Seattle Sports Insider

Will Ichiro Step Up And Demonstrate Needed Leadership

Posted by

TAD

5/6/10

Why isn't the club house chemistry working. Griffey and Sweeney are on the team primarily to do what??? Yes we want them to hit the ball but based on their salaries we can rightly assume their talent was not in demand throughout the league; ergo we should not expect any more then replacement player performance.

Why isn't the Wak's belief system combined with the professional, calming/performing enhancing presence of Sweeney and Griffey working to promote increased or at least average/expected results from Lopez, Bradley, Figgins, Kotchman, or our Catching Tandem. Griffey and Sweeney are proverbial lame ducks.

I'm not blaming Ichiro one bit for our start - he has actually had one of his better Aprils of recent years, but it would be nice for him to show a modicum of vocal leadership and thereby become one of the veteran players who set the tone on the field and the in club house.

He has been stateside for several years now, enough to become familiar with both the language and the culture. It's time for him to earn his 17M/yr. Sure he can hit an impressive but somewhat 200 empty singles a year, but what about setting a visible/vocal tone and be a driving force to take this team to a higher level.

Although not on this site, throughout much of the M's blogosphere much of the fault is directed at Sweeney or Griffey, agreeably their numbers are poor but they are basically performing at the level for which they are getting paid. It's time we start looking at Ichiro. The M's have made him the face of their franchise for the last serveral years and he will be around for the next several years.

It would be nice if he realized his responsiblity to his teammates and to the organization by becoming the extroverted leader he demonstrated that he is capable of being while on Japan's WBC team. It definitely could cause one to think that he has more passion or desire for the success of his national team than for that of his Seattle Mariners team.

Could this dual personality possibly be why some of his teammates began to doubt his intentions a few years back and began to mumur that all he cared about was padding his stats - you rarely (never) hear Ichiro being the spokesman for the team. (When Edgar was on the team a few yrs back, he was not a big vocal guy and traditionally demonstrated leadership thru example - but there were still times he made his presence known and voice heard)

I'm not a huge Jeter fan of the NYY, but he is always present thru the good and the bad to answer questions and be the face of his team - (where was Ichiro when the Bradley incident was going down, I heard a Tacoma Tribune reporter say that Sweeney, Figgins, and Jack Wilson were huddled together discussing the issue the night it occurred, Ichiro needs to show team involvement and not just wait to be tickled by Griffey). The Yankees made Jeter their captain in 2003 at a relatively young baseball age of 28 yrs old. Jeter quite capably illustrated the readiness to accept the burden and responsibility of Yankees Captain in the very intense sports media spotlight NYC, it is then not too much to ask Ichiro to step up and shoulder the load it takes be a leader.

Griffey and Sweeney won't be around next year to do it for you, so Ichiro show us that this is your team.

Lets go Ichiro your time is now, this is your team.

Comments

I don't get it

No offense intended, implied, or even hinted at -- but I've heard the whistle of this train of thought before on other sites and just don't seem to have the brain cells necessary to see the validity of the argument.
I don't believe everyone has the personality to be a regularly vocal leader. Ichiro seems to lead mostly by example -- and production. And both of those speak as loudly as have ever been heard in my time as a baseball fan.
To require him to be other than he is, when what he is is phenomenal, is simply baffling to me.
My $.02 -- and I'm not sure it's worth that much. *grins*

Language difficulties can take very long to conquer

Thank you for an interesting post Tad. It gives good food for thought. I have to respectfully disagree with you however.
I'm not sure if you too have experienced life in another country, where you start to learn a new language and culture from scratch, but it is a daunting matter. I'm trying to do the reverse that Ichiro is doing in Japan right now, as an American living in Kyushu. I have managed to achieve "conversational fluency" at this point after 10 years in and out of the country, but EVERY SINGLE DAY I find myself beating my head against a wall in frustration that I cannot communicate my thoughts to the same degree that I can in English. It's a constant battle not to lose myself to frustration. If you speak another language, you'll know what I mean when I say that your personality changes when you speak another language. Often you lose confidence if nothing else, but words and language drastically shape our behavior and thought patterns (I can give you a reading list on the subject if you would like from my colleagues in linguistics, but Derida [sp?]'s Gramatica would be a start).
For a perfectionist like Ichiro, I suspect this is the reason why he has not been more vocal. The reason I make this argument is that, if you look at his work in the WBC, he WAS leading the Japan team, and he WAS extremely vocal. What is the difference in circumstances? Communcation. It's very, very difficult to lead and command when you cannot communicate the heart of what you're trying to say. Being a vocal leader and moving people WITH WORDS is extremely difficult when you're stumbling for the right nuance. Saying, "Let's go team!" is easy. Trying to rally a crew of individuals with a motivational speech when you can only communicate 60 to 80% of what you wish to say is difficult.
It's for this reason that I suspect Ichiro chooses to lead by example in his work ethic. Edgar did the same, and I'm a bit frustrated by the double standard which exists in this area. Edgar was never criticized for his silent but stoic attitude, while Ichiro is. I'm not sure why, although I have my suspicions (which make me too depressed just to think about).
I think for those who DO appreciate a lead by example personality though, Ichiro does receive a deep amount of respect. Raul Ibanez was one such example, who was quoted in Drayer and Baker's articles as highly impressed by Ichiro and all he did. It's those who did not appreciate this view (aka JJ "I'll blame everyone else for my trouble" Putz and Carlos "It's not my weight that's causing me to pitch poorly" Silva).
Finally, I think there's the issue of personality styles. Some people just aren't cut out to be leaders, and forcing them to do so only produces "a fake." We could say, "Why doesn't ARod lead the Yanks?" He doesn't have that personality. If he tried to take over the team, no one would follow him. Ichiro may just not have that personality (although as I mentioned above, I suspect it's more an issue of communication as the evidence from Japan provides).
Respectfully,
Jeff in Japan

Leadership is not Personality

There is no question Ichiro is now and will continue to be a great player. Through his continuous high level of performance, Ichiro has deservedly earned the respect of players throughout the league. I'm now suggesting it's time to give something back.
Ichiro is the best position player on the M's when he steps on the field of play, and I'm sure this is recognized by his teammates. Since this is the case and he is a well established veteran it is expected that he should shoulder the burden, if not him then who will.
Yes he is a great talent, and has performed fabulously over the year. But isn't there more to being a great player or great teammate - shouldn't you desire to help raise the level of play on your team. Griffey has grown to understand that, can't Ichiro see the importance in this and begin to emulate Junior's example.
I do not expect Ichiro to be someone who gives a rah rah speech, or be a screamer. that's not necessary - but when things are not going well he shoulder the burden once and awhile and be one of the leading faces to the media. That is his responsibility and he should not shirk from it.
Again he accepted this role on his Japan's WBC team, why wont he do it now???

Language may be a barrier

Hey Jeff,
Thanks for the reply and feel free to disagree.
Language may indeed be a forboding barrier that Ichiro feels is too much to overcome. I'm sure he has an immense amount of pride and therefore he has no desire to embarrass himself by a verbal flub.
And I dont necessarily feel he needs to vocally lead a team meeting.
But he still has his interpreter assigned to him, there is no reason why he should not make himself more available to the media, or provide the mentorship needed to younger players (he may do this but I have not heard of any reports indicating such). Yes there are cultural differences. And as you have indicated when you live/visit in other countries it is expected that you emulate much of their culture.
Ichiro may not feel comfortable being a leader, and in fact being a leader is a risky position (you are often the one taking the arrows). I'm just saying at this point in his career he should have started to accept at least a token amount of the mantle associated with being a star and a veteran. He needs to accept the responsibility of the W-L record not just his end of the year totals.
If he fails to do so, is he still a great, hall of fame baseball player - YES. But I'm not sure if he is a great teammate, nor a player who is instrumental in raising the level of play of those around him.

"leading face to the media"

I addressed a number of the excellent points written above in my response below, especially about Ichiro's behavior with the M's vs. his behavior with Team Japan, but one other issue was discussed above that I think should be discussed.
Regarding the issue of being a "leading face to the media," I think in many ways this issue is over blown. Let's take Jeter and Raul as examples. Many folks see them as great "team faces". However, if you actually listen to what they're saying, so much of it is the usual media sound bites about "giving great at bats" or "hustling hard". In contrast, I think Ichiro gives us thoughtful answers that provide deep insight. Drayer did a two part interview with Ichiro at the start of the year that I found brilliant, which would be evidence to my point. I've never felt the same when reading sound bites from Raul and Jeter.
Sure, cute sound bites make the job easier for the media, but I think part of the problem is many sports journalists are unskilled in their job. My friends in the media (have a few friends at the Times, a few in Tokyo TV) from two countries agree that sports journalists are not really considered "real" journalists in that their investigative technique is often sloppy and the questions they ask frequently shallow. It's easy to ask "What did you feel like after that homerun?" Once sports journalists start asking decent/probing questions, then I'll feel that the players have a responsibility to respond more appropriately.

raising the level

Great points again Tad. I appreciate this give and take.
I think part of the problems that you raised are issues of both the media lens, and the issue of the players themselves. Before coming to Japan I lived in Boston (or more specifically Cambridge MA). I was able to read the media news there which provided a "different angle" on the M's. One thing I often read about was all the players who DID go to Ichiro during the All-Star game. Ortiz and ARod strangely were two of the people who most frequented his locker, and the Boston media (although loathe to touch upon Arod in any way that wasn't negative) discussed how open Ichiro was with them. I think this touches on your point about "mentoring younger players". Ichiro is open to Team Japan and to the All-Star team members, but I think the problem is actually in the M's players themselves. Drayer had a really interesting quote (Yes, I love Shannon Drayer's work) where Ichiro said about the 2008 team something along the lines that, "I don't drive others to do x and y because I respect them as adults. If I do as the media says, to agressively teach others, I disrespect them and treat my teammates as children." I think Ichiro is actually attempting to show respect to his other team members and it's the Seattle media that is making a mountain out of what is really a mole-hill inside the club house. The All Stars like him. Team Japan likes him. The problem seems to be a few spoiled members of the M's club house.
Regarding your point about "I'm just saying at this point in his career he should have started to accept at least a token amount of the mantle associated with being a star and a veteran. He needs to accept the responsibility of the W-L record not just his end of the year totals.", I think this is a bit unfair. We didn't ask this to Edgar for example. He was the most famous for "leading by example". Why hold Ichiro to a different standard? There's the argument of pay, but wasn't Edgar's salary in the 10million range toward the end of his tenure with us? And at that time 10million was a fairly large salary?
More troubling is the idea that veterans must lead. I think this actually is the same philosophy that drove Grover and Bavasi. I think talent trumps this need. I'm happy with a rookie leading if it's in their personality. If we assume that veterans must lead, I think it fosters a sense of entitlement that is dangerous to the whole team.
Finally, as to your point about"But I'm not sure if he is a great teammate, nor a player who is instrumental in raising the level of play of those around him", I think leadership comes in many forms, as does being a great teammate. If MLB players are self-directed, as they SHOULD be, they shouldn't need a push to consult someone who is willing to mentor them. Part of this may also be the difference between the All-Stars and the M's. The All-Stars WANT to improve. I think the entitlement that is now being phased out caused many M's to not be intellectually curious to Ichiro in the past.