Amen Brother! Ichiro has seen the light! Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki has declared "God" finally descended on him after leading Japan to a second straight World Baseball Classic title.For better or worse, the 35-year-old outfielder remains the Samurai's top drawcard with his erratic batting and amusing remarks.
He was lavishly praised by media here Wednesday for his tie-breaking two-run single in the extra 10th inning that powered Japan to a 5-3 win over arch-rivals South Korea in the Classic final in Los Angeles.
"I've got it, you know. God descended on me," an exalted Suzuki told Japanese television after the nail-biting showdown at Dodger Stadium on Monday night.
"I knew everyone in Japan was focused on me and I was making play-by-play comments to myself at the plate," he added, all smiles.
"It produced a result and I felt I had cleared the barrier."
The winning two-out hit helped Suzuki put behind him a roller-coaster batting record which had led some media and fans to speculate that age was taking its toll, even accusing the star of being a liablity.
"God descends on Ichiro! World two-peat for Samurai!," the Tokyo Chunichi Sports daily cried as the baseball-crazy nation went into party mode.
