He achieved the milestone while hitting for less power than anyone else with 3,000 hits-81.5% of his hits have been singles and 679 of his 3,000 hits were infield singles, demonstrating his unparalleled ability to get out of the batter’s box and on his way to first base. He also set the Major League Baseball single-season record with 262 hits in 2004. Ichiro says that getting a record for a team in contention makes the achievement much more satisfying.
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Ichiro had another plate appearance in the ninth and drew a walk.
“I want to pay tribute to him for setting the shining record in Japanese and USA 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.
Already a member of Japanese baseball’s Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club) after nine seasons, Ichiro carved out a second Hall of Fame career on the major league stage over the next 16 campaigns.
“My first three at-bats [my body felt so heavy], but after that hit a burden was lifted”, Suzuki told reporters.
“I’ve been able to come [to the Major Leagues] and get some hits”, he said. He led the AL in hits seven times (including five in a row) and won two AL batting titles. So, for me, it’s fitting that hit comes as part of a team win.
“Congratulations to my friend and teammate Ichiro on joining the 3,000-hit club”, former Yankees star Derek Jeter said in a statement.
Kendrys Morales hit a grand slam to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Atlanta Braves scored all their runs in the first two innings of a 6-3 win against the St Louis Cardinals, while the Baltimore Orioles hammered the Chicago White Sox 10-2. Ichiro tipped his cap to acknowledge the fans.
Suzuki said he hopes his milestone helps more Japanese succeed in the majors. The hit was sent to right field, where it was short just 10 feet of becoming a home run.
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“For the last couple of weeks there have been a lot of members of the media following me”, Suzuki said. Rockies first-baseman Mark Reynolds hit a single on the next pitch and would later score on an Adames fielder’s choice. “That’s a lot of hits, and you have to play a long time”, adding, it shows “how they’ve worked and persevered and continue to take care of their bodies”, Mattingly said. He’s not almost the player he was in St. Louis, but as he’s under contract to the Angels for five more years (yikes!) after 2016, he’ll certainly get to 3,000 and probably beyond. He also became only the second player to reach 3,000 hits after he had reached 27 years of age. “Hopefully this did that and bring that closer”. Parra played right field on Sunday while OF Carlos Gonzalez rested his sore left ankle. With two outs, Mathis doubled home two runs with Miami’s fifth hit of the inning.Gray stranded runners at the corners in the second and retired the side in order in the third before wading into more trouble in the fourth.
