Ichiro, Ichiro

Another sign of Ichiro Suzuki's utter coolness:

Why No. 51? I'd originally heard that he wore the number 51 (he wore it in Japan as well) after the Yankees' Bernie Williams, who wears the same number. But Suzuki later told an interviewer (during the 2001 ALCS) it was not true. Later the story cropped up that he kept it in Japan because the number in Japanese sounds similar to his name. But the P-I set us all straight the other day:

The truth is far simpler. Ichiro tells John Hickey, Mariners beat writer for the P-I, that he was a low draft pick and that he was simply handed a uniform bearing #51 in recognition of his lowly status at the start of his career. When Ichiro began to demonstrate his prodigious talents, he was offered a more prestigious number (#7) but declined. He has stayed with #51 ever since.

Integrity is a rare commodity nowadays, especially among the famous.