Ichiro Cano Hernandez, The Coolest Name in Baseball, Appears in Bowman
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Having a few minutes of downtime, I jump onto Facebook to get my daily updates from friend and family. After scrolling for a moment, I come across a post from Topps that I surely thought was a mistake. Every once in a while, Topps will post a "what if" card, that collectors would drool over, and I thought this was one of those moments.
Ichiro Cano Hernandez is a minor league baseball player in the Cincinnati Reds organization, and he is getting his own Bowman card.
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This has to be the coolest baseball name ever. I mean surely his name has to represent Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano, and Felix Hernandez. The three players all wore Seattle Mariners jerseys for part or all of their careers. While Ichiro is being enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, cases can be made for the other two.
When MLB.com picked up the story over the winter, Ichiro was asked about his name, and if he was named after one of the greatest hitters of all time. His response, “They gave me the name because my Dad had a Japanese friend named Ichiro who was a surfer," Hernandez said in an emailed statement provided by the Reds.
Ichiro Suzuki manned right field for an incredible 19 years. The 10x all star won 10 gold gloves, while also piling up 3,089 hits, on his way to a career .311 batting average. Robinson Cano was an incredible second baseman, who will have a strong argument when his time comes to be voted into the hall of fame. The 8x all star, hit over 300 home runs, and drove in over 1,300 RBI's. The 2x gold glover also finished in the Top 5 in MVP voting 4 times. Felix Hernandez was a fan favorite, and rightfully so. The 2010 Cy Young award winner pitched over 200 innings in a season 8 times, and was one of the most dominate pitchers in the game when he played.
While this may be Hernandez first Bowman card, he did appear in last years Panini Stars & Stripes, representing Mexico. I have to admit, whether or not he turns into a Major League player, he does have the coolest baseball name ever. For that reason alone, I personally am on the hunt for his card.
