強肩は外野手の大きな武器

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110429&content_id=18389892&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

イチローの外野守備を称賛。

That's high praise, as, even at 37, Ichiro Suzuki's right arm is still highly regarded. It has been since the second week of his Major League career, when Terence Long, the A's speedy center fielder, tried to go from first to third on Ramon Hernandez's seemingly routine single to right field. Ichiro charged in on the ball, made a perfect strike to third to nab Long, and just like that, announced his arrival as an arm best left untested.

"Ichiro came up with a throw from right field that needs to be framed and hung on the wall at the Louvre next to the Mona Lisa," wrote John Hickey in the next day's Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "It was that much a thing of beauty."

Ichiro has some esteemed company on the list of all-time great outfield arms. Willie Mays made "The Catch," but his throws were always a threat. Jesse Barfield threw out 18.9 runners per 162 games in his 12-year career. Tris Speaker, Carl Furillo ("The Reading Rifle"), Dwight Evans, Al Kaline, Dave Parker, Mark Whiten, Raul Mondesi, Larry Walker and Vlad Guerrero were all, in their prime, the bane of baserunners.