Japanese fan flies 8,764 miles around the world to meet Ichiro

There are your average fans who wear the jerseys of their favorite players. Then, there are more rabid fans who paint their faces to, in the words of Seinfeld character David Puddy, "support the team."

And then there are the select few who test their limits to the max, and literally travel halfway around the world just to get a glimpse and hopefully a signature of their favorite player.

Tatsunori Suzuki is a true "fanatic."

The 46-year-old from Sagamihara, Kanagawa, in the Tokyo area recently turned a trip to the United States into a mission of meeting his idol, Ichiro Suzuki (no relation).

Tats, as he is called, was at the Marlins' Spring Training complex in Jupiter, Fla., on March 2 simply to see Ichiro, who remains a Michael Jordan-like iconic figure in his home country.

"He is a rock star for all Japanese," Tats responded in an e-mail to MLB.com.

Tats actually came to the United States to attend a conference in late February. He made a presentation at the annual meeting of Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco in Philadelphia.

After the conference, Tats flew to West Palm Beach, Fla., and ran the Jensen Beach Marathon on March 1.

"The main reason of heading to Florida was running the marathon," Tats said.

After registering for the run, the Marlins signed Ichiro, so his South Florida stint became about more than pushing himself for 26 miles.

Tats ran the marathon in 4-hours, 10-minutes, and the next day found himself 30 miles south of Jensen Beach, where he stood with fans behind barred gates.

The Marlins opened their exhibition season that day, and faced Florida International University. Ichiro was not in the lineup, but Tats would not be denied a chance to see his idol.

It was brought to Ichiro's attention that a man traveled from Japan in hopes of an autograph. Ichiro accommodated and signed a souvenir bat.

Mission accomplished, Tats headed home the next day.

In all, it took him 8,764 air miles to fly from Tokyo to Dallas, then Philadelphia, Charlotte and West Palm Beach, just to spend a few seconds with Ichiro.

Tats returned to Japan with a souvenir and an incredible story.