Ichiro reaches 4,000 hits
The Guru
Contributing Writer
New York Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki made baseball history Wednesday night. Sort of.
With a first-inning single off Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey, Ichiro became the first player in the history of the game to record a combined 4,000 hits between two major leagues.
Since invading MLB in 2001, Ichiro has stroked 2,722 hits for the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. Between 1992 and 2000 he collected for 1,278 hits for the Orix BlueWave in the Japanese Pacific League.
Suzuki was congratulated on the field by the entire Yankee dugout. Fittingly, Ichiro respectfully bowed to the crowd.
Whether you count the numbers in Japan or not, Ichiro has joined a very exclusive club. There are only two other players in baseball history with over 4000 hits - Pete Rose with 4,256 and Ty Cobb with 4,191.
It’s unclear how much longer the 39-year old Ichiro will play after this season, but once the 10-time All Star, former Rookie of the Year and MVP says sayonara to baseball he will have one land left to conquer. Ichiro will become the first Japanese player enshrined in Cooperstown.
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Contributing Writer
New York Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki made baseball history Wednesday night. Sort of.
With a first-inning single off Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey, Ichiro became the first player in the history of the game to record a combined 4,000 hits between two major leagues.
Since invading MLB in 2001, Ichiro has stroked 2,722 hits for the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. Between 1992 and 2000 he collected for 1,278 hits for the Orix BlueWave in the Japanese Pacific League.
Suzuki was congratulated on the field by the entire Yankee dugout. Fittingly, Ichiro respectfully bowed to the crowd.
Whether you count the numbers in Japan or not, Ichiro has joined a very exclusive club. There are only two other players in baseball history with over 4000 hits - Pete Rose with 4,256 and Ty Cobb with 4,191.
It’s unclear how much longer the 39-year old Ichiro will play after this season, but once the 10-time All Star, former Rookie of the Year and MVP says sayonara to baseball he will have one land left to conquer. Ichiro will become the first Japanese player enshrined in Cooperstown.
Follow The Guru on Twitter @TheGuruGS
More musings from The Guru.