Ichiro Suzuki did something no players has ever done. In the 5th inning of Seattle's 1-0 loss to Toronto, Ichiro hit a single to center. It was his 200th hit of the season. That makes 10 straight years that Ichiro's recorded 200 hits. Nobody's ever done that. Pete Rose had 10 seasons with 200 hits, but not in a row. Ty Cobb had nine 200 hit seasons.
For my money, Ichiro's a Hall of Famer. Not only does he have this record, but he's a 10 time All-Star, won the MVP in '01, along with Rookie of the Year. 9 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers, a .331 career average, .376 OBP, and 382 stolen bases.
He's got more than 2,200 hits right now. He's 36, so probably has 4 good years left in him. He has a decent chance to reach 3,000 hits. That's impressive considering he didn't play ball in this country until he was 27.
Imagine if he started playing here when he was 22, though. He might be at 3,200 hits instead of 2,200. And we might be saying he had a shot at 4,256 hits (Rose's record).
