After umpires called time, Ichiro was mobbed by teammates at third base, led fittingly by Dee Gordon their second baseman, the batting champion for the National League last season.
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“I know my record will be criticized”, Suzuki said on June 15 this year, when the total number of hits in his professional career in Japan and the United States surpassed former slugger Pete Rose’s all-time major league record of 4,256.
With Ichiro, there will always be the “what if?” question.
It is very noteworthy to remember that Ichiro began his career late according to sporting standards.
“I want to pay tribute to him for setting the shining record in Japanese and US baseball”, Suga said. Several dozen reporters and photographers from Japan had been logging lots of air miles following their nation’s most famous athlete as he approached the milestone and then went into a slump.
“I don’t have words for how wonderful that is for them to show that and support me”, said Suzuki, who collected at least 200 hits in each of his first 10 seasons with the Mariners.
His 920th career hit was his 258th in 2004, a single to center that broke Sisler’s record for hits in one season.
The Marlins handed out Ichiro Suzuki bobbleheads – complete with a hit counter – to the first 12,000 fans through the gates on May 22 to commemorate his run to the 3,000 hit club. The article begins with a hypothetical question about how many hits the Japanese player might have racked up in the majors if he had started in the US rather than Japan, where he tallied 1,278 hits.
Speaking of Cobb, he had the highest average WAR in the club through his 3,000-hit season: 9.0.
Arenado came back to plate in the fifth inning after a DJ LeMahiue walk and a David Dahl single. He’s ahead of only Winfield (.354 OBP through 3,000-hit season), Ripken (.343), Brock (.343) and Yount (.340). When asked to name the most famous person to congratulate him on 3,000 hits, he responded in English. Of the 30 men who have 3,000 hits in the Major Leagues, only Ichiro and Paul Molitor have reached that mark with a triple. The other six are in the Hall of Fame. One reason could be because the rest of the league is playing down to their level. “It’s something I think I’ll enjoy once I become a grandpa”. Nolan Arenado had three hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs for the Rockies.The loss left the Rockies 3-3 on a homestand that ends with two games with Texas. Giancarlo Stanton got into the hitting exhibition after he hit a two-run homer to right that put Miami up 8-1. “Today when I got my 3,000th hit, I was more happy for the people around me and for the people that have supported me and have cheered me on”. While this may not be an official record, he may just break the Major League Baseball record as he has stated in the past that he plans to play 8 more years or until he reaches the age of 50.
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“I’ve been feeling this for the last two weeks, not getting an opportunity to get in there and getting a pinch hit every night, that was tough”, he said.
