If there’s a late-inning tie in the major leagues, with Ichiro at the plate, the potential winning run at third base and first base open, is there a manager alive who is likely to pitch to the Mariners star?

Probably not, but pitching to Ichiro was the decision of South Korea manager In Sik Kim in Monday night’s WBC championship game. Ichiro stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 10th with runners on first and third and two outs. After Akinori Iwamura advanced to second uncontested on an early pitch in the count, it was a personal invite to walk Ichiro and pitch to shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima.

Ichiro, of course, drilled a single up the middle to score both baserunners, and Japan clinched a 5-3 victory to repeat as WBC champions. It was a terrific game with loads of drama, including Korea’s ninth-inning comeback to force extras, thanks to a two-out, RBI single by Bum Ho Lee.

Yet, it’s unfortunate the game came down to a poor decision, which seemed ever more obvious as Ichiro’s plate appearance unfolded. Although he had struggled in the tournament, Ichiro had three hits going into his final at-bat. He’s among the world’s best at making contact and delivering the ball where he directs it. Plus, he’s always a threat to beat out an infield hit -- Ichiro led the majors with 52 in 2008 -- and such a hit was just as likely to score the go-ahead run as a flare or a line drive to the outfield.

Ichiro finally singled on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. By then, he had fouled off four pitches in a row in one sequence, and a mistake pitch seemed inevitable. It finally came, a pitch in the middle of the plate, and Ichiro laced it into center.

Japan’s repeat is a reminder of how fundamentally sound its best players are. We know the stars -- Daisuke Matsuzaka, who won the WBC’s MVP honors for a second time in two tournaments, and two-time American League batting champion Ichiro -- but the entire team demonstrated how the game should be played. We’ll see the Japanese team play again on American soil in four years.