 1973. By the time he got to high school, he was already playing in Japan's national baseball championship. After high school, he was drafted by the Orix Blue Waves of the Pacific League and played with them for the next nine years.

While with the Blue Waves, Ichiro set individual records left and right and won seven batting titles in a row. The three-time Most Valuable Player also helped his team win the league championship title in 1998. For the kid from the sticks, this was the big time. Still, he dreamed of playing in the majors.

Then, last year, the Seattle Mariners did a US$28 million deal with the Blue Waves to get Ichiro. Despite the protests from fans and sports writers that Japanese players could not cut it in America, Seattle obviously thought the deal made sense. They needed a player who could score on the field and score with the fans. In Ichiro, it seemed, they would get what they needed.

So how has the diminutive² Ichiro fared in the big American show? His .350-plus batting average and multi-game hitting streaks³ have made him an all star and silenced most of his critics, his fielding has made him a regular feature on TV sports highlight shows; and his fan appeal has made the Mariners' owners very, very happy.

Not bad for a small Japanese import
 

1 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。

2 diminutive   

adj.小巧可爱的，小的

参考例句：

• Despite its diminutive size,the car is quite comfortable.尽管这辆车很小，但相当舒服。
• She has diminutive hands for an adult.作为一个成年人，她的手显得非常小。

3 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》