The Retirement of a Legend: Ichiro Suzuki

Photo of Ichiro Suzuki by Daniel Millhouse

A legend retired today.

To some, Ichiro Suzuki was a good hitter but not scary. They would be wrong. Yes, he only won the MVP Award once (2001), but he was perhaps the best overall hitter for several years during his peak.

He had 3,089 hits in his Major League Baseball career and that's after he had 1,287 hits in Japan. During his rookie year, he hit .350 with 242 hits, 56 stolen bases, and won the Rookie of the Year, the MVP, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger Award.

By 2004, Ichiro broke the single season hits record in the MLB by tallying up 262 of them. He only hit .372 that season.

Some would dispute that Ichiro wasn't "great" because he didn't hit with massive power. Ichiro held back though. Like Rickey Henderson before him, Ichiro had the ability to hit with more power than he showed, but he refused to sacrifice his batting average and on base percentage to do so.

Not only was he a great hitter, but he was a great fielder. Few had an arm in the outfield like he did and even fewer covered as much ground. This is why he won 10 Gold Gloves and could have easily won a few more.

Perhaps the only thing missing in Ichiro's otherwise complete career was a winning the World Series. He had made it twice to the American League Championship Series, once with the Mariners in 2001 but falling to the Yankees, and again in 2012, this time with the Yankees as they lost to the Tigers. It wasn't for the lack of trying. He hit .346 in his postseason career.

Ichiro should be a sure bet for Cooperstown when his time comes. His career in America came to a close with over 3,000 hits, 500 stolen bases, a career average over .300, nine batting titles, and 1,420 runs scored. He's already a member of The Golden Players Club (the Japanese baseball hall of fame) and five years from now, he will be ready to be a first-ballot pick for the Major League Baseball one.

R.I.P. Hugh Hefner: More than just the Founder of Playboy

Hugh Hefner has died. It seems sort of odd to write this because he was one of those people that seemed like they would live forever. In a way, he will. 

While the man himself has fallen, the legacy he left behind impacted the world in the twentieth century and even into the twenty-first century. Sure, some will condemn him for what they see as peddling smut and the man had his faults as every legend in their industry has. 

Hefner left behind a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come. His legacy is more than being the founder of one of the most famous magazines in history, although his magazine did contribute to igniting the flame of the sexual revolution. 

He fought against censorship, donating money to various organizations and causes that promoted first amendment rights.

An animal lover, Hefner donated to various causes that raised money for animal rescues. 

During the sixties, Hefner was a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He once stated that he never understood why people would judge others solely based on their skin color. Playboy magazine published the last written essay by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

When his Playboy Clubs opened up at locations such as New Orleans, Hefner personally fought against those who cited Jim Crow laws that attempted to prevent African-Americans from entering his clubs alongside Caucasians. 

On his TV show, Playboy's Penthouse, which aired in the late fifties to the early sixties, Hefner invited African-American entertainers to appear on his show despite the public outcry of doing so. Guests included Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald. 

Hefner supported legalizing same-sex marriage, stating that it was a right of all people to marry the person they love.

He donated money to universities to better sociology, film, and humanities departments.

A student at my university who attended at the same I did, supported herself through stripping at a local club. Admittedly, not her preferential choice to raise money, but she had no support system to help her through college and her financial aid package was limited in what it paid for. She needed to pay for books, room and board, and the basic necessities that any young adult needs. When my university found out how she was supporting herself, she lost her financial aid package. Hefner, hearing about the situation as it made local news in Southern California, paid for her college and living expenses for the rest of her college career.

With Playboy, Hefner published short stories by notable authors such as Ian Fleming, Arthur C. Clarke, and Margaret Atwood. His magazine would often interview notable people such as politicians, social activists, religious leaders, journalists, and more. 

Finally, after decades of not receiving one cent from the revival of her images, Hefner helped Bettie Page secure representation to help her from dying penniless. Hefner even paid for Page's bills until she was able to land on her feet. And this wasn't the only former Playmate that he helped during their rough times.

On the surface, he will be remembered for his girlfriends, magazine, the mansion, and the smoking jacket, but he was much more than that. He was far from perfect, but overall he left a positive impact that helped propel society forward in the twentieth century, vaulting him into being a legend.

RIP Gene Wilder

Screencap from Young Frankenstein

Today, at the age of 83, Hollywood legend Gene Wilder passed away due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Semi-retired from acting, Gene Wilder's last official role was the voice of Elmer on the kids show, Yo Gabba Gabba! Known more for his big screen career, Wilder was the star of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; Blazing Saddles; The Producers; See No Evil, Hear No Evil; and perhaps his best known work of all, Young Frankenstein.

Wilder had been part of that group of people that fellow legend Mel Brooks loved working with. The two had met during the early 1960's when Wilder starred in a play with Anne Bancroft, Brooks' future wife and then girlfriend. The two clicked right away and Brooks cast Wilder in his 1968 hit, The Producers. Wilder did so well that he won an Oscar for best supporting actor. Wilder and Brook would go on to win an Oscar together for penning the screenplay to Young Frankenstein.

Wilder would go on to co-star in four movies with fellow comedy legend, Richard Pryor. Their last movie together, Another You, would not only be Pryor's last movie due to his multiple sclerosis, but also Wilder's last appearance on the big screen.

He would go on to try his hand in television, starring in Something Wilder which lasted only one season. From here, Wilder would go on to star in four made-for-TV movies and then finally acting in two episodes of Will & Grace before retiring.

Wilder then would go on to write books, including his own autobiography. It was around this time that the whispers that he was suffering from Alzheimer's was floating around.

When Wilder passed today, the Hollywood world lost some of its boyish charm. In a world of action and war movies, Wilder was a bright spot, doing his best to keep the world laughing. Even if you weren't a fan of his, it was hard to deny the impact that he had in the comedy genre of movies.

With Wilder's passing, there is a little less laughter left in the world.

RIP Prince...Another Legend Passes

Screencap of Prince from his movie Purple Rain

At this point in time it does appear that God is trying to create a super band as another music legend passed away in 2016.

Prince Rogers Nelson, one of the few people who could get away with being called by only a single name (and at one time just by a symbol) mysteriously passed away in the elevator of his Minnesota home at age 57. News sources such as Fox News are reporting that he died of the flu while other sources are stating flu-like symptoms as a possible cause.

Whatever the reason, it feels almost unbefitting of such a rock legend to die by something that used to get me out of school for a day or two. People can die from complications due to the flu, but you usually think of people from third world countries or someone in their 90's.

Prince may have been known for being a singer, but he was so much more. Once, when asked how many instruments did he know how to play, he responded, "Thousands." On his first album he is credited with playing 27 different instruments. Now while some people might think this is just boasting, Prince was actually able to back this up. When people think of guitar legends they think of names like Hendrix, Van Halen, Satriani, but Prince is also on the level of these greats. He also played the bass, the piano, drums, the Linn drum, and much more.

Also not known to everyone is that Prince was one of the greatest song writers of his generation. He had released 104 singles in his life, 27 of which hit number one on the music charts. What a lot of people don't know is that he would constantly write so much music that he would give it to other artists to use. He wrote a large portion of Morris Day & the Time's music, and music for Sheila E., Sheena Easton, Vanity 6, Stevie Nicks, The Bangles, Sinead O'Connor, Chaka Kahn, Madonna, Pattie LaBelle, Tom Jones, and Alicia Keys.

For The Time he wrote "Jungle Love". For Stevie Nicks he wrote the music for "Stand Back" and she based her lyrics of his hit song "Little Red Corvette". For the Bangles he wrote "Manic Monday". Sinead O'Connor covered his "Nothing Compares 2 U". Alicia Keys recorded his song "How Come You Don't Call Anymore". For Chaka Kahn he wrote "I Feel for You". He even wrote the entire soundtrack for Tim Burton's Batman.

He was the most overall successful music artist in the 1980's, and tenth most successful in the 1990's. Overall he sold over 100 million albums in his lifetime, won 7 Grammy's, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. In 2004 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "There are many kings…but there is only one Prince," said Alicia Keys when she inducted him in.

During a contract dispute with Warner Bros. Prince changed his name to the unpronounceable symbol know as Love Symbol #2 (pictured right). During this time he would be referred to as "The artist formerly known as Prince." He claimed that they took his name, trademarked it, and used it to make themselves money. Later he changed it back to Prince and would sign with Arista Records.

Anyone that lived through the '80s and/or '90s usually can name at least one song that they like even if they weren't a fan of Prince. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was his first hit single and was released in 1979, but he had so many more. "1999", "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry", "Purple Rain", "Raspberry Beret", "Kiss", "Batdance", "Partyman", "Thieves in the Temple", "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", and more in '80s and '90s. This doesn't include songs like "Guitar" which shows off how good of a lead guitar player he was and "Musicology" which came out in the 2000's.

On February 4, 2007, Prince played the halftime show for Super Bowl XLI which many called the best halftime show ever. He performed "Let's Go Crazy", "Baby I'm a Star, "Purple Rain" and then performed cover songs of "We Will Rock You" by Queen, "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan, "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters, and "Proud Mary" by CCR. An estimated 140 million people watched the performance on TV.

He was so musically inclined that he had his whole house wired so he could record music from any room of his home whenever he felt inspired.

A lot of people didn't know that Prince was a philanthropist and supported many social awareness issues. He wrote a song called "Baltimore" after the murder of Freddie Gray and the riots that followed. He's donated millions of dollars anonymously to build libraries, help people start businesses, and save families from losing homes.

When asked why he never moved to Los Angeles or New York instead of living in Minnesota, he would cite that the state was his home and that it was where he belonged.

Another aspect of Prince's life that he was well known for was the amount of women he dated. Madonna, Carmen Electra, Apollonia, Kim Bassinger, Vanessa Marcil, Susana Hoffs, Misty Copeland, Ananda Lewis, Heidi Mark, and Marvin Gaye's daughter, Nona. His music was often centered around romance so it was no surprise that he found it easy to woo some of Hollywood's prettiest women.

With his death, it should be interesting now to see what the future holds for Prince's music. One of the oddities of his career was that he recorded so much music that he would produce albums that he would only keep for himself and lock away in a vault at his home. There's rumored to be hundreds of unreleased songs that people who helped him work on these songs said should be hits as well. He also recorded multiple music videos and made several movies that have yet to see the light of day. So with his death, the public could possibly see a flood of his work finally be released in the coming years.

Whether you're a fan of rock, R&B, pop, funk, or soul, Prince's work certainly reached you at some point. His work has inspired other music artists after him including Andre 3000, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, and more. He even inspired the costumes of the Hamilton: The Musical.