1,278 Pacific League Hits + 1,717 Major League Hits = 2,995 Career Professional Hits

Posted by Joe Hamrahi on Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 7:31 pm

That’s where Ichiro Suzuki sits going into Friday’s action at Toronto…just 5 hits short of 3,000 career hits.

Yes, I know. His first seven full seasons were played in Japan’s Pacific League where the parks are smaller and the pitching inferior. But still, the man is a career .353 hitter in Japan, and never once did his batting average dip below .342 in a season in which he played at least 44 games.

In each of his seven full seasons in the United States, Ichiro has collected at least 200 hits, scored at least 100 runs, stole at least 30 bases, and played at least 157 games. He also holds the Major League record for most hits by a player over an eight year span. Should Ichiro reach 200 hits again in 2008, he would join Willie Keeler (1894-1901) as the only players in history to record eight consecutive 200-hit seasons.

If Ichiro were a player who fell flat on his face after crossing the Pacific, I could understand it if people criticized him. But the man is an All-Star in two countries…perhaps even a Hall of Famer! He deserves to be recognized as such, both now, and when he reaches the milestone of 3,000 hits.