Ichiro Suzuki is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame and is easily one of the most dialled in athletes ever:
▫️At 12, told his dad he wanted to be pro baseball player (so, his dad made a program).
▫️Everyday after school — 3:30pm to 7pm — he did hitting and catching drills.
▫️Ichiro had dinner then went back out to train from 9:30pm to 11pm.
▫️Ichiro did this 5-hour daily training routine for 360 days out of the year (and set aside a total of 6 hours each year to play with friends).
▫️He maintained some form of this routine for the next three decades until his retirement in 2019 at the age 45.
▫️ Over his career, Ichiro notched a record of 4,367 hits as a professional player including 9 years in Japan and 19 years in America.
Ichiro could do everything as a player — hit, field, run bases — but his consistency is what stands out above all. During one ludicrous period of his Major League Baseball (MLB) run, Ichiro had a streak of 10 straight seasons with 200+ hits, a batting average of .300+ and a Gold Glove for his defensive play.
He made huge sacrifices in time and friendships. It’s not for everyone. However, some form of the path Ichiro took is available for anyone to excel in their chosen field.
“I'm not a big guy,” Ichiro — who is 5'11 and 175lbs — said while reflecting on his career. “And hopefully kids could look at me and see that I'm not muscular and not physically imposing, that I'm just a regular guy. So if somebody with a regular body can get into the record books, kids can look at that. That would make me happy.”
@cfromhertz What did you see that made you decide to get out? I am wondering if it's time for me to get out of one of my positions that is up considerably, not this much however.