Ichiro’s Inside-the-Park Homer
by Jacob JacksonJuly 10, 2007
The Giants' brass in attendance had to be watching Ichiro's inside-the-park home run in today's All-Star game with more than casual amusement. If Ichiro was in a Giants uniform in '08, he could use that right-center gap to run all over the place. If a Barry Bonds "Splash Hit" into McCovey Cove is no longer a possibility next season, watching Ichiro run wild for triples and potential inside-the-parkers in that gap could become the next best way to sell tickets.
Considering that a.) Dave Roberts is better suited to LF, b.) Ichiro would play a very good CF in that cavernous park, c.) the park plays perfectly into his line-drive hitting style, and d.) he would fill Bonds' void as a nightly gate attraction, he might worth more to the Giants than anyone else.
The problem is, that same logic might've led them into drastically overpaying Zito...which is what they probably will have to do again with another big-ticket FA this offseason.
Is Ichiro worth $25 million per year?
Jacob Jackson is a high school English teacher and basketball coach in Santa Clara, California. He regularly bores the fine readers of AthleticsNation.com with 40-man roster analysis and service-time seminars, and nothing short of an unexpected phone call from David Forst or Billy Beane will put them out of their misery. He welcomes comments at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).