Slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where AB is the number of at bats for a given player, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR are the number of singles, doubles and home runs, respectively: S L G = + + + A B Unlike batting average, slugging percentage gives more weight to extra-base hits such as doubles and home runs, relative to singles. Walks are excluded from this calculation, as a plate appearance that ends in a walk is not counted as an at bat; the name is a misnomer, as the statistic is not a percentage but a scale of measure whose computed value is a number from 0 to 4. The statistic gives a double twice the value of a single, a triple three times the value, a homerun four times. A slugging percentage is always expressed as a decimal to three decimal places, is spoken as if multiplied by 1000. For example, a slugging percentage of.589 would be spoken as "five eighty nine."
In 2016, the mean average SLG among all batters in Major League Baseball was.417. For example, in 1920, Babe Ruth played his first season for the New York Yankees. In 458 at bats, Ruth had 172 hits, comprising 73 singles, 36 doubles, 9 triples, 54 home runs, which brings the total base count to + + + = 388, his total number of bases divided by his total at-bats is.847 which constitutes his slugging percentage for the season. This set a record for Ruth which stood until 2001 when Barry Bonds achieved 411 bases in 476 at-bats bringing his slugging percentage to.863, unmatched since. Long after it was first invented, slugging percentage gained new significance when baseball analysts realized that it combined with on-base percentage to form a good measure of a player's overall offensive production. A predecessor metric was developed by Branch Rickey in 1954. Rickey, in Life magazine, suggested that combining OBP with what he called "extra base power" would give a better indicator of player performance than typical Triple Crown stats.
EBP was a predecessor to slugging percentage. Allen Barra and George Ignatin were early adopters in combining the two modern-day statistics, multiplying them together to form what is now known as "SLOB". Bill James applied this principle to his runs created formula several years essentially multiplying SLOB × At-Bats to create the formula: RC = × + In 1984, Pete Palmer and John Thorn developed the most widespread means of combining slugging and on-base percentage: On-base plus slugging, a simple addition of the two values; because it is easy to calculate, OPS has been used with increased frequency in recent years as a shorthand form to evaluate contributions as a batter. In a 2015 article, Bryan Grosnick made the point that "on base" and "slugging" may not be comparable enough to be added together. "On base" has a theoretical maximum of 1.000 whereas "slugging" has a theoretical maximum of 4.000. The actual numbers don't show as big a difference of course, with Grosnick listing.350 as a good "on base" and.430 as a good "slugging."
He goes on to say that OPS has the advantages of simplicity and availability and further states, "you'll get it 75% right, at least." The maximum numerically possible slugging percentage is 4.000. A number of MLB players have momentarily had a 4.000 career slugging percentage by homering in their first major league at-bat. Hundreds of other players have momentarily held a 4.000 percentage for a season by hitting a home run in their first at-bat of the season. No player has retired with a 4.000 slugging percentage, but four players tripled in their only MLB at-bat and therefore share the record of a career slugging percentage of 3.000. The players are Eric Cammack, Scott Munninghoff, Eduardo Rodríguez, Charlie Lindstrom. List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders Moneyball Sabermetrics Slugging Percentage Calculator
Out (baseball)
In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out for one of the reasons given below. When three outs are recorded in an inning, a team's half of the inning, ends. To signal an out, an umpire makes a fist with one hand, flexes that arm either upward on pop flies, or forward on routine plays at first base. Home plate umpires use a "punch-out" motion to signal a called third strike; some common ways batters or runners are put out are when:the batter strikes out. The batter is out when: with two strikes, the batter swings at a pitched ball and misses; the batter-runner is out when: a fielder with a live ball in his possession touches first base or tags the batter-runner before the batter-runner reaches first base a batted ball is caught in flight. Any baserunner, other than the batter-runner, is out when: he is forced out. Any baserunner, including the batter-runner, is out when: he is tagged out; the ball is dead and no runner may score. EXCEPTION: If a runner is touching his base when touched by an infield fly, he is not out, although the batter is out.
In baseball statistics, each out must be credited to one defensive player, namely the player, the direct cause of the out. When referring to outs credited to a defensive player, the term putout is used. Example: a batter hits a fair ball, fielded by the shortstop; the shortstop throws the ball to the first baseman. The first baseman steps on first base before the batter reaches it. For this play, only the first baseman is credited with a putout, while the shortstop is credited with an assist. For a strikeout, the catcher is credited with a putout, because the batter is not out until the pitched ball is caught by the catcher; when an out is recorded without a fielder's direct involvement, such as where a runner is hit by a batted ball, the fielder nearest to the action is credited with the putout. Although pitchers get credited with putouts, they are credited with their role in getting outs through various pitching statistics such as innings pitched and strikeouts. Safe Tie goes to the runner Official rules for batters, including when the batter is out Official rules for runners, including when the runner is out
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two opposing teams who take turns batting and fielding. The game proceeds when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball which a player on the batting team tries to hit with a bat; the objectives of the offensive team are to hit the ball into the field of play, to run the bases—having its runners advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner advances around the bases in order and touches home plate; the team that scores the most runs by the end of the game is the winner. The first objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely. A player on the batting team who reaches first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either or during teammates' turns batting; the fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play.
Both the pitcher and fielders have methods of getting the batting team's players out. The opposing teams switch forth between batting and fielding. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is composed of nine innings, the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. If scores are tied at the end of nine innings, extra innings are played. Baseball has no game clock. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games being played in England by the mid-18th century; this game was brought by immigrants to North America. By the late 19th century, baseball was recognized as the national sport of the United States. Baseball is popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, East Asia in Japan and South Korea. In the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League and American League, each with three divisions: East and Central; the MLB champion is determined by playoffs. The top level of play is split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League.
The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. A baseball game is played between two teams, each composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense and defense. A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings. One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning; the other team -- customarily the home team -- bats in second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points than the other team; the players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by circling or completing a tour of the four bases set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must proceed counterclockwise to first base, second base, third base, back home to score a run; the team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring and record outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action until their turn in their team's batting order comes up again.
When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings; the game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the infield. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate at its center; the outer boundary of the outfield is demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height. The fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well. There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, the glove or mitt: The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches in circumference.
It wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching. The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a solid piece of wood. Other materials are now used for nonprofessional games, it is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are around 34 inches long, not longer than 42 inches; the glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of differ
Infield fly rule
The infield fly rule is a rule of baseball that treats certain fly balls as though caught, before the ball is caught if the infielder fails to catch it or drops it on purpose. The umpire's declaration of an infield fly means that the batter is out regardless of whether the ball is caught; the rule exists to prevent the defense from executing a double play or triple play by deliberately failing to catch a ball that an infielder could catch with ordinary effort. A ball batted into the air subjects baserunners to a dilemma. If the ball is caught, they must return to their original base. Baserunners study the fielder and advance only far enough from the base to ensure that they can return safely. If a presumed catch becomes a non-catch, forced runners must run forward instead of back; this creates an advantage for the defense in intentionally failing to execute an easy catch, which the infield fly rule exists to remove. The infield fly rule is explained in the Official Baseball Rules in two places: Definitions of terms: Infield Fly Rule 5.09 The rule applies only when there are fewer than two outs, there is a force play at third base.
In these situations, if a fair fly ball is in play, in the umpire's judgment is catchable by an infielder with ordinary effort, the umpire shall call "infield fly" and the batter will be out regardless of whether the ball is caught. Umpires raise the right arm straight up, index finger pointing up, to signal the rule is in effect. If "infield fly" is called and the fly ball is caught, it is treated as an ordinary caught fly ball. On the other hand, if "infield fly" is called and the ball lands fair without being caught, the batter is still out, there is still no force, but the runners are not required to tag up. In either case, the ball is live, the runners may advance on the play, at their own peril. An infield fly may be declared by any umpire on the field; the infield fly rule is a judgment call, as the rule states that "The judgment of the umpire must govern". The rule directs the umpire to declare an infield fly on determining that the play meets the criteria described above based on the umpire's discretion.
Since different umpires may have different definitions of what constitutes "ordinary effort," the rule may be applied differently depending on the umpire and game conditions. Any fair fly ball that could be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort is covered by the rule, whether or not it is in the infield, whether or not an infielder catches it, or attempts to catch it. For example, if an infielder retreats to the outfield in an effort to catch a fly ball, the infield fly rule may be invoked because the ball could have been caught by the infielder. Infield fly may be called if an outfielder runs into the infield to catch a fly ball, if it could have been caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, it may be helpful to think of it as the "infielder fly rule". The rule states an infield fly call should be determined by "whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder, not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines; the umpire must rule that a ball is an infield fly if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpire's judgment, the ball could have been as handled by an infielder."
The term "ordinary effort" considers all circumstances, including weather, positioning of the defense, the abilities of the players involved in the play. A fly ball catchable with ordinary effort in Major League Baseball might not be in a junior high school game, due to the ability of the players involved. If the fly ball is near the foul lines, the umpire is to declare "infield fly, if fair". If the ball is not caught and ends up foul, the infield fly call is canceled, the play is treated as an ordinary foul ball. In contrast, if the ball lands foul and rolls fair before passing first or third base without being touched, the infield fly takes effect and the batter is out. Declarations of the infield fly rule are not included in the statistical summary of a baseball game and are not a separate category in player statistics. A fielder who misplays an infield fly is not charged with an error because the batter is out through the infield fly rule. In fact, the fielder who should have caught an infield fly earns a putout.
But a fielder who fails to touch an infield fly that rolls foul may be charged with an error for letting the ball roll foul. The rule was introduced in 1895 by the National League in response to infielders intentionally dropping pop-ups to get multiple outs by forcing out the runners on base, who were pinned near their bases while the ball was in the air. At that time, the rule only applied with one man out; the current rule came into effect in 1901. It was amended in 1904 to exclude line drives, in 1920 to exclude bunts. In the fifth game of the 2008 World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pedro Feliz of the Phillies hit a pop-up to the right side of the infield with runners on first and second and one out, in strong rain and swirling winds, the infield fly rule was not invoked. Umpiring crew chief Tim Tschida explained that "The infield fly rule requires the um
Batting order (baseball)
In baseball, the batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. In Major League Baseball, the batting order is set by the manager, who before the game begins must present the home plate umpire with two copies of his team's lineup card, a card on which a team's starting batting order is recorded; the home plate umpire keeps one copy of the lineup card of each team, gives the second copy to the opposing manager. Once the home plate umpire gives the lineup cards to the opposing managers, the batting lineup is final and a manager can only make changes under the Official Baseball Rules governing substitutions. If a team bats out of order, it subject to penalty. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, a team has "batted around" when each of the nine batters in the team's lineup has made a plate appearance, the first batter is coming up again during a single inning.
Dictionary.com, defines "bat around" as "to have every player in the lineup take a turn at bat during a single inning." It is not an official statistic. Opinions differ as to whether nine batters must get an at-bat, or if the opening batter must bat again for "batting around" to have occurred. In modern American baseball, some batting positions have nicknames: "leadoff" for first, "cleanup" for fourth, "last" for ninth. Others are known by the term # - hole. In similar fashion, the third and fifth batters are collectively referred to as the "heart" or "meat" of the batting order, while the seventh and ninth batters are called the "bottom of the lineup," a designation referring both to their hitting position and to their typical lack of offensive prowess. At the start of each inning, the batting order resumes where it left off in the previous inning, rather than resetting to start with the #1 hitter again. If the current batter has not finished his at-bat, by either putting a ball in play or being struck-out, another baserunner becomes a third out, such as being picked-off or caught stealing, the current batter will lead off the next inning, with the pitch count reset to 0-0.
While this ensures that the players all bat the same number of times, the game will always end before the last cycle is complete, so that the #1 hitter always has one plate appearance more than the #9 hitter, a significant enough difference to affect tactical decisions. This is not a perfect correlation to each batter's official count of "at-bats," as a sacrifice that advances a runner, or a walk is not recorded as an "at-bat" as these are out of the batter's control, does not hurt his batting average Early forms of baseball or rounders from the mid 19th century did not require a fixed batting order; the concept of a set batting order is said to have been invented by Alexander Cartwright, who instituted rules such as the foul ball and tagging the runner, devised the shortstop position. In the early days of baseball, the rules did not require that the batting order be announced before game time; this permitted strategic decisions regarding batting order to occur. For example, Cap Anson was known to wait to see if the first two men got on base in the first inning.
If they did not, he would hit in the next inning. However, in the 1880s, organized baseball began mandating that the batting order be disclosed before the first pitch. For example, Rule 36 in The Playing Rules of Professional Base Ball Clubs of 1896 stated the following: "The Batsmen must take their positions within the batsmen's lines... in the order in which they are named in the batting order, which batting order must be submitted by the Captains of the opposing teams to the Umpire before the game, this batting order must be followed except in the case of a substitute player, in which case the substitute must take the place of the original player in the batting order. After the first inning the first striker in each inning shall be the batsman whose name follows that of the last man who completed his turn... in the preceding inning." In cricket, the batting order is fixed so that players are sure of their role within the team, but there is no obligation to submit a definitive batting order and stick to it.
A batsman can be "promoted" to a higher spot in the batting order according to the team's wishes. The idea of a "revolving" batting order is unique to baseball, in which the on-deck batter at the time the final out is made in one inning becomes the lead-off batter in the next inning. In the shorter form of cricket, there is only one inning per side, while in the longer form each side bats a maximum of two times. In a typical innings of this latter form, all eleven players on the team will have a chance to bat, the innings finishes when 10 players are out. In the team's second innings, the batting order is maintained, but the team can make any changes it desires; as in baseball, many batting order configurations are possible, but a standard order might be: Two opening batsmen - able players who can negotiate a difficult period of play. Four middle order batsmen - specialist batsmen who may be
Jimmy Rollins
James Calvin Rollins, nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox. In 2019, Rollins returned to the Phillies in two separate capacities: in January, as a Special Advisor for the team. After growing up in Alameda and attending Encinal High School, Rollins was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1996 MLB draft. After spending most of five seasons with Phillies minor league teams, he made his big league debut on September 17, 2000. At the MLB level, it wasn’t long before Rollins earned recognition as an excellent defensive shortstop. In 2001, he became the Phillies' leadoff hitter, a role he retained for ten years. Rollins made three All-Star Game appearances in his career. While with the Phillies, he compiled a 38-game hitting streak, which spanned the end of the 2005 season and the start of the 2006 season, the longest in team history. Rollins was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 2007, as the Phillies won their division in the first of five consecutive seasons.
He was a key component of the 2008 World Series champion team that defeated the Tampa Bay Rays. In his career, Rollins led the NL four times in triples, once each in runs, stolen bases, stolen base percentage; as of 2018, he was the Phillies career leader in at bats, hits and power-speed number, second in games played and stolen bases, third in runs scored and stolen base percentage. Rollins won the Gold Glove Award four times, as well as the Silver Slugger Award, the Roberto Clemente Award. Rollins grew up in Alameda as a member of an athletic family, his mother played competitive fastpitch softball, he credits the experience with helping him develop a cerebral approach to the game, as well as a passion for the middle infield. His father was a weightlifter. Jimmy has been described as having "a near-photographic memory of games and at-bats and pitches". Rollins' brother, played with minor league affiliates of the Texas Rangers and the Montreal Expos, his sister, Shay Rollins, was a starter on the University of San Francisco's women's basketball team, he is the cousin of former MLB player Tony Tarasco.
Despite the athletes in his family, his father encouraged Rollins to pursue music as well as baseball. Rollins played the trumpet while growing up, participated in various MC Hammer and Mavis Staples music videos during his adolescent years. Rollins was an Oakland Athletics fan growing up and attended games at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. In 1996, Rollins graduated from Encinal High School in Alameda, his parents refused to let him continue playing football, instead directing him to focus on baseball. He finished his high school baseball career as the holder of 10 school records, including highest batting average, most stolen bases. For his performance, USA Today named him a member of its All-USA High School Baseball Team, Baseball America named him the top infielder in Northern California, as well as a second-team All-American; the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings named Rollins to their All-America Second Team. He committed to play college baseball at Arizona State University on a scholarship, but after "effusive" praise from Phillies' Bay Area scout Bob Poole, the team drafted him in the second round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft.
After being drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1996 draft, Rollins was assigned to the rookie-league Martinsville Phillies. He led the team in walks and stole 20 bases, but batted only.238/.351/.285. However, Rollins still earned a promotion to the low-A Piedmont Boll Weevils for the 1997 season; the youngest player on the team at age 18, he led the team in games played, at-bats, hits, stolen bases, walks. Rollins had 560 at-bats, over 100 more than second-place Dave Francia. For his performance, he was named a co-winner of the Paul Owens Award, given to the Phillies' top minor league player. At the end of the season, Rollins played in the Florida Instructional League. Rollins was promoted to high-A Clearwater in 1998. While playing alongside future Phillies teammates Pat Burrell, Johnny Estrada, Adam Eaton, Brandon Duckworth, Rollins batted.244/.306/.354 with 18 doubles and 23 stolen bases. Eaton and Rollins were all promoted to AA Reading together the next year, Rollins led the team in games and at-bats, as well as hits.
His 145 hits gave him an average of.273, led to a late-season promotion to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he played four games. In 2000, he led Scranton in games played and triples, helped lead the team to the playoffs. Rollins received a September callup to the Phillies, he debuted on September 17 against the Florida Marlins and had two hits in four at-bats in the game, with his first MLB hit being a triple off of Chuck Smith of the Marlins. He batted.321 in 14 games, stealing three batting in five runs. After the season, Baseball America named him the Phillies' top organizational prospect, he was a finalist for the United States national baseball team to participate in the 2000 Olympics. Rollins spent the entire 2001 season with the major league Phillies and hit his first MLB home run on May 2 off of Brian Bohanon of the Colorado Rockies, he achieved several statistical milestones, including a "quadruple-double" (double digit d
Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki referred to mononymously as Ichiro, is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played 28 seasons combined in top-level professional leagues. He spent the bulk of his career with two teams: nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, where he began his career, 14 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball in the United States. After playing the first 12 years of his MLB career for the Mariners, Ichiro played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees before signing with the Miami Marlins. Ichiro played three seasons with the Marlins before returning to the Mariners in 2018. Ichiro established a number of batting records, including MLB's single-season record for hits with 262, he achieved the longest streak by any player in history. Between his major league career in both Japan and the United States, Ichiro has the most hits by any player in top-tier professional leagues, he has recorded the most hits of all Japanese-born players in MLB history.
In his combined playing time in the NPB and MLB, Ichiro received 17 consecutive selections both as an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won nine league batting titles and was named Most Valuable Player four times. While playing in the NPB, he won seven consecutive batting titles and three consecutive Pacific League MVP Awards. In 2001, Ichiro became the first Japanese-born position player to be posted and signed to an MLB club, he led the American League in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP. Ichiro was the first MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, he was a ten-time MLB All-Star and won the 2007 All-Star Game MVP Award for a three-hit performance that included the event's first-ever inside-the-park home run. Ichiro won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 years in the majors, had an American League–record seven hitting streaks of 20 or more games, with a high of 27, he is noted for his longevity, continuing to produce at a high level with batting, on-base percentages above.300 in 2016, while approaching 43 years of age.
In 2016, Ichiro notched the 3,000th hit of his MLB career, against Chris Rusin of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, becoming only the 30th player to do so. In total, he finished with 4,367 hits in his professional career across the United States. Ichiro grew up in the town of Toyoyama, a small town just outside Nagoya. At the age of seven, Ichiro joined his first baseball team and asked his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki, to teach him to be a better player; the two began a daily routine, which included throwing 50 pitches, fielding 50 infield balls and 50 outfield balls, hitting 500 pitches, 250 from a pitching machine and 250 from his father. As a little leaguer in Toyoyama, Ichiro had the word "concentration" written on his glove. By age 12, he had dedicated himself to pursuing a career in professional baseball, their training sessions were no longer for leisure, less enjoyable; the elder Suzuki claimed, "Baseball was fun for both of us," but Ichiro said, "It might have been fun for him, but for me it was a lot like Star of the Giants," a popular Japanese manga and anime series about a young baseball prospect's difficult road to success, with rigorous training demanded by the father.
According to Ichiro, "It bordered on hazing and I suffered a lot."When Ichiro joined his high-school baseball team, his father told the coach, "No matter how good Ichiro is, don't praise him. We have to make him spiritually strong." When he was ready to enter high school, Ichiro was selected by a school with a prestigious baseball program, Nagoya's Aikodai Meiden High School. Ichiro was used as a pitcher instead of as an outfielder, owing to his exceptionally strong arm, his cumulative high-school batting average was.505, with 19 home runs. He built strength and stamina by hurling car tires and hitting Wiffle balls with a heavy shovel, among other regimens; these exercises helped adding power and endurance to his thin frame. Despite his outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the professional draft in November 1991, because many teams were discouraged by his small size of 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in and 124 pounds. Years Ichiro told an interviewer, "I'm not a big guy, 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." Ichiro made his Pacific League debut in 1992 at the age of 18, but he spent most of his first two seasons in the farm system because his then-manager, Shōzō Doi, refused to accept Ichiro's unorthodox swing. The swing was nicknamed'pendulum' because of the pendulum-like motion of his leg, which shifts his weight forward as he swings the bat, goes against conventional hitting theory. Though he hit a home run against Hideo Nomo, who won an MLB National League Rookie of the Year Award while a Los Angeles Dodger, Ichiro was sent back to the farm system on that day. In his second career game, he recorded his first ichi-gun hit in the Pacific League against Hawks pitcher Keiji Kimura. In 1994 he benefited from the arrival of a new manager, Akira Ōgi, who played him every day in the second spot of the lineup, he was moved to the leadoff spot for the Orix BlueWave, where his immediate productivity dissolved any misgivings about his unconventional swing
