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Major League Baseball's new hits king Ichiro Suzuki declined to accept a prestigious award from the Japanese government for a second time.
Tokyo wanted to salute Suzuki's achievement for producing the most hits in a season in U.S. baseball history with the People's Honor Award designating national heroes.
But Suzuki turned it down, telling officials that though he was honored, he worried it would sap his drive and mislead the public into thinking that he had accomplished all he could as a player, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said on Friday.
Suzuki also declined the award three years ago when he won the American League MVP and batting and stolen bases title during his rookie year in the majors.
He hopes he can receive the award after he retires, which is "a long way off," Hosoda said.
Suzuki set a season record with 262 hits, breaking an 84-year-old mark. He also won his second AL batting title and led the majors in hitting average at .372.
The Seattle star also set major league records for singles in a season (225) and hits in his first four major league seasons (924). He also set the AL record for plate appearances in a season (762), breaking the mark of 758 by Wade Boggs in 1985.
Suzuki led the AL with 19 intentional walks this season, the first leadoff hitter to lead the league since Boggs in 1991.
The People's Honor Award, established in 1977, has gone to only 15 people, including Japanese home-run king Sadaharu Oh, film director Akira Kurosawa and judoka Yasuhiro Yamashita.
Source: AP
Tokyo wanted to salute Suzuki's achievement for producing the most hits in a season in U.S. baseball history with the People's Honor Award designating national heroes.
But Suzuki turned it down, telling officials that though he was honored, he worried it would sap his drive and mislead the public into thinking that he had accomplished all he could as a player, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said on Friday.
Suzuki also declined the award three years ago when he won the American League MVP and batting and stolen bases title during his rookie year in the majors.
He hopes he can receive the award after he retires, which is "a long way off," Hosoda said.
Suzuki set a season record with 262 hits, breaking an 84-year-old mark. He also won his second AL batting title and led the majors in hitting average at .372.
The Seattle star also set major league records for singles in a season (225) and hits in his first four major league seasons (924). He also set the AL record for plate appearances in a season (762), breaking the mark of 758 by Wade Boggs in 1985.
Suzuki led the AL with 19 intentional walks this season, the first leadoff hitter to lead the league since Boggs in 1991.
The People's Honor Award, established in 1977, has gone to only 15 people, including Japanese home-run king Sadaharu Oh, film director Akira Kurosawa and judoka Yasuhiro Yamashita.
Source: AP