Felt the need to go on a short rant and remind you all on why Ichiro is (one of) the best in the business. Sure, he’s hitting an “OK” .241 with 2 HR and 8 RBI so far on the season. I can’t believe the 39-year-old is still as fast at getting out of the batter’s box as he is. He is one of the most limber and agile players in the game (must be from all that stretching).
What you probably don’t know: Suzuki has gathered 200 or more hits not only in 10 consecutive seasons but in every season prior to 2011, marking the longest streak by any player.
From his rookie year in 2001, each year until 2010 he had 200+ hits. Then in 2011, he still managed to snag an impressive 184 and in 2012, 178 hits. Because of his nine years with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, he did not start in the majors until he was 27. In ten seasons with Seattle, he averaged 224 hits a year.
*He holds the modern record with 262 hits in a season, which he accomplished in 2004. He has led the league in hits seven times throughout his career.
Famous for his slap hitting, Ichiro broke George Sisler’s 82-year-old MLB record for total hits in a season. He made the “Most hits in a single season top 50” list three times (all in the top 21).
He is a: 10-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glover, 3-time Silver Slugger, and 2-time AL Batting Champion…and the list of his accomplishments goes on and on but the most telling of all? Holding the modern day record for hits in a single season because basically all the other top 10 guys in that category are from the early 1900’s, when baseball was an entirely different game than it is today. He is an integral part of the veteran backbone of this year’s injury-stricken Yank squad and will certainly go down as one of the (if not the) best foreign-born players to ever pick up a bat in this country.
