Ichiro Suzuki is a national hero in Japan. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Yuka Yonashiro traveled more than three hours with hopes she'd get to see her favorite baseball player smile. The 23-year-old from Toledo was talking, of course, about Seattle Mariners right-fielder Ichiro Suzuki.

        Suzuki, who played Wednesday night in the second game of the Mariners' three-game series at Cinergy Field, is the Japanese national hero who has fast become a hero of Japanese-Americans.

        Hundreds of Japanese-American baseball fans from Greater Cincinnati and beyond have flocked downtown to catch a glimpse of the hitter during his rare visit to town for Interleague play.

        In his first two seasons in the major leagues, the 28-year-old has accomplished what millions of baseball fans and players across the world only dream about. He was named the American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year in 2001, his first season in the United States. This season, he leads the league in hits and batting average. In Wednesday night's game, he went 0-for-3 and his average dropped to .370.

Yuka Yonashiro, 23; Yumi Hester, 28; Dan Hester, 25, and Yuji Hirota, 26, all of Toledo, keep watch for Ichiro Suzuki during batting practice. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        “I just want to watch him,” said Ms. Yonashiro, watching batting practice from behind home plate. “I expect that he'll have a hit, make a steal.”

        More than anything, Ms. Yonashiro wanted to see him smile.

        “He never shows his smile,” she said.

        Not only has Suzuki's popularity exploded in the United States, he was already an icon in his home country, according to another Suzuki — baseball fan Yasufuki Suzuki, 40, of Lexington.

        “When he went to the United States, everyone was very disappointed,” said the 40-year-old before entering the ballpark Wednesday. “But I am happy to see him here.”

Ichiro greets Ken Griffey Jr. before the game (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        Ichiro Suzuki, from Kasugai, about 100 miles from Kyoto, joined the Mariners in 2001 after leading the Japanese leagues in batting for seven consecutive seasons with the Orix Blue Waves.

        This season, he leads the Major Leagues in All-Star voting, closing in on 1 million votes.

        The Mariners have the most Japanese-born players of any team in the majors — three — including pitchers Kazuhiro Sasaki and Shigetoshi Hasegawa.

        The Uchiyama family of Taylor Mill attended both Tuesday and Wednesday's games with 2-year-old Kaikou, who saw Mr. Suzuki for the first time.

        “We cheer for the Reds and Ichiro at the same time,” said Koukichi Uchiyama, carrying his son into Cinergy Field.

        In Japan, Uchiyama said, local television news often shows Suzuki playing for the Mariners before showing clips from Japanese league games.

        A spokesman for the Reds said about 30 members of the Japanese media are in town this week for the Mariners-Reds series.

        Nobuyuki Kobayashi, a writer for Daily Sports of Japan, has followed Suzuki throughout the season. He said large crowds greet the phenom everywhere he plays.

        “He is one of the great players in the Major Leagues,” he said.

        Kobayashi, who was on the field before Wednesday's game, said the crowds here seemed smaller than in other cities where Mr. Suzuki has played.

        Many fans came from outside of the Cincinnati area to catch the games, including the Yomeyama family from Columbus.

        “He is good at baseball,” said 10-year-old Yurika Yomeyama, before adding, “but I'm not really a baseball fan.”

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