PUNCH & JUDY:

I'll remember the Terrence Long throw -- "like something out of Star Wars,'' in Dave Niehaus' immortal phrase -- and all the infield singles that should have been routine outs until Ichiro went into his full Sultan of Slap mode to beat them out. One of those was as a rookie in the All-Star Game in Seattle off Randy Johnson, as it became ever clearer that Ichiro just had a knack for rising to the moment and confounding the mundane.

I'll remember the excitement of watching one of the game's hallowed records fall in 2004 when Ichiro banged out his 258th hit, breaking George Sisler's 81-year-old season record on the way to 262.

I'll remember being at the ballpark in San Francisco in 2007 when Ichiro became the first, and still only, player to get an inside-the-park home run in the All-Star Game. And I'll remember so many penetrating "State of the Ichiro" interview sessions at his 10 All-Star Games, when he would give a tantalizing peek inside his brain, yet never revealing an iota more than he wanted to.

I'll remember his provocative and unique quotes, as when, asked about facing countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka for the first time, Ichiro told journalist Brad Lefton, "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger." I'll go the rest of my career hoping to unearth a quote that vivid. And I might never get as funny a response as when, in San Diego, I asked Ichiro how he felt about heading to Cleveland for a makeup game. "If I ever saw myself saying I'm excited going to Cleveland,'' he replied through interpreter Ken Baron, "I'd punch myself in the face, because I'm lying."

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