One of Japan's professional baseball stars recently became the youngest 200 million yen player. Orix BlueWave outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, known to Japanese baseball fans by his first name, signed a contract in a negotiating session in December that raised his salary to 200 million yen in the 1996 season, a 2.5-fold jump over the previous year. He is the first player to work his way up to 200 million yen in just four years. His pay ranks highest in the team and is the third highest among all professional baseball players.
Five title winner
Ichiro played in all 130 games in the 1995 season, hitting .342 with 25 home runs and 80 runs batted in. He missed out on the home run crown but seized five other batting titles, earning the crown for highest batting average for the second straight year, hits, runs batted in, stolen bases, and on-base percentage. He contributed substantially to the team's championship in the Pacific League and has enhanced the popularity of baseball as a whole. For two straight years he has been chosen baseball's most valuable player, and his popularity now rivals that of Hideo Nomo, the rookie sensation from Japan who is now playing in the Major Leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Boost in Orix business
Ichiro's on-field performance is not the only reason for the sizable salary increase. Another factor is his role in boosting sales of admission tickets and souvenirs. Attendance at Orix games in 1995 rose 17.8 percent over the previous year to a record 1.7 million, or an average of 25,000 a game. The number of people attending Pacific League games also rose 0.9 percent to a record 9.6 million. By contrast attendance at Central League games dropped for the fourth straight year, falling 6.4 percent to below 13 million.
Ichiro T-shirts and other products are being snatched up. Sales of Orix BlueWave souvenirs, Ichiro goods central among them, hit 1.3 billion yen in the eight-month period from April to November 1995, 4.5-times more than the same period in 1994, when sales totaled 300 million yen. Business has gone so well that the team established a special department to develop and sell new products.
A 50-fold salary increase
Ichiro started off with an annual salary of 4 million yen in 1992, when he joined the BlueWave after graduating from high school. He hit .253 in his rookie year, good enough to double his salary, but his pay stayed at 8 million yen after hitting just .188 in 1993. In 1994, however, he earned instant fame when he played in all 130 games, hitting a phenomenal .385 to lead the league. With another fantastic year in 1995, Ichiro's salary has risen 50-fold in just four years. Asked what he would do with the money in a press conference following the signing of the contract, Ichiro nonchalantly replied that he intended to buy car washing products.
Ichiro's Batting Statistics
| 1995 | 1994 | |
| At bats | 524 | 546 |
| Hits | 179 | 210 |
| Batting average | .342 | .385 |
| Home runs | 25 | 13 |
| Runs batted in | 80 | 54 |
| Runs scored | 104 | 111 |
| Bases on balls | 68 | 51 |
| Hit by pitch | 18 | 10 |
| Stolen bases | 49 | 29 |
| On-base percentage | .432 | .445 |
Annual salary (million yen)
| 1992 | 4 | |
| 1993 | 8 | |
| 1994 | 8 | |
| 1995 | 80 | |
| 1996 | 200 |
(The above article, edited by Japan Echo Inc., is based on domestic Japanese news sources. It is offered for reference purposes and does not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.)