title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: The film was released in the United States on October 18, 2019. Worldwide, Sony spent about $60 million on prints and advertising for the film.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: "Zombieland: Double Tap" was released on Digital HD on December 24, 2019, and on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on January 21, 2020.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: "Zombieland: Double Tap" grossed $73.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $49.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $122.8 million.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside "", and was projected to gross $25–30 million from 3,468 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $10.2 million on its first day, including $2.85 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $26.8 million, finishing third, behind "Maleficent" and "Joker". It then dropped 56% in its second weekend to $11.8 million, finishing fourth, and made $7.4 million in its third weekend, finishing sixth.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, ""Zombieland: Double Tap" makes up for a lack of fresh brains with an enjoyable reunion that recaptures the spirit of the original and adds a few fun twists." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, down from the "A−" received by the first film, while those surveyed at PostTrak gave it four out of five stars and a 64% "definite recommend."


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised the performances, saying "They're all terrific, but Emma Stone in particular kills with a sharply honed, funny and endearing performance as the battle-tested and cynical Wichita, who is fearless when it comes to taking on zombies, but terrified when it comes to fully committing to a human connection." Simon Thompson at IGN also praises the acting, writing, ""Zombieland: Double Tap" is a riot, and a lot of that is due to Zoey Deutch and her character, Madison. While it doesn't quite achieve classic status in its own right, when it comes to sequels that do the original film justice, it is up there. It's worth the wait, your time and your money."


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: Kate Erbland of "IndieWire" gave the film a "C+", saying, ""Zombieland: Double Tap" still finds space for big laughs (the pairing of Eisenberg and Harrelson remains nutty and fun), a welcome cameo in the credits, and a banger of a final battle in which the body count soars to ridiculous numbers. But, after 10 years of anticipation, it would have been nice to see a zombie movie with more on its mind than the same goofy undead routine." Peter Debruge of "Variety" wrote, "The zombies have evolved[...] the comedy not so much," and, "Here, humor turns every kill into a sick punchline, and while the writers do a fine job of making them funny, like macabre cartoons in which Wile E. Coyote can rebound from unthinkable injuries, the movie’s tone negates a fundamental respect for human life. Yeah, yeah, it’s just a movie, you say. But like the first-person-shooter video games the film’s "Double Tap" title references, society can’t just passively sit back and accept an attitude that mocks pacifism and makes light of such extreme violence. Or else we’re the zombies, and the joke’s on us."


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: A mobile game, titled "Zombieland: Double Tapper", was released along with the film, featuring the characters.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: The film also inspired a twin-stick shooter video game titled "Zombieland: Double Tap – Road Trip". Developed by High Voltage Software and published by GameMill Entertainment and Maximum Games in North America and Europe respectively, it was released on October 15, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, three days before the film's US release.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: On Metacritic, the PlayStation 4 version of "Zombieland: Double Tap – Road Trip" received a score of 39% based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: "Zombieland: Double Tap" was featured as a scare zone at Universal Studios Florida's "Halloween Horror Nights." The zone included the modified presidential limousine "Beast" as seen in the film.


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: During the press tour for the film, the director, writers, and cast have all stated an interest in reuniting every 10 years to do a Zombieland film. Director Ruben Fleischer said, "I think we all had so much fun making this one, we’d be really lucky to get to return to Zombieland. Although, I will say, Emma Stone said she thought it would be fun if we did one of these every 10 years. Knowing that Woody Harrelson’s just the healthiest guy there is, he’s going to outlive all of us, and so we can just keep doing them every 10 years, ‘til the end of time. … I can’t imagine a better way to look forward to my future than knowing that every 10 years I get to hang out with those guys and make a movie with them again."


title: Zombieland: Double Tap

text: As of August 2022, there has been no official confirmation of a sequel and/or spin-off. But, the cast and crew continue to remain optimistic about the future of the franchise.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began his career, and 14 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing the first 12 years of his MLB career for the Mariners, Suzuki played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees and three with the Miami Marlins. He returned to the Mariners for his final two seasons.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In his combined playing time in the NPB and MLB, Suzuki received 17 consecutive selections both as an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won nine league batting titles, and was named most valuable player (MVP) four times. In the NPB, he won seven consecutive batting titles and three consecutive Pacific League MVP Awards. In 2001, Suzuki became the first Japanese-born position player to be posted and signed to an MLB club. He led the American League (AL) in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Suzuki was the first MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club). 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. Suzuki won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 years in the majors and had an American League–record seven hitting streaks of 20 or more games, with a high of 27. He was also noted for the longevity of his career, continuing to produce at a high level with slugging, and on-base percentages above .300 in 2016, while approaching 43 years of age. Suzuki also set a number of batting records, including MLB's single-season record for hits with 262. He achieved 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player in history. In 2016, Suzuki notched the 3,000th hit of his MLB career, against Chris Rusin of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, becoming only the 30th player ever to do so. In total, he finished with 4,367 hits in his professional career across Japan and the United States, the most of any player in history at the top level of baseball.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro grew up in Toyoyama, a small town just outside Nagoya. At the age of seven, Ichiro joined his first baseball team and asked his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki (鈴木宣之), 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, and hitting 500 pitches, 250 from a pitching machine and 250 from his father.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: As a little leaguer in Toyoyama, Ichiro had the word written on his glove. By age 12, he had dedicated himself to pursuing a career in professional baseball, and their training sessions were no longer for leisure, and less enjoyable. The elder Suzuki claimed, "Baseball was fun for both of us," but Ichiro later 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."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: When Ichiro joined his high-school baseball team, his father told the coach, "No matter how good Ichiro is, don't ever 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 primarily 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 develop his wrists and hips, adding power and endurance to his thin frame. Despite his outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth round of the NPB draft in November 1991, because many teams were discouraged by his small size of and . Years later, Ichiro told an interviewer, "I'm not a big guy, and hopefully 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."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro made his NPB Pacific League debut in 1992 for the Orix BlueWave at the age of 18, but he spent most of his first two seasons in the farm system (accumulating 156 minor league hits and a .368 batting average) because his then-manager, Shōzō Doi, refused to accept Ichiro's unorthodox swing. The swing was nicknamed because of the pendulum-like motion of his leg, which shifts his weight forward as he swings the bat, and goes against conventional hitting theory. In his second career game, he recorded his first "ichi-gun" (Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League) hit in the Pacific League against Fukuoka Daiei Hawks pitcher Keiji Kimura. Even though he hit in 1993 a home run against Hideo Nomo, who later won an MLB National League Rookie of the Year Award while a Los Angeles Dodger, Ichiro was nevertheless sent back to the farm system on that very day. 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 eventually moved to the leadoff spot, where his immediate productivity dissolved any misgivings about his unconventional swing. He set a Japanese single-season record with 210 hits, the first player ever to top 200 hits in a single season. Five other players have since done so: Matt Murton, Norichika Aoki (twice), Alex Ramírez, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and Shogo Akiyama's 216 hits in 2015, but those players benefited from 140+ game seasons while Ichiro's 210 hits had come in a 130-game season.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro's .385 batting average in 1994 was a Pacific League record and won the young outfielder the first of a record seven consecutive batting titles. Ichiro also hit 13 home runs and had 29 stolen bases, helping him to earn his first of three straight Pacific League MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: It was during the 1994 season that he began to use his given name, "Ichiro," instead of his family name, "Suzuki," on the back of his uniform. Suzuki is the second-most-common family name in Japan, and his manager introduced the idea as a publicity move to help create a new image for what had been a relatively weak team, as well as a way to distinguish their rising star. Initially, Ichiro disliked the practice and was embarrassed by it; however, "Ichiro" was a household name by the end of the season, and he was flooded with endorsement offers.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In 1995, Ichiro led the Blue Wave to its first Pacific League pennant in 12 years. In addition to his second batting title, he led the league with 80 RBI and 49 stolen bases, while his career-high 25 home runs were third in the league. By this time, the Japanese press had begun calling him the . The following year, with Ichiro winning his third-straight MVP award, the team defeated the Central League champion, Yomiuri Giants, in the Japan Series. Following the 1996 season, playing in an exhibition series against a visiting team of Major League All-Stars kindled Ichiro's desire to travel to the United States to play in the Major Leagues.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In November 1998, Ichiro participated in a seven-game exhibition series between Japanese and American all-stars. Ichiro batted .380 and collected seven stolen bases in the series, winning praise from several of his MLB counterparts, including Sammy Sosa and Jamie Moyer (who would become his teammate with the Mariners).


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In 2000, Ichiro was still a year away from being eligible for free agency, but the Blue Wave was no longer among Japan's best teams. Because the team would probably not be able to afford to keep him and would lose him without compensation in another year, Orix allowed him to negotiate with Major League clubs. Ichiro used the posting system, and the Seattle Mariners won the right to negotiate with him with a bid of approximately $13 million. In November, Ichiro signed a three-year, $14 million contract with the Seattle Mariners. In his nine NPB seasons in Japan, Ichiro had 1,278 hits, a .353 career batting average, and won seven Golden Glove Awards. Ichiro's time in the Japanese baseball leagues matured him as a player and a person, and he often credits it for his success.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Due to an agreement between Japanese baseball and the MLB, Ichiro was not allowed to play in the United States before 2001. His move to the United States was viewed with some interest because he was among the first Japanese position players to play for an MLB team. In the same way that many Japanese teams had considered the 18-year-old Ichiro too small to draft in 1992, many Americans believed he would prove too frail to succeed against Major League pitching or endure the longer 162-game season. Ichiro made an auspicious debut with Seattle, and in the Mariners' eighth game revealed his tremendous throwing arm by gunning down Oakland's Terrence Long, who had tried to advance from first to third on a teammate's single to right field. That play would be dubbed "The Throw" by Japanese media covering Ichiro's progress.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: After expressing no preference as to a uniform number, Ichiro was issued #51 by the Mariners, which was his number when he played in Japan. He was initially hesitant because it had previously been worn by pitching star Randy Johnson. To avoid insulting Johnson, Ichiro sent a personal message to the pitcher promising not to "bring shame" to the uniform. His trepidation was unfounded, as he had a remarkable 2001 season, accumulating a rookie-record 242 hits, breaking Lloyd Waner’s rookie record of 223 hits dating back in 1927, and the most hits by any MLB player since 1930. His perennial Gold Glove fielding led Safeco's right field to be dubbed "Area 51".


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: With a .350 batting average and 56 stolen bases, Ichiro was the first player to lead his league in both categories since Jackie Robinson in 1949. The season included hitting streaks of 25 and 23 games, an appearance on the cover of "Sports Illustrated", and intense media attention on both sides of the Pacific. Fans from Japan were taking $2,000 baseball tours, sometimes flying in and out of the U.S. just to watch Ichiro's games. More than 150 Japanese reporters and photographers were given media access. Safeco Field's sushi stands began selling "Ichirolls", a spicy tuna roll served with wasabi and ginger.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Aided by Major League Baseball's decision to allow All-Star voting in Japan, Ichiro was the first rookie to lead all players in voting for the All-Star Game. That winter, he won the American League Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year awards, becoming only the second player in MLB history (after Fred Lynn) to receive both honors in the same season. Ichiro is also the only player in major league history to have won an MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove Award, Silver Slugger Award, all while starting in the All-Star Game in the same season.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: 2001 had been an exceptionally successful regular season for the Seattle Mariners as a team, as they matched the 1906 Chicago Cubs' Major League record of 116 wins. In his only postseason appearance with the Mariners, Ichiro continued his hot hitting into the playoffs, batting .600 in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians. However, on Ichiro's 28th birthday, Seattle's stellar season ended against the New York Yankees in the ALCS, as Ichiro was held to a .222 average during the series. Yankees manager Joe Torre had emphasized to his pitchers, "Do not let Ichiro beat you. He is the key to Seattle's offense." Informed of this assessment, Ichiro said, "If that is true, it would give me great joy. I don't believe he is right."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro finished his second year in American baseball with 208 total hits, making him the first Mariners player ever with two consecutive seasons of 200+ hits. He got off to a hot start in 2002, but a late-season slump drove his batting average down to .321, 29 points below his batting average as a rookie. He was the fifth player in MLB history to start a career with two 200-hit seasons. Ichiro finished the season second in the AL in hits, fourth in batting average, and fourth in steals. Ichiro led the major league All-Star balloting for the second straight year. Although the Mariners had a 93–69 record, that was good for only a third-place finish in the competitive AL West.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In 2003, Ichiro became just the third player in history to begin his career with three 200-hit seasons, by garnering 212. He again finished in the top ten for hits, batting average, steals, and runs, and, again, a late-season slump brought his average down almost 40 points (to .312). Ichiro was elected to his third All-Star game in the three years he had been in the league, and he was again the vote leader in both leagues. However, the second-place Mariners again fell short of the playoffs.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro had his best offensive season in 2004, highlighted by his breaking of George Sisler's 84-year-old record for most hits (257) in a season. An increase in games played benefited Ichiro, as he accumulated only 251 hits through the first 154 games of the season. Ichiro recorded 50 hits in four different months of the year (September and October are combined by MLB for this computational purpose), becoming the first player ever to have four in a season. With 51 hits in August 2001, Ichiro joined Pete Rose as the only players with five 50-hit months in a career.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 21 May, Ichiro recorded his 2,000th professional hit. His 200th hit of 2004 came in just his 126th game. By the end of September, with one three-game series remaining, Ichiro's hit total stood at 256—one shy of Sisler. Ichiro singled off the Rangers' Ryan Drese on 1 October to tie Sisler's record. In the third inning, on a 3–2 count, Ichiro singled up the middle for his 258th hit of the year, which Ichiro later called "the greatest moment of my baseball career". He was greeted by a swarm of teammates, and a standing ovation from the fans. Sisler's daughter, Frances Sisler Drochelman attended the game and was greeted by Ichiro after his hit. Ichiro finished the 2004 season with a record of 262 hits, giving him the single-season records for both the United States and Japanese baseball.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In July 2009, while in St. Louis for his ninth All-Star appearance, Ichiro made a trip to Sisler's grave. He later told reporters, "There's not many chances to come to St. Louis. In 2004, it was the first time I crossed paths with him, and his family generously came all the way to Seattle. Above all, it was a chance. I wanted to do that for a grand upperclassman of the baseball world. I think it's only natural for someone to want to do that, to express my feelings in that way. I'm not sure if he's happy about it."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: From 2001 to 2004, Ichiro had more hits (924) than anyone in history over any four-year period, breaking the record of 918 that Bill Terry accumulated from 1929 to 1932; Terry, however, played in 34 fewer games than Ichiro during their respective four-year spans. He would later surpass his own mark by recording 930 hits from 2004 to 2007. During one 56-game stretch in 2004, Ichiro batted over .450. By comparison, Joe DiMaggio batted .408 during his record-setting 56-game hitting streak. Ichiro batted over .400 against left-handed pitching in 2004.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: During the off-season, then-manager Bob Melvin's contract was not extended and the Mariners brought in Mike Hargrove as the new manager with a contract through 2007. It was Hargrove who had predicted that Ichiro would be no better than "a fourth outfielder on [an American] major league team" back when Ichiro was still in Japan. Speculation started that Hargrove and Ichiro did not get along very well in the season.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In 2005, Ichiro had his second worst year in his MLB career to date, collecting only 206 hits (the lowest total of his career to that point). However, he reached the plateau of a .300 batting average, 100+ runs, 30+ steals, and 200+ hits for the fifth straight season. That allowed Ichiro to become the first player to collect 200 hits per season in each of his first five years in the Major Leagues. Only Willie Keeler, Wade Boggs, Chuck Klein, Al Simmons, and Charlie Gehringer had had five consecutive 200-hit seasons at any point in their careers. During the season, he accumulated 1,000 career hits, reaching the career milestone faster than any other player in MLB history. Ichiro hit a career-high 15 home runs. In the off-season, Ichiro played himself in "Furuhata Ninzaburō", a Japanese "Columbo"-like TV drama that he loves. In the drama, he kills a person and is arrested.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro played for the Japan national baseball team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March 2006. During the 15 March Japan-Korea game, Ichiro was booed by some spectators during every at-bat, reportedly in response to a previous statement that he wanted to "beat South Korea so badly that the South Koreans won't want to play Japan for another 30 years." That, however, was an incorrect translation mostly spread to the public through ESPN. Ichiro was variously quoted as saying "I want to win in a way that the opponent would think, 'we cannot catch up with Japan for the coming 30 years'. We should not merely win the games." Japan would later beat Korea in the playoffs and win the tournament after defeating Cuba 10–6 in the finals. For the tournament, Ichiro had twelve hits including a home run, seven runs, and four stolen bases.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro's 2006 season got off to a disappointing start, with the outfielder hitting as low as .177 in the season's third week. He quickly rebounded, finishing the season with a .322 average (sixth in the AL and 11th in the majors). Ichiro's 224 hits led the majors, and he recorded 110 runs and 45 stolen bases. Ichiro was caught stealing only twice in 2006 for a 96% success rate. His 1,354 career U.S. hits topped Wade Boggs's record for the most hits in any six-year period. In his sixth year in the majors, Ichiro collected his sixth Gold Glove Award, and a sixth All-Star Game selection. He also won a Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding MLB right fielder.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In May and June, Ichiro hit in 25 consecutive games, breaking the previous Seattle Mariners record set by Joey Cora in 1997. Ichiro broke Tim Raines' American League record by stealing 41 consecutive bases without being caught. Ichiro extended the record to 45; the major league record of 50 belongs to Vince Coleman.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 10 July 2007, he became the first player to hit an inside-the-park home run in any MLB All-Star Game after an unpredictable hop off the right field wall of AT&T Park in San Francisco. It was the first inside-the-park home run of Ichiro's professional career. Ichiro was a perfect 3-for-3 in the game and was named the Most Valuable Player in the American League's 5–4 victory.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: 2007 marked the end of Ichiro's second contract with the Mariners, and he initially told MLB.com that he would likely enter the free agent market, citing the team's lack of success in recent years. However, Ichiro signed a five-year contract extension with Seattle in July. The deal was reported to be worth $90 million, consisting of a $17 million annual salary and $5 million signing bonus. The Associated Press reported that Ichiro's contract extension defers $25 million of the $90 million at 5.5% interest until after his retirement, with payments through 2032. Other provisions in Ichiro's contract included a yearly housing allowance of more than $30,000, and four first-class round-trip tickets to Japan each year for his family. He was provided with either a new Jeep or Mercedes SUV, as well as a personal trainer and interpreter.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 29 July 2007, Ichiro collected his 1,500th U.S. hit, the third fastest to reach the MLB milestone behind Al Simmons and George Sisler. Ichiro had 213 hits in 2008, his eighth straight 200-hit season. This tied the 107-year-old record set by Wee Willie Keeler. Typically, Ichiro was among baseball's leaders in reaching base on an error (14 times in 2008, more than any other batter in the AL), and in infield hits (his 56 were the most in the majors). Ichiro has amassed more than 450 infield hits in his U.S. career. Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge told "The New York Times", "I wish you could put a camera at third base to see how he hits the ball and see the way it deceives you. You can call some guys' infield hits cheap, but not his. He has amazing technique." In May 2008, Ichiro stole two bases, giving him a career total of 292, surpassing the previous Seattle Mariners team record of 290 set by second baseman Julio Cruz. Cruz, who now does Spanish-language broadcasts of Mariners games, was watching from the broadcast booth as Ichiro broke his record.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 29 July 2008, Ichiro became the second-youngest player to amass 3,000 top-level professional hits (1,278 in Japan + 1,722 in the U.S.) after Ty Cobb. He also became just the second Japanese professional to get 3,000 hits. (Nippon Professional Baseball's record holder is Isao Harimoto, with 3,085 hits).


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: By 2008, it had emerged in the media that Ichiro was known within baseball for his tradition of exhorting the American League team with a profanity-laced pregame speech in the clubhouse prior to the MLB All-Star Game. Asked if the speech had had any effect on the AL's decade-long winning streak, Ichiro deadpanned, "I've got to say over 90 percent." Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau describes the effect: "If you've never seen it, it's definitely something pretty funny. It's hard to explain, the effect it has on everyone. It's such a tense environment. Everyone's a little nervous for the game, and then he comes out. He doesn't say a whole lot the whole time he's in there, and all of a sudden, the manager gets done with his speech, and he pops off." Boston's slugger David Ortiz says simply, "It's why we win."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Despite struggling uncharacteristically during most of the tournament, Ichiro provided the game-winning hit in the Championship game against South Korea. With two outs in the top of the tenth inning, he broke a 3–3 tie with a two-run single off a ball in the dirt. This would prove to be the margin of victory in Japan's 5–3 defeat of South Korea. Ichiro ended the night 4-for-6, bringing his total to 6-for-10 in WBC championship games.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro began his 2009 season by going on the disabled list for the first time in his career. He had a bleeding ulcer, which team doctor Mitch Storey said may have been caused in part by the stress of playing in the World Baseball Classic. After missing 8 games, Ichiro debuted on 15 April and went 2-for-5 against the Angels, including a grand slam for his 3,085th overall professional career hit. The home run matched Isao Harimoto's Japanese record for career hits, and Harimoto had been flown out to Seattle to witness the event. Ichiro surpassed the record the following night.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro was named #30 on the "Sporting News"' 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, voted upon by a 100-person panel of experts and former stars. In May and June, Ichiro surpassed his own franchise record with a 27-game hitting streak. Ichiro went on to record 44 hits in June 2009, his 20th career month with 40 or more hits. The previous players to have accomplished this were Stan Musial in the NL and Lou Gehrig in the AL.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 6 September against the Oakland A's, Ichiro collected his 2,000th MLB hit on the second pitch of the game, a double along the first base foul line. He is the second-fastest player to reach the milestone, behind Al Simmons. On 13 September against the Texas Rangers, Ichiro collected his 200th hit of the season for the ninth consecutive year, setting an all-time major league record. Ichiro recorded 210 hits with Orix in 1994, thereby giving him a total of ten 200 hit seasons in his professional career.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: With two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, 18 September, Ichiro hit a walk-off, two-run home run against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, scoring Michael Saunders in one of the more memorable victories of the season. His homer made a winner out of Félix Hernández, who was in line for the loss despite having allowed only one run in 9 innings pitched.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 26 September 2009, Ichiro was ejected from a game for the first time in his professional career. Arguing that a strikeout pitch from Toronto's David Purcey had been outside, Ichiro used his bat to draw a line on the outer edge of the plate, and was immediately tossed by umpire Brian Runge. He was the only Mariner to be ejected from a game all season. The ejection may have hurt Ichiro's chances regarding an esoteric record: the longest playing streak without going hitless in consecutive games. Ichiro's stretch was at 180 games, the longest in the majors since Doc Cramer went 191 consecutive games without back-to-back 0-fers in 1934–35. Ichiro went hitless in the following afternoon's game.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro again led the majors in hits in 2009, with 225. In spite of hitting ground balls at a rate of 55 percent, he grounded into only one double play all season, in 15 April game, his first game played in 2009. He won his second Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding right fielder in MLB.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro's 32 career leadoff home runs rank ninth all time. Nevertheless, in 2009, Ichiro told "The New York Times":


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Chicks who dig home runs aren't the ones who appeal to me. I think there's sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I'd rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: After playing in the season opener against the Oakland Athletics, Ichiro became eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, by playing in his tenth MLB season. On 5 June 2010, Ichiro scored his 1,000th career MLB run against the Angels on Franklin Gutierrez's RBI groundout. On 1 September 2010, Ichiro also collected his 2,200th hit, a leadoff infield single against Cleveland Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: During the August 2010 series against the New York Yankees, Ichiro traveled to the Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York, to pay his respects at the grave of Hall-of-Famer "Wee Willie" Keeler, whose record for single-season hits he had broken in 2004.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 23 September, Ichiro hit a single to center field against Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shawn Hill to become the first MLB player in history to reach the 200 hit mark for 10 consecutive seasons. This feat also tied him with Pete Rose for the most career seasons of 200+ hits, and he surpassed Ty Cobb for most career seasons of 200+ hits in the AL. He finished the season with 214 hits, topping the MLB in that category. Ichiro also finished the season "ironman" style, playing in all 162 games. Only Ichiro and Matt Kemp did so for the 2010 season. This was Ichiro's 3rd season playing in all 162 games. Also, Ichiro was nominated for the This Year in Baseball Award. Ichiro finished first or second in hits in all of his first 10 MLB seasons.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro won his tenth consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2010, tying Ken Griffey Jr., Andruw Jones, and Al Kaline, and trailing only Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays (twelve each) for major league outfielders. Ichiro also won his second consecutive and third overall Fielding Bible Award for his statistically based defensive excellence in right field, as the only right fielder to have so far received multiple Bible awards. Jason Heyward subsequently equaled Ichiro with his third Bible in 2015; thereafter Mookie Betts promptly became the third right fielder to achieve this distinction in 2018, on three consecutive awards.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 2 April 2011, Ichiro broke the Seattle Mariners' all-time career hits record with his 2,248th hit in the 9th inning versus the Oakland Athletics, overtaking the team's previous leader Edgar Martínez. 2011 marked the first time in Ichiro's 11 seasons that he failed to make the all star team. He batted under .300 (.277) before the all star break for the first time in his career. On 10 July, manager Eric Wedge did not start Ichiro, ending his then-major league-best active streak of 255 consecutive starts. Ichiro followed with an 11-game hitting streak, but Wedge noted "it's not that easy to give that guy a day off" due to Ichiro's iconic stature. On 22 August, Ichiro hit his 35th career leadoff homer, tying him for 6th place with Bobby Bonds. Ichiro finished the season batting a career-low .272 with 184 hits, the first time in his 11-year MLB career he did not record 200 hits. It was also his first season not playing in the All-Star game, as well as his first season not winning a Gold Glove.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 19 June 2012, Ichiro led off a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a single to center field, the 2,500th hit of his MLB career. Ichiro reached the milestone in the fourth-fewest games in major league history, after Al Simmons, Ty Cobb, and George Sisler. In a 13-inning road loss to the Oakland A's on 8 July, Ichiro was placed second in the batting order and responded by going 2 for 6 to bring his season batting average to .261 heading into the All-Star break. In the previous night's game, Ichiro recorded two hits to break a career-worst 0-for-23 hitless streak. Ichiro had also been tried at the three-spot in the batting order during a season for which he earned $18 million. Former teammate Jay Buhner stated he felt Ichiro was the recipient of too much blame for the Mariners' difficulties but "at the same time, they need help desperately." Buhner stated that if Ichiro were awarded a three-year contract extension for somewhere between $35 million and $40 million, "I'd vomit. I mean, really, no offense. No offense, we've got to get this organization turned around. You can't be spending all the money on one guy."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: With a contract extension with the Mariners unknown, Ichiro stated, "It's going to go both ways. It can't just come from the player. It's got to come from the team, too. If the team is saying they need you, you're necessary, then it becomes a piece. But if it's just coming from the player, it's not going to happen." Ichiro's agent, Tony Attanasio, said, "He knows that the club has to grow. He knows they have to play the younger guys and get them more playing time. The only way he knows to do that is to move on. He doesn't want to stop playing. He wants to continue."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro approached the Mariners to ask for a trade at midseason in 2012. His first choice was to play for the New York Yankees. The Mariners traded him to the Yankees for minor league pitchers D. J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar on 23 July. Seattle also received cash in the trade. Ichiro left Seattle hitting .261 with a .288 on-base percentage (OBP), four home runs, 28 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 95 games. His first game as a Yankee was played the night of the trade, at Safeco Field against the Mariners. Before the trade was consummated, Ichiro agreed to the Yankees' conditions, which stated that they would play Ichiro primarily in left field, bat him at the bottom of the lineup, and occasionally sit him against left-handed pitching. Ichiro would go on to hit safely in his first 12 games as a Yankee, tying a record set by Don Slaught. He wore number 31 during his tenure with the Yankees, as his traditional 51 had not been used since the 2006 retirement of Bernie Williams, who wore it while playing for the Yankees; the Yankees retired the number in 2015.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro hit his first home run as a Yankee, and the 100th of his career, on 30 July against the Baltimore Orioles. For the week ending 23 September, Ichiro was named AL Player of the Week after hitting .600 (15-for-25) with three doubles, two home runs, five RBI, seven runs scored, and six stolen bases in six games. He led all MLB players in batting average, hits, steals and OBP (.630). In 67 games with New York, Ichiro batted .322 with a .340 OBP, 28 runs, five home runs and 27 RBIs. With his improved performance, the Yankees at times batted him second and also started him against left-handers.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Against the Baltimore Orioles in the 2012 ALDS, Ichiro ran home on a ball hit by Robinson Canó. Despite the ball beating him to the plate, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters had difficulty tagging Ichiro, who evaded multiple tag attempts by jumping over and around Wieters. In Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS, Ichiro hit his first career postseason home run; however, the Yankees lost the series to the Detroit Tigers in 4 games.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 25 June 2013, Ichiro hit a walk-off home run against Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Earlier in the game, three of his teammates had led off the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings with home runs, so all of the Yankees' runs in the game were provided by solo home runs.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 21 August 2013, Ichiro collected his 4,000th professional career hit with a single off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher R. A. Dickey, becoming the seventh player in professional baseball history known to have reached the mark after Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Julio Franco, Hank Aaron, Jigger Statz, and Stan Musial.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 10 July 2014, Ichiro collected his 2,800th MLB hit off of Cleveland Indians pitcher Scott Atchison in the top of the eighth inning at Progressive Field. On 9 August 2014, Ichiro hit a single in a game against the Astros to pass George Sisler on the all-time hit list with his 2,811th hit. Ichiro had previously broken Sisler's single season hit record in the 2004 season.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 23 January 2015, Ichiro agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Miami Marlins. The Marlins originally planned for him to be their fourth outfielder, but he finished the season with 439 plate appearances due to team injuries—primarily Giancarlo Stanton, who suffered a season-ending injury on 26 June. On 25 April, Ichiro scored his 1,310th major league run, which, combined with the 658 runs he scored in Japan, surpassed the record for runs scored by a Japanese player set by Sadaharu Oh. On 18 June, he was batting .294 after playing in 64 of the Marlins' 68 games, but his average fell to .229 by season's end. On 14 August at Busch Stadium, Ichiro singled off St. Louis Cardinals starter John Lackey to earn his 4,192nd top-level hit, passing Ty Cobb. On 29 July, Ichiro recorded his 2,900th major league hit, against Washington Nationals pitcher Doug Fister. On 18 August, Ichiro had his first four-hit game since 2013. On 31 August, against the Atlanta Braves, Ichiro scored his 2,000th professional run when combining his runs scored in MLB (1,342) and in Japan's NPB (658). On 5 September, Ichiro recorded his 100th right field assist in the major leagues. In the season finale against the Philadelphia Phillies on 4 October, he made his major league pitching debut, completing the final inning and allowing one run and two hits in a 7–2 loss. For the 2015 season, he batted .229/.282/.279 with 11 stolen bases.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 6 October 2015, Ichiro and the Marlins agreed on a one-year, $2 million contract for the 2016 season. The deal also came with a $2 million club option for 2017. He stole his 500th career MLB base on 29 April 2016, against the Milwaukee Brewers, and led off the game with a single against Zach Davies to move ahead of Frank Robinson into 33rd place on the all-time MLB hit list with the 2,944th hit of his career.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 15 June, Ichiro recorded his 4,257 career hit, breaking Pete Rose's all-time record for hits in top tier professional baseball. Rose commented that "I'm not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he's had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know you'll be counting his high school hits". This was in response to the Japanese media labeling Ichiro as the "Hit King", claiming that Ichiro should be considered to be the all-time hits leader when his hits in Japan are included.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 7 August, Ichiro collected the 3,000th hit of his MLB career when he hit a triple off the right field wall at Coors Field playing against the Colorado Rockies. He is just the second player to reach that milestone by way of a triple, joining Hall of Famer Paul Molitor. He also became one of only seven players to have collected 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases. At the end of his 16th season, Ichiro had played in exactly 2,500 major league games. Ichiro and Pete Rose are the only two players in MLB history to have accomplished playing in 2,500 games in their first 16 seasons.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: After the 2016 season, the Marlins exercised their option on Ichiro's contract for the 2017 season, and added an option for the 2018 season.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 19 April, Ichiro hit his first home run against his former team the Seattle Mariners, a 9th-inning drive off Evan Marshall. Ichiro scored his 1400th run in a 23 May game against the Oakland A's.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 14 June, Ichiro singled for his 365th interleague hit, passing Derek Jeter (364) to become the all-time leader in interleague hits. Ichiro finished 2017 with 368 interleague hits. This total would be surpassed by Miguel Cabrera on September 7, 2021.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 25 June, Ichiro (age 43 and 246 days) became the oldest player to start a game in center field since at least 1900, breaking the record previously held by Rickey Henderson. On 29 June, Ichiro became the oldest active MLB player when Bartolo Colón was designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves, although Colon latched on with the Minnesota Twins a few weeks later. On 6 July, Ichiro hit two singles against the St. Louis Cardinals, bringing his hits total to 3,054 and surpassing Panamanian-born Rod Carew as the all-time leader in MLB hits among foreign-born players. Dominican born Adrian Beltre surpassed Ichiro as the foreign hits leader on 13 June 2018.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 26 August, Ichiro set the Marlins' single-season franchise record for pinch-hits with his 22nd pinch hit. On 3 September, he set a major league record for most pinch-hit at-bats in a season, with 84, and four days later he set a major league record for most pinch-hit plate appearances in a season, with 95. On 8 September, Ichiro became the sixth player all-time to hit 2,500 career singles, as well as the 8th right fielder of all-time to record over 4,000 putouts at the position. On 1 October, Ichiro flied out in his last chance to tie John Vander Wal's MLB record of 28 pinch hits in a season, finishing with 27.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: For the season, he batted .255/.318/.332 with one stolen base (the first season in which he did not steal at least 10 bases). After the season, the Marlins declined a $2 million club option for the 2018 season, instead paying Ichiro a $500,000 buyout.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 7 March 2018, Ichiro signed a one-year contract to return to the Mariners after several team outfielders were injured during spring training. On Opening Day, 29 March, against the Cleveland Indians, Ichiro became the 20th outfielder all-time to record 5,000 career putouts at the position. At 44 years old, he entered the 2018 season as the second-oldest active player in baseball, behind only Bartolo Colón.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 3 May, the Mariners announced that Ichiro would move to the front office as a special assistant to the chairman for the remainder of the season, but Ichiro did not rule out a possible return as a player for the 2019 season. In his final game for the year on the previous day, he went 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and a run in a 3–2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. This would end up being his last game played at Safeco Field. In 15 games played with the 2018 Mariners, Ichiro batted 9-for-44 (.205/.255/.205) without an extra base hit, stolen base, or RBI.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: At the time of his sabbatical as an active player, Ichiro held the record for most hits in Major League Baseball history by a foreign-born player (3,089). He was surpassed six weeks later by Adrián Beltré.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 11 May, he became the interim bench coach for two games as manager Scott Servais was gone to attend his daughter's college graduation and regular bench coach Manny Acta was filling in as manager.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 2 October 2018, it was announced that Ichiro would be on the Mariners' active roster when they opened the 2019 season against the Oakland Athletics in Japan. Ichiro was re-signed to a minor league deal on 23 January 2019.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 20 March 2019, the Mariners opened the MLB season against the Athletics at the Tokyo Dome and Ichiro started the game in right field, becoming at 45 years old the second oldest position player (behind Julio Franco) to start for a team on its opening day. The next night, the Mariners again played the Athletics at the Tokyo Dome and Ichiro played in his final professional game. He went 0–4 at the plate and in the bottom of the eighth inning walked off the field to applause. Later in the day, Ichiro officially announced his retirement. He was the oldest active MLB player at the time.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: 2019 was Ichiro's 19th season in the MLB, and including the nine years he played in Japan's NPB, Ichiro's 28 seasons of playing in baseball's top-tiered leagues eclipsed the record of most seasons played by a position player held previously by 19th century MLB player Cap Anson. (MLB pitcher Nolan Ryan, like Anson, also played 27 seasons, while NPB pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo played 29 seasons).


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 30 April, Ichiro renewed his role with the Mariners from the previous year as special assistant to the chairman.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Sportswriter Bruce Jenkins, writing in the "San Francisco Chronicle", described Ichiro's distinctive style of play:


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: There's nobody like Ichiro in either league—now or ever. He exists strictly within his own world, playing a game 100 percent unfamiliar to everyone else. The game has known plenty of 'slap' hitters, but none who sacrifice so much natural ability for the sake of the art. And he'll go deep occasionally in games, looking very much like someone who could do it again, often ... [but] the man lives for hits, little tiny ones, and the glory of standing atop the world in that category. Every spring, scouts or media types write him off, swearing that opposing pitchers have found the key, and they are embarrassingly wrong.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: While he is known for his hitting ability, he did not draw many walks. In 2004, when he set the single-season record for hits, his low walk total (49) led to him being on base a total of 315 times. It was the 58th-most times a player has reached base in a season and short of the major league record of 379 set by Babe Ruth in 1923.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: "The New York Times" criticized his inability to improve his power when his Mariner teams were often low-scoring while noting that he also did not steal bases as frequently as Rickey Henderson or Tim Raines. Ichiro, however, once commented, "If I'm allowed to hit .220, I could probably hit 40 [home runs], but nobody wants that."


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro has long been interested in pitching professionally, and he actually took the mound to pitch to one batter in the 1996 NPB All Star game, reaching close to 91 MPH (145 km) in warm up pitches. In 2009, it was reported that during an early February workout at the World Baseball Classic his fastball was clocked at 92 mph. On the final day of the 2015 season on 4 October, Ichiro pitched in his first MLB game, throwing one complete inning at the end of a 7–2 Marlins loss against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing one run on two hits. Less than three weeks before turning 42, he was still able to touch 88 mph with his fastball to go along with a mid 80s slider.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro is the only left-handed hitter in Major League history with at least 2,000 plate appearances against left-handed pitching to display a reverse platoon split—that is, he had better results hitting off left-handed pitchers than right-handed pitchers.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro received recognition for playing superior defense in right field, with above-average range and a strong and accurate throwing arm. During his career, he won 10 Gold Glove Awards.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro is noted for his work ethic in arriving early for his team's games, and for his calisthenic stretching exercises to stay limber even during the middle of the game. Continuing in Seattle the custom he began in Japan, he used his given name (written in rōmaji) on the back of his uniform instead of his family name, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball to do so since Vida Blue.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: In addition to being a ten-time Gold Glove winner, Ichiro was a ten-time All-Star selection from 2001 to 2010. His success has been credited with opening the door for other Japanese players like former Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui, former Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima, former teammate So Taguchi, and former Seibu Lions infielder Kazuo Matsui and active players Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki to enter the Major Leagues. Ichiro's career is followed closely in Japan, with national television news programs covering each of his at-bats, and with special tour packages arranged for Japanese fans to visit the United States to attend his games.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro's agent, Tony Attanasio, described his client's status: "When you mail Ichiro something from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets it [in Japan]. He's that big." Ichiro's status in Japan fueled interest in Major League Baseball in Japan, including the $275 million broadcasting rights deal between MLB and Dentsu Inc. in 2003.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro performs in TV commercials in Japan for ENEOS. His likeness is used as the basis of the character "Kyoshiro" in the anime and manga "Major".


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: When he first came to the United States, he especially enjoyed trips to Kansas City to talk with former Negro leagues star Buck O'Neil. When O'Neil died in 2006, Ichiro sent a very large memorial wreath to the funeral service. The following year, he visited the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum while on a road trip to Kansas City and made what, as of 2016, remains the largest contribution ever made to the museum by an active MLB player.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: When Ichiro was traded to the Yankees in July 2012, longtime Mariners fan Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) posted his tribute song, "Ichiro's Theme", on his SoundCloud page. The previous year, The Baseball Project had released the tribute song "Ichiro Goes To The Moon" on their album "".


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Over the course of his career, Ichiro has endorsed numerous Japanese brands, although he was more reluctant to enter endorsement deals with American companies. According to "Forbes", at one point in his career, Ichiro earned roughly $7 million annually from endorsements, most of which came from Japanese companies.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: He was the face of Kirin Brewery, a Japanese beer brand. He has endorsed Japanese brands such as sporting goods company Mizuno Corporation, Nikko Cordial, NTT Communications, JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy. Ichiro also endorsed Yunker energy drink on behalf of Sato Pharmaceutical.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: As of 2001, Ichiro had deals with the US golfwear company Cutter & Buck, Upper Deck trading card company, and sporting goods company Majestic Athletic.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro's agent Tony Attanasio stated that Ichiro had rejected around $40 million in endorsements due to him being "very selective when it comes to putting his name out in the public"


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro married , a former TBS TV announcer, on 3 December 1999, at a small church in Santa Monica, California. , they have a pet dog (Shiba Inu) named Ikkyu, a combination of the first character in each of his and his wife's first names. The couple resided in Issaquah, Washington, during the season while he played in Seattle and in Greenwich, Connecticut, while he played for the Yankees. They resided in Miami Beach during seasons with the Marlins.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: On 18 March 2011, Ichiro donated ¥100 million ($1.25 million) to the Japanese Red Cross for earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro's father, Nobuyuki, handled Ichiro's finances early in his career until, in 2002, due to Nobuyuki underreporting Ichiro's income, Ichiro was saddled with a significant bill for unpaid taxes. The scandal cost Ichiro an undisclosed amount of money and caused him embarrassment. This incident, along with Nobuyuki's relentless training and unforgiving attitude toward his son, caused their relationship to collapse. Subsequently, Ichiro's finances have been looked after by his wife Yumiko.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Since November 2000, Nobuyuki has run the Ichiro exhibition room named "I-fain" in Toyoyama, Ichiro's hometown. It exhibits a wide variety of Ichiro memorabilia, including personal items from his childhood and up-to-date baseball gear.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro is the honored chairman of the Ichiro Cup, a six-month-long boys' league tournament with more than 200 teams, held in Toyoyama and surrounding cities and towns since 1996. Ichiro watches the final game and attends its awards ceremony every year.


title: Ichiro Suzuki

text: Ichiro speaks English well and often spoke it with his teammates in his playing days, but he uses an interpreter during interviews so that he is not misunderstood. He also learned Spanish early in his MLB career, using it to banter with other players. Ichiro further explains he did it because he felt a kinship to the Latin American players who, like him, were foreigners trying to succeed in the U.S.


title: Camilla Belle

text: Camilla Belle Routh (born October 2, 1986), known professionally as Camilla Belle, is an American actress, director, and producer.


title: Camilla Belle

text: Belle was born to Deborah Cristina Gould and Jack Wesley Routh, a country music performer and composer. She attended Marlborough School, an all-girl high school in Los Angeles. She grew up speaking English and Portuguese. During her childhood, she frequently visited her mother's family in Brazil.


title: Camilla Belle

text: Early in her career, Belle appeared in numerous television commercials for well-known brands, including Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical, Cabbage Patch Kids, Campbell's Soup and Public Broadcasting System. In 1992, she was cast as a lead in her first film, NBC's thriller, "Trapped Beneath the Earth." Belle began her career with a small role in the film version of the novel "A Little Princess" (1995). In "" (1997), she played Cathy Bowman, a young wealthy British girl attacked by a pack of Compsognathus. In 1998, she played Aubrey Shepard on the Focus on the Family radio drama "Adventures in Odyssey". Following a turn as Steven Seagal's daughter in "The Patriot" (1998), she earned a 1999 Youth in Film Young Artist Award nomination for her portrayal of Sandra Bullock's character as a girl in "Practical Magic" (1998), as well as another nomination the same year for her guest appearance on the TV series "."


title: Camilla Belle

text: She received her third and fourth Young Artist Award nominations respectively for the television film "Replacing Dad" (1999) and for her first lead role, in the Disney Channel television film "Rip Girls" (2000). Belle played the lead role in the television film "Back to the Secret Garden" (2001), then took a break from acting before returning with a role in the independent film "The Quiet" (2005). "SFStation" wrote that "performance-wise "The Quiet" belongs to Camilla Belle and Elisha Cuthbert". In 2006, she signed a multi-year contract to become the face of Vera Wang's "Princess" fragrance, appearing in print advertisements and television commercials. Her contract ended in July 2009.


title: Camilla Belle

text: She returned to performing after a short break with the lead role of sixteen-year-old Jill Johnson in the remake of "When a Stranger Calls" (2006). In 2007, she appeared in coffee brand Nespresso's television commercial alongside actor George Clooney. She then played a lead role in the Roland Emmerich-directed big-budget film "10,000 BC" (2008), which grossed $269 million at the worldwide box office. In 2012, Belle sang in an advertisement for Cotton. Belle played Isabel Wallace in "The Mad Whale" (2017), a student project produced by James Franco's Elysium Bandini Studios and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She starred as Carina in Fox's streaming platform Tubi's original romantic comedy film "10 Truths About Love" (2022), which anchored the platform's Valentine’s Day programming event.


title: Camilla Belle

text: Belle's appearance and fashion choices have been a subject of media attention. She has graced the cover of numerous fashion magazines, including "Teen Vogue", "Elle", "Harper's Bazaar", "Tatler", "Ocean Drive", "Glamour", "Nylon", "Vanidades", "Lucky", "ES Magazine" and "Genlux". She is a frequent guest star at New York Fashion Week, among other fashion events. She has also been a runway model for Alberta Ferretti and The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection.


title: Camilla Belle

text: Her style has received noteworthy praise from periodicals such as "Cosmopolitan, InStyle" and "People". In 2007, "People" magazine named her "Fashionista of the Week" during Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion Week in New York City. "People" wrote that Belle "managed to look appropriate and fashion-forward at every event she went to this week, including Max Azria, Oscar de la Renta and Miss Sixty." Belle has never worked with a professional stylist and credits her mother as her stylist instead. In her fashion choices, Belle and her mother are inspired by Elizabeth Taylor and Old Hollywood.


title: Camilla Belle

text: Belle dated Joe Jonas from late 2008 to mid-2009. They met when she appeared in the Jonas Brothers' "Lovebug" music video. Taylor Swift wrote the song "Better than Revenge" about their relationship, after Jonas left her for Belle.


title: Badfinger

text: Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland. They are recognised for their influence on the 1970s power pop genre. It is estimated that the band sold 14 million albums.


title: Badfinger

text: The band evolved from an earlier group called the Iveys, formed in 1961, which became the first group signed by the Beatles' Apple label in 1968. The band renamed themselves Badfinger, after the working title for the Beatles' 1967 song "With a Little Help from My Friends" ("Bad Finger Boogie"). From 1968 to 1973, Badfinger recorded five albums for Apple and toured extensively, before they became embroiled in the chaos of Apple's dissolution.


title: Badfinger

text: Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney, 1970), "No Matter What" (produced by Mal Evans, 1970), "Day After Day" (produced by George Harrison, 1971), and "Baby Blue" (produced by Todd Rundgren, 1972). Their song "Without You" (1970) has been recorded many times, and became a US and UK number-one hit for Harry Nilsson and, twenty-four years later, a UK number-one for Mariah Carey.


title: Badfinger

text: After Apple Records folded in 1973, Badfinger struggled with a host of legal, managerial, and financial problems, leading to Ham's suicide in 1975. The surviving members struggled to rebuild their personal and professional lives against a backdrop of lawsuits, which tied up the songwriters' royalty payments for years. Their subsequent albums floundered, as Molland and Evans alternated between co-operation and conflict in their attempts to revive and capitalise on the Badfinger legacy. Evans commited suicide in 1983, and Gibbins died from a brain aneurysm in 2005, leaving Molland as the group's only surviving member.


title: Badfinger

text: The Iveys formed in 1961 in Swansea, Wales from The Panthers, whose line-up consisted of Pete Ham (lead guitar), Ronald "Ron" Griffiths (bass guitar) (b. Ronald Llewellyn Griffiths, 2 October 1946, Swansea), David "Dai" Jenkins (rhythm guitar) (b. David Owen Jenkins, 30 October 1945, Swansea), and Roy Anderson (drums). After playing under various names, including The Black Velvets and the Wild Ones, by 1964 they had settled on The Iveys, after a street in Swansea called Ivey Place.


title: Badfinger

text: In March 1965, drummer Mike Gibbins joined The Iveys. The group secured concerts around the Swansea area, opening for prominent British bands such as the Spencer Davis Group, The Who, The Moody Blues, and The Yardbirds.


title: Badfinger

text: By June 1966, Bill Collins (the father of actor Lewis Collins) had started to manage the group. In December 1966, the group moved into Collins's home at 7 Park Avenue, Golders Green, London, sharing space with an act called The Mojos. The house was terminally overcrowded, so the only place to find any privacy was in a room equipped with a two-track recording machine.


title: Badfinger

text: The group performed a wide range of cover tunes on the London circuit, from Motown, blues, and soul to Top 40, psychedelia, and Beatles hits, which garnered interest from record labels. Ray Davies of The Kinks auditioned to produce them, recording three of their songs at a four-track demo studio in London's Old Kent Road on 15 January 1967: "Taxi" and "Sausage And Eggs", songs by Ham; and Griffiths's "I Believe in You Girl". On 8 December 1966, Collins and the group signed a five-year contract giving Collins a 20% share of net receipts, the same as the individual group members, but only after managerial expenses had been deducted. Collins said at the time, "Look, I can't promise you lads anything, except blood, sweat and tears." The group performed occasional concerts backing David Garrick while performing as The Iveys across the United Kingdom throughout the rest of the decade.


title: Badfinger

text: In August 1967, Dai Jenkins was asked to leave the group, and was replaced by Liverpudlian guitarist Tom Evans, formerly of Them Calderstones (b. Thomas Evans Jr., 5 June 1947, Liverpool, d. 19 November 1983). Jenkins's departure was remembered by Griffiths as being "politely asked if he would step down," as Jenkins seemed more interested in girls than the music.


title: Badfinger

text: After receiving an invitation from Collins, Beatles roadie/assistant Mal Evans and Apple Records A&R head Peter Asher saw The Iveys perform at the Marquee Club, London, on 25 January 1968. Evans subsequently pushed their demo tapes to every Beatle until he gained approval from all four to sign the group. The demos were accomplished using a mono "sound-on-sound" tape recorder: two individual tracks bouncing each overdub on top of the last. When Evans signed The Iveys to Apple on 23 July 1968, they became the first non-Beatle recording artists on the label. Each of The Iveys were also signed to Apple Corps publishing contracts. The early Iveys sessions for Apple were produced by either Tony Visconti or Evans.


title: Badfinger

text: The group's first single, "Maybe Tomorrow", produced by Visconti, was released worldwide on 15 November 1968. It reached the Top Ten in several European countries and Japan, but only #67 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and failed to chart in the UK. The US manager of Apple Records, Ken Mansfield, ordered 400,000 copies of the single—considered to be a bold move at the time in the music business—and pushed for automatic airplay and reviews from newspapers, which he secured. Nevertheless, Mansfield remembered the problems: "We had a great group. We had a great record. We were missing just one thing ... the ability to go out and pick up people, and convince them to put their money on the counter." A second Tom Evans composition, "Storm in a Teacup", was included on an Apple EP promoting Wall's Ice Cream, along with songs by Apple artists such as James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, and Jackie Lomax. The chart success of "Maybe Tomorrow" in Europe and Japan led to a follow-up single release in those markets in July 1969: Griffiths's "Dear Angie", also produced by Visconti. An LP containing both singles and titled "Maybe Tomorrow" was released only in Italy, Germany, and Japan. This limited release strategy was thought to be the work of Apple Corps president Allen Klein: an Apple Corps press officer, Tony Bramwell, remembered: "[Klein] was saying, 'We're not going to issue any more records until I sort out this [Apple Corps] mess.


title: Badfinger

text: After the unexpectedly limited releases of "Dear Angie" and "Maybe Tomorrow", Griffiths complained about Apple's handling of The Iveys in an interview for the "Disc & Music Echo" magazine, saying: "We do feel a bit neglected. We keep writing songs for a new single and submitting them to Apple, but they keep sending them back, saying they're not good enough." Paul McCartney read the interview and offered the song "Come and Get It" to the group, although he had written the song for the soundtrack of "The Magic Christian". Before the recording on Saturday, 2 August 1969, Griffiths remembered the whole group being so excited they couldn't sleep. Producing the track in under one hour, McCartney made sure that they copied his own demo note-for-note: "They were a young band ... they said, 'We want to do it a bit different, wanna get our own thing in'. I said "'No", this has gotta be "exactly" like this [McCartney's demo], 'cos this is the hit.'"


title: Badfinger

text: McCartney had been commissioned to contribute two other songs to the film's soundtrack. After "Come and Get It" was successfully recorded, he offered to produce two of The Iveys' original compositions to fulfill those commissions, for which he selected "Carry On Till Tomorrow" (commissioned as the main title theme for the film) and "Rock of All Ages" (commissioned as background music for a party scene). All three tracks appeared both in the movie and on its soundtrack album. McCartney then recruited George Martin to provide the string arrangement for "Carry On Till Tomorrow". As Griffiths fell ill midway through these sessions, Evans played bass on "Rock of All Ages", "Midnight Sun", and "Crimson Ship".


title: Badfinger

text: Pending the release of "Come and Get It", the band and Apple agreed that the name "The Iveys" was too trite for the prevailing music scene, plus The Iveys were sometimes confused with "The Ivy League", so a name change was needed. Suggestions were put forward, including Lennon's "The Glass Onion", "The Prix", "The Cagneys", and "Home" from McCartney. Apple Corps' Neil Aspinall proposed "Badfinger", in reference to "Bad Finger Boogie", an early working title of Lennon–McCartney's "With a Little Help from My Friends", as Lennon had hurt his forefinger on a piano and was using only one finger. In December 1969, the band agreed on Badfinger.


title: Badfinger

text: Harrison would later state that the band was named after Helga Fabdinger, a stripper the Beatles had known in Hamburg.


title: Badfinger

text: At the end of October 1969, Griffiths, who was the sole married occupant of the communal group's home and also was raising a child (b. December 1968), left the group. His responsibilities created friction, mainly between Griffiths's wife, Evans, and manager Collins. Griffiths later said: "Tommy [Evans] created the bad blood. He'd convinced the others that [I was] not one of the boys anymore." Drummer Gibbins remembered that he wasn't even consulted about the decision: "I was considered a nothing head at that point. I wasn't even worth conversing with."


title: Badfinger

text: As the release date of "Come and Get It" was approaching, The Iveys looked for a replacement for Griffiths. After unsuccessfully auditioning a number of bassists, they hired guitarist Joey Molland, who was previously with Gary Walker & The Rain, The Masterminds, and The Fruit-Eating Bears. His addition required Evans to shift from rhythm guitar to bass.


title: Badfinger

text: "Come and Get It" was released as a single in December 1969 in the UK, and January 1970 in the US. Selling more than a million copies worldwide, it reached Top Ten throughout the world: #7 on the US "Billboard" chart on 18 April 1970, and #4 in the UK. Because The Iveys' "Maybe Tomorrow" album had only been released in a few markets, the band's three songs from "The Magic Christian" soundtrack album were combined with other, older Iveys tracks (including both of The Iveys' singles and five other songs from "Maybe Tomorrow") and then released as Badfinger's first album "Magic Christian Music" (1970). The album peaked at #55 on the "Billboard" album chart in the US. In addition, Derek Taylor commissioned Les Smithers to photograph the band in March 1970. His photograph has been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery.


title: Badfinger

text: New recording sessions for Badfinger also commenced in March 1970, with Mal Evans producing. Two songs were completed, including "No Matter What", which was rejected by Apple as a potential single. Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick then took over as producer and the band completed its second album in July 1970. During the recordings, the band were sent to Hawaii on 4 June, to appear at a Capitol/Apple Records convention, and then flew to Italy to play concerts in Rome. "No Dice" was released in the US in late 1970, peaking at #28 on the "Billboard" album chart. The Mal Evans-produced track "No Matter What", as re-mixed by Emerick, was finally released as a single, and reached numerous Top Ten charts around the world—peaking at #8 in the US and #5 in the UK. An Emerick-produced album track from "No Dice" titled "Without You" became even more successful after Harry Nilsson covered the song in 1972; his version became an international hit, reaching #1 on "Billboard" in the US, and also spending five weeks at the top of the UK chart. The song began as a merger of two separate songs, with the verses penned by Ham and the chorus penned by Evans. The song won Ham and Evans the 1972 Ivor Novello award for "Song of the Year".


title: Badfinger

text: In April 1970, while in the US scouting prospects for a tour, Collins was introduced to New York businessman Stan Polley, who signed Badfinger to a business management contract in November 1970. Polley established Badfinger Enterprises, Inc., with Stan Poses as vice-president. It bound the band members to various contracts dictating that income from touring, recording, publishing, and even songwriter performance royalties would be directed into holding companies controlled by Polley. It led to a salary arrangement for the band, which various members later complained was inadequate compared to their gross earnings. Gibbins said: "My first impression was, Stan [Polley] is a powerful guy," while Molland thought that Polley seemed more of a father-figure. At the same time, Polley was also managing Al Kooper, of Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Lou Christie.


title: Badfinger

text: Although Polley's professional reputation was admired, his dubious financial practices eventually contributed to the band's downfall. A financial statement prepared by Polley's accountants, Sigmund Balaban & Co., for the period from 8 December 1970 to 31 October 1971, showed Polley's income from the band: "Salaries and advances to client, $8,339 (Joey Molland), $6,861 (Mike Gibbins), $6,211 (Tom Evans), $5,959 (Pete Ham). Net corporation profit, $24,569. Management commission, $75,744 (Stan Polley)". Although it is not known if the band members saw the statement, Collins certainly had, as his handwriting was on the document.


title: Badfinger

text: Badfinger toured the US for three months in late 1970 and were generally well-received, although the band was already weary of persistent comparisons to the Beatles. "The thing that impressed me so much was how similar their voices were to The Beatles," Tony Visconti (producer, "Maybe Tomorrow") said; "I sometimes had to look over the control board down into the studio to make sure John and Paul weren't singing lead vocals ..." "Rolling Stone" critic Mike Saunders opined in a rave review of "No Dice" in 1970: "It's as if John, Paul, George, and Ringo had been reincarnated as Joey, Pete, Tom, and Mike of Badfinger." Media comparisons between them and the Beatles would continue throughout Badfinger's career.


title: Badfinger

text: Various members of Badfinger also participated in sessions for fellow Apple Records labelmates, most notably playing acoustic guitar and percussion on much of Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" triple album (1970), including the hit singles "Isn't It a Pity", "My Sweet Lord". and "What Is Life". Ham and Evans also provided backing vocals on Ringo Starr's Harrison-produced single, "It Don't Come Easy". Evans and Molland then performed on Lennon's album "Imagine" (1971), although Molland has said that their tracks were not used. Most famously, on 26 July 1971, all four members of Badfinger arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, to rehearse for Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, which took place on 1 August 1971. Ham duetted on acoustic guitar with Harrison on "Here Comes the Sun" during the concert.


title: Badfinger

text: In 1971, the group rented Clearwell Castle, in Gloucestershire, living and recording there. They finished recording their third album, again with Emerick as a producer, but the tapes were once again rejected by Apple, because Apple felt that Badfinger needed a producer who could bring a more polished sound to the recordings. Thus, George Harrison himself took over as producer in spring of 1971, including Leon Russell and Klaus Voormann in the sessions as well. Commenting on the recording of the dual slide guitars on "Day After Day", Molland remembered: "Pete and I had done the backing track, and George came in the studio and asked if we'd mind if he played ... It took hours, and hours, and hours, to get those two guitars in sync". However, Harrison stopped the sessions after recording just four songs because of his commitments to The Concert for Bangladesh, which Harrison included Badfinger in as well. After the concert, Harrison was tied up with producing the tapes from that concert, and so was unable to resume with Badfinger. Instead, the Badfinger album was completed by Todd Rundgren, who mixed the tapes from the Harrison sessions, re-recorded the songs from the Emerick sessions, and also produced some newer, previously unrecorded songs.


title: Badfinger

text: The album, ultimately titled "Straight Up", was released in the US in December 1971, and spawned two successful singles: "Day After Day" ("Billboard" number four), which sold over a million worldwide, and "Baby Blue" (US number 14). The album reached number 31 on the US charts. However, the disintegration of Apple Records in Britain led to "Baby Blue" never being released as a UK single, although a release number and date had already been assigned to it.


title: Badfinger

text: The band embarked on a US tour in 1972, but after problems with Evans, Gibbins left and was replaced for the tour by drummer Rob Stawinsky, who was described as Badfinger's "solid, new drummer". Stawinsky was not used after the tour, though, and Gibbins rejoined the band in September.


title: Badfinger

text: At the start of 1972, Badfinger were contracted for one last album with Apple Records. Despite Badfinger's success, Apple was facing troubled times and its operations were being cut back by Klein. According to Molland, Polley told the band that Klein wanted to cut Badfinger's royalty rate and make them pay for their own studio time. By this time, manager Polley was openly suspected of financial mismanagement by his other clients, Christie and music arranger Charlie Calello. A series of allegations also represented Polley as a one-time "bagman" for the Mafia.


title: Badfinger

text: Sessions for Badfinger's fourth and final album for Apple, "Ass", had begun as far back as early 1972 and would continue at five recording studios over the next year. Rundgren was originally hired to produce but quit in a financial dispute during the first week. The band then produced itself, but Apple rejected their version of the album. Finally, Badfinger hired Chris Thomas to co-produce and complete the project. In the meanwhile, Polley negotiated a deal with Warner Bros. Records, that required a new album from the band every six months over a three-year period. By this time Evans had become suspicious of Polley's oversight, but the band nevertheless signed the deal. Released in 1973, the "Ass" front cover featured Evans's idea: a jackass staring at a huge dangling carrot. The "Ass" release was further stalled because of legal wrangling, with Polley using Molland's unsigned song publishing as a negotiating ploy. Attempting to sweep discrepancies under the carpet to secure the LP's release Apple attributed the songwriting credits to "Badfinger". But both "Ass" (US number 122), and its accompanying lead single, "Apple of My Eye", fell short of reaching the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Badfinger

text: After the Apple contract had been fulfilled, Polley signed the band to a management contract demanding two albums a year. Poses, as vice-president of Badfinger Enterprises Inc., repeatedly told the band not to sign the contract. Polley organised a $3 million recording contract with Warner Bros., telling the band, "You're all millionaires!" The deal gave the band 12% of retail in the US—the price Warner Brothers received from record outlets—and 8.5% for the rest of the world, with a $225,000 advance for every album delivered.


title: Badfinger

text: Only six weeks after the "Ass" sessions had been completed, Badfinger re-entered the studio to begin recording material for its first Warner Bros. release, "Badfinger" (the intended title, "For Love or Money," was omitted from the album pressings). The album was produced by Thomas, even though the songs were being written in the studio as they recorded. "Ass" and "Badfinger" were released almost simultaneously, and the accompanying singles from "Badfinger", "Love Is Easy" (UK) and "I Miss You" (US), were unsuccessful. Badfinger did manage to retain some US fan support as a result of their touring schedule. A March 1974 concert at the Cleveland Agora was recorded on 16-track tape for a possible live album release, even though the performance was deemed unsatisfactory at the time.


title: Badfinger

text: Following the American tours, Badfinger recorded "Wish You Were Here" at the Caribou Ranch recording studio in Colorado, and at George Martin's AIR Studios in London. The album was well received by "Rolling Stone" and other periodicals upon its release in October 1974. However, over the previous year, Warner Brothers' publishing arm had become increasingly troubled by a lack of communication from Polley regarding the status of an escrow account of advance funds. Per their contract, Polley was to deposit $250,000 into a mutually accessible account for safekeeping, which both Warner Publishing and the band could potentially access. But Polley did not reveal the account's whereabouts to Warner Publishing, and he reportedly ignored Warner's demands to do so. As a result, in a letter dated 30 April 1974, WB's publishing arm terminated its relationship with Badfinger, but, other than having the group sign some new contracts, Polley took no action to resolve Warner's publishing issue. Consistent with the termination notice, on 14 August 1974, Warner's publishing arm refused to accept the tapes of "Wish You Were Here", but the album was later released anyway.


title: Badfinger

text: Crises in band management, money, and band leadership were creating growing frictions within Badfinger. Molland's wife, Kathie, had been taking a more assertive role in the band's politics, which did not endear her to the rest of the band, particularly Ham. She remembered complaining that even though the band had hit records, they "still didn't have a fridge, and didn't have a TV". However, one of the band's assistants said, "Kathie was a wishful Linda McCartney. If she had her way, she would have ended up part of the band." Just before the start of rehearsals for an October 1974 UK tour, Ham suddenly quit Badfinger during a management meeting, standing up and shouting "I don't want Kathie managing the band! I'm leaving". He found a cottage in Wales, where he hoped to build a studio. He was quickly replaced by guitarist/keyboardist Bob Jackson, who was then idle after previous involvement with The Fortunes. During Ham's three-week hiatus from the band, Polley tried to interest record companies in Ham as a solo act, but under pressure from Warner Brothers, Ham rejoined the band in time for the tour, as the company made it clear that it would have little to no interest in promoting Badfinger if Ham was not a part of it. Jackson remained as full-time keyboardist, making the band a quintet. After the UK tour, Molland quit of his own accord to pursue a solo career in December 1974.


title: Badfinger

text: With the Warner situation becoming increasingly unstable, Polley's next ploy was to press the band to pass up a US tour to go back into Apple Recording Studios to record its third album under the Warner Brothers contract. Because Thomas, the producer of Badfinger's last three albums, thought that the band was rushing into the studio too quickly, Polley hired Kiss producers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise to produce the album. Over only 11 days at the Apple studios, tracks were recorded for the "Head First" album (eventually released in 2000), and rough mixes were distributed to the musicians and Warner Brothers Records in America. However, because Warner's publishing arm had already filed a lawsuit against Polley and Badfinger in the L.A. Superior Court on 10 December 1974, the album tapes could not be formally accepted by Warner Bros. – and Warner executives also thought the rough tapes sounded "thrown together in a hurry" in "an obvious attempt [to] extract further advances from us". The legal action also led to the company stopping the promotion of "Wish You Were Here" after seven weeks, and ending its distribution worldwide, thus completely halting Badfinger's career.


title: Badfinger

text: With their current album suddenly withdrawn and their follow-up rejected, Badfinger spent the early months of 1975 trying to figure out how to proceed under the unclear legal situation. Their March 1975 salary cheques did not clear, and the April cheques never arrived. Panic set in, especially for Ham, who had recently bought a £30,000 house in Woking, Surrey, and whose girlfriend was expecting a child. According to Jackson, the band tried to continue without Polley's involvement by contacting booking agents and prospective managers throughout London, but they were routinely declined because of their restrictive contracts with Polley and impending legal actions. Ham reportedly tried on many occasions to contact Polley by telephone during the early months of 1975, but was never able to reach him.


title: Badfinger

text: On the night of 23 April 1975, Ham received a phone call from the United States, telling him that all his money had disappeared. Later that night he met Tom Evans and they went to The White Hart Pub in Surrey together, where Ham drank ten whiskies. Evans drove him home at three o'clock on the morning of 24 April 1975. Ham hanged himself in his garage studio in Woking later that morning. His suicide note—addressed to his girlfriend, Anne Herriot, and her son, Blair—blamed Polley for much of his despair and inability to cope with his disappointments in life. The note read: "Anne, I love you. Blair, I love you. I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better. Pete. P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me". Ham died at the age of 27. Ham had shown growing signs of mental illness over the past months, with Gibbins remembering Ham burning cigarettes on his hands and arms. He was cremated at the Morriston Crematorium, Swansea; his ashes were spread in the memorial gardens. Ham's daughter, Petera, was born one month after his death. In May, Warner Bros terminated its contract with Badfinger, and Badfinger dissolved. Around that time, Apple also deleted all of Badfinger's albums from its catalogue.


title: Badfinger

text: Gibbins joined the Flying Aces, and performed session drumming for various Welsh acts, including Bonnie Tyler's international hit "It's a Heartache". Evans and Jackson became part of a group called The Dodgers. They released three British singles on Island Records in 1976. "Don't Let Me Be Wrong" was the act's only US release, but failed to chart. Subsequently, the management of the Dodgers fired Evans in 1977 for insubordination and deleted all his performances from the group's subsequent album recordings (later released as "Love on the Rebound"). The group finally broke up in 1978, after which Jackson joined The Searchers and the David Byron Band. Molland started a band in 1975 with Colosseum's Mark Clarke and Humble Pie's Jerry Shirley using the moniker Natural Gas. They performed a few concerts as the opening act for Peter Frampton in 1976. Natural Gas released a self-titled album and three singles, but none managed to chart.


title: Badfinger

text: By 1977, both Molland and Evans were out of the music business. Molland later described his dire economic circumstances: "Thank God I had guitars and I was able to sell some of that stuff. We were flat broke, and that's happened to me three times, where my wife and I have had to sell off everything and go and stay with her parents or do whatever. I installed carpeting for a while in Los Angeles and stuff like that. You do what you've got to do to survive." In London, Evans briefly had jobs insulating pipes, and driving a taxi. Collins was having trouble paying the lease on the group's two-room rehearsal studio at No. 6 Denmark Street, London. After advertising for new occupants, he was contacted by Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, who gave Collins £650 () and a Fender Rhodes piano as down payment.


title: Badfinger

text: Later in 1977, United States-based drummer Kenny Harck and guitarist Joe Tansin recruited Molland to start a new band. When they needed a bass player, Molland suggested Evans, who joined after a visit to California in 1978. Encouragement from the Elektra record company led to the decision to rename the new band Badfinger. Their "comeback" album, "Airwaves", was released in 1979. Harck was fired from the band during the sessions and Tansin left the band immediately after the album was completed. To promote the album Molland and Evans recruited Tony Kaye (ex-Yes) on keyboards, and Peter Clarke on drums from Stealers Wheel. The single "Love is Gonna Come at Last" from "Airwaves" reached No. 69 on the "Billboard" chart. With Glenn Sherba added on second guitar and Richard Bryans (from the band Aviary) replacing Clarke on drums, Badfinger released their second post-Ham album, "Say No More", in 1981, with the album being distributed by Radio Records. The second single, "Hold On", reached number 56 on the "Billboard" charts.


title: Badfinger

text: The Warner Brothers lawsuit against Polley lasted four years, with Polley finally being forced to pay a "substantial sum" back to the company in late 1978. However, Polley managed to retain approximately half of the original $100,000 escrow payment, representing about three album's worth of payments. In 1987, detective John Hansen, working for the Riverside District Attorney's office, started an investigation into fraudulent bank dealings by Polley.


title: Badfinger

text: After the failure of "Say No More", Molland and Evans operated rival touring bands, each using the name "Badfinger", during 1982 and 1983, which created even more personal and professional conflict. In 1982, Evans teamed with pre-1975 Badfinger members Jackson and Gibbins, first adding guitarist Adam Allen, and then, in the fall of 1982, adding guitarists Reed Kailing of The Grass Roots and (Chicago's) Donnie Dacus.


title: Badfinger

text: In 1983 Evans and Jackson were joined by post-1975 Badfinger members Kaye and Sherba, with drummer Lenny Campanaro. Meanwhile, for his Badfinger concerts, Molland had teamed with post-1975 member Tansin. Evans and Jackson signed a management contract with Milwaukee businessman John Cass, which led to a disastrous tour and a $5 million lawsuit, which was finally settled on 21 October 1985, in Cass's favour, although both musicians argued that their responsibilities of the contract could not be enforced because certain management obligations had not been performed. Early in 1983, Evans and Jackson, with assistance from new member Al Wodtke, completed four demos in Minneapolis, under the name "Badfinger". The demos included Jackson's "I Won't Forget You", a tribute to Ham. The songs were briefly promoted but failed to generate strong interest, despite the involvement of David Bowie/Stevie Wonder manager Don Powell.


title: Badfinger

text: On the night of 18 November 1983, Evans and Molland had an extensive and heated argument on the telephone regarding past Badfinger income still in escrow from the Apple era, and the "Without You" songwriting royalties Evans was now receiving, which Molland, former manager Collins and Gibbins all wanted a share of. Following this argument, Evans hanged himself in the garden at his home in New Haw, Surrey, on the morning of 19 November 1983. He was cremated at the Woking Crematorium, Surrey, on 25 November 1983.


title: Badfinger

text: In 1984, Molland, Gibbins and Jackson reunited as Badfinger, along with Al Wodtke and Randy Anderson, playing 31 dates as part of a "20th Anniversary of the British Rock 'N' Roll Tour", which included Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Troggs, Billy J. Kramer and Herman's Hermits. In 1986, Molland and Gibbins resumed sporadic touring as Badfinger, with Randy Anderson on guitar and either Mark Healey or A. J. Nicholas on bass. Gibbins left for good in February 1990 following appearances at three auto shows in Columbus, Ohio, West Allis, Wisconsin, and Flint, Michigan.


title: Badfinger

text: All four Badfinger albums on Apple, which were deleted from release in 1975, have been reissued twice; first in the early 1990s as part of a revival of the Apple catalogue and again in 2010, when the albums were available individually or as part of the 17-disc Apple Box Set. The sole Iveys' album "Maybe Tomorrow" was also reissued in the early 1990s but was not part of the 2010 campaign.


title: Badfinger

text: Badfinger's first collection titled "Shine On", spanning their two Warner Brothers albums, was released in the UK in 1989. In 1990, Rhino Records released another Warner Brothers-era compilation, "The Best of Badfinger, Vol. 2", including material from both "Airwaves" and the previously unreleased "Head First". A greatest hits collection taken from Badfinger's four albums on Apple, "Come and Get It: The Best of Badfinger", appeared in 1995 on the EMI/Apple/Capitol label, which was the band's first release since 1973's "Ass" to be assigned a standard Apple catalogue number: SAPCOR 28. A more comprehensive collection, with tracks from both record labels, was the 2000s "The Very Best of Badfinger". In 2013, a new compilation titled "Timeless" was issued by EMI/Universal both to capitalise on the use of "Baby Blue" in the finale of "Breaking Bad" and to include the 2010 remastered versions of Badfinger's songs on a greatest-hits album.


title: Badfinger

text: In 1990, Rykodisc released "", billed as a Badfinger live recording from 1974. The album underwent substantial re-recording, and a rearranged track order by the album's producer, Molland, and had a mixed critical reaction. The album's release then sparked a lawsuit filed by Molland. The band's accounting firm, collecting for a 1985 court order settlement, had re-adjusted against Molland's Apple royalty income by deducting away the percentage amounts of that court order, then reimbursing those amounts to the other Badfinger parties. The Rykodisc contract did not include artist royalty payments, because Molland had advised Rykodisc he would take care of that distribution himself under another company name. Molland subsequently sued the other members and their estates to recoup his expenses plus a producer's royalty. He was awarded a partial settlement, as the judge stated the evidence against Molland was insufficient to justify a severe penalty, also noting that since both parties had conceded the original tapes were of poor quality, Molland's salvaging of them to a commercial level merited consideration.


title: Badfinger

text: After the success of Mariah Carey's recording of "Without You" in 1994, Molland and Gibbins collected an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1995, incurring the anger of the Ham and Evans families.


title: Badfinger

text: While in a 1988 readers poll for "Goldmine" magazine, "Straight Up" (1971) ranked as the most-requested CD release among out-of-print albums, the album made it to CD only in 1993. In 1995, Molland was paid to re-record the 10 most popular Badfinger songs. These recordings were variously packaged in the market, often showing the original 1970s line-up of the band with little or no disclaiming information, despite Molland being the only original member of Badfinger who performed. A detailed biography of Badfinger by Dan Matovina was published in 1998, titled "Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger". The 2000 update of the book was accompanied by a CD of rare material and interviews.


title: Badfinger

text: In 2000, a rough mix version of "Head First" (taken from an open-reel tape prepared by Apple engineer Phil McDonald in December 1974) was released on CD. (According to Dan Matovina, Warner Brothers could not locate the original master tapes for remixing at that time, but they were eventually found about 10 years later.) In 2002, Gibbins released a two-disc set of a Badfinger performance recorded in Indiana, on 19 October 1982, which had been captured on a basic cassette recorder, which was initially (and inaccurately) titled "Live 83 – DBA-BFR". The band at that time had consisted of Evans, Gibbins, Jackson, Kailing and Dacus.


title: Badfinger

text: In 2003, and again in 2006, two separate CDs of related Apple Publishing music, "94 Baker Street", and "An Apple a Day", were released. The CDs contain nine songs by the Iveys. In 2008, another CD of Apple-related songs, "Treacle Toffee World: Further Adventures into the Pop Psych Sounds from the Apple Era 1967–1969", included two more Iveys demos.


title: Badfinger

text: By 2013, the issue of royalty payments had been resolved in court. The main songwriter receives 32 percent of publishing royalties and 25 percent of ASCAP royalties. The other band members and Collins share the rest. Revenue from album sales is shared equally with 20% going to each member as well as Collins. In 1994, the year in which Mariah Carey covered the song "Without You", the royalties for Ham's estate spiked up to US$500,000.